Decision No. 218/2000/QĐ-BTC On the Issuance of Accounting Document Storage Regulations

Article 1: Accounting documents subject to preservation and storage according to these Regulations include original accounting documents recorded on paper and having legal value in accounting, including:

1. Accounting vouchers, comprising original vouchers and bookkeeping vouchers;

2. Accounting ledgers, comprising detailed accounting ledgers, detailed accounting cards, and summary accounting ledgers;

3. Financial reports, comprising monthly financial reports, quarterly financial reports, and annual financial reports;

4. Other related accounting documents, which are documents other than those mentioned above, used as bases for preparing accounting vouchers; documents related to economic activities (such as economic contracts, loan agreements, promissory notes, joint venture contracts...); documents related to capital, funds, profits (such as decisions to supplement capital from profits, distribution of funds from profits...); documents related to budget revenue and expenditure, fund utilization (such as settlement of fund utilization, settlement of state budget funds, investment capital settlement...); documents related to tax obligations to the state (such as decisions on tax exemption, reduction, refund, additional collection, annual tax settlement...); documents related to asset inventory and valuation (such as inventory forms, valuation records...); documents related to inspection, audit, and supervision (such as inspection conclusions, audit reports...); accounting program documentation on computers, documents related to the destruction of accounting documents.

Article 2: If accounting documents specified in Article 1 are recorded on machines, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, or payment cards and are to be stored, they must be printed on paper and must contain all legal elements as prescribed by the state regarding accounting documents (such as forms, codes, signatures, seals).

Article 3: Accounting documents to be stored must be complete, systematic, classified, and arranged into separate files (voucher files, ledger files, financial report files...). Within each file, accounting documents must be arranged in chronological order according to each accounting period, ensuring rationality for reference and use when necessary.

Article 4: Accounting documents to be stored according to the following provisions:

1. Accounting documents of completed accounting periods that are no longer used for bookkeeping in subsequent accounting periods must be stored no later than twelve months from the end date of the accounting period;

2. Accounting documents concerning the final settlement report of completed investment projects must be stored no later than twelve months from the date the final settlement report of the completed investment project is approved;

3. Accounting documents related to dissolution, bankruptcy, privatization, or ownership conversion must be stored no later than six months from the completion date of such events.

Article 5: The storage location for accounting documents is as follows:

1. Accounting documents of any unit shall be stored in the unit's own archive room.

2. Accounting documents of joint ventures and wholly foreign-owned companies during their operational period in Vietnam as per the investment license granted must be stored within the company's premises in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

3. Accounting documents of dissolved or bankrupt units (including joint ventures and wholly foreign-owned companies), including accounting documents of completed accounting periods and documents related to dissolution or bankruptcy, shall be stored at the establishment authority (license issuing body) or the registration authority or at the location designated by the dissolution or bankruptcy decision-making body.

4. Accounting documents of completed accounting periods and documents related to privatization or ownership conversion of units undergoing privatization or ownership conversion shall be stored at the new owner's unit or at the location designated by the privatization or ownership conversion decision-making body.

5. Accounting documents of completed accounting periods and documents related to the division or separation of units into two or more new units: If the accounting documents can be divided, they shall be stored at the new unit; if not, they shall be stored at the location designated by the division or separation decision-making body. Documents related to the division or separation shall be stored at the newly divided or separated unit.

6. Accounting documents of completed accounting periods and documents related to the merger of units being merged shall be stored at the receiving unit.

In cases where a unit does not organize a department or archive room, it may lease accounting document storage to organizations on the basis of a contract signed between the parties. The contract must clearly specify the responsibilities of each party regarding leased accounting documents, leasing costs, and payment methods.

Article 6: At each unit, the Chief Accountant or the person responsible for accounting shall be responsible for assisting the Director (or the head of the unit) in organizing, classifying, arranging documents, and processing procedures to store accounting documents.

Article 7: Accounting documents stored must be preserved according to current state laws on protecting archival materials and the provisions of this regulation. Accounting documents stored must be kept in the unit's archive room. The archive room must have sufficient equipment and devices for preservation and conditions ensuring the safety of stored accounting documents, such as shelves, cabinets, fire prevention means; moisture, mold prevention; flood, pest, and rodent damage prevention.

The head of the unit shall bear legal responsibility for the safety, completeness, and legality of the unit's stored accounting documents.

Article 8:Units must open an "Accounting Document Storage Tracking Register" to record, monitor, and manage stored accounting documents. The Accounting Document Storage Tracking Register must include the main contents: type of stored document, number, date of storage, condition of the document when stored, storage period.

Article 9:The person assigned the task of managing and preserving stored accounting documents must bear responsibility before the head of the unit and the law for any loss, damage, or other incidents caused by their own negligence to the stored accounting documents.

Managers and preservers of stored accounting documents are not permitted to allow any organization or individual to view or use stored accounting documents without written consent from the head of the unit or the person authorized by the head of the unit. In case there is a risk or discovery that stored accounting documents are missing, infested, damaged, the manager and preserver of the documents must immediately report to the head of the unit to promptly take measures to address and rectify the situation.

Article 10: Accounting documents currently in the storage period retain legal validity in all lawful exploitation and usage scenarios. The exploitation and usage of stored accounting documents must be with the written consent of the head of the unit or the person authorized by the head of the unit and must be carried out at the storage location.

In cases where state agencies authorized by law request and provide written documentation requiring the removal of stored accounting documents outside the unit, the unit and the person executing the task of providing documents requested by the agency must prepare a "Handover Record of Accounting Documents." In addition to the content specified in a general record, the "Handover Record of Accounting Documents" must clearly state: type of document, quantity, accounting year of the document, condition of the document, usage time, and deadline for returning to the archive room.

The unit must be responsible for providing accounting documents to investigative agencies, tax agencies, and state agencies authorized to perform inspection and audit functions. These agencies must be responsible for safeguarding and preserving accounting documents during their use and must return the full set of used accounting documents on time.

In cases where the law stipulates, judicial agencies have a decision in writing to seize original accounting documents as evidence, the unit must store copies of the seized accounting documents. When seizing accounting documents, the judicial agency and the unit must prepare a record of the seizure of accounting documents.

Article 11: All accounting documents currently in use during the accounting year and accounting documents during the preparation period for storage as stipulated in Article 4 of this Regulation must be managed, preserved, and used according to the current accounting system.

STORAGE PERIOD OF ACCOUNTING DOCUMENTS

Article 12: All accounting documents prescribed in Article 1 of this Regulation are classified and preserved according to the following periods:

1- Minimum period of 5 years;

2- Period of 20 years;

3- Period over 20 years.

Article 13: Accounting documents used for regular management and operation but not directly used for bookkeeping and annual financial reporting (such as warehouse entry forms, warehouse exit forms, receipt forms, payment forms not kept in the accounting voucher file of the accounting department; daily, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, and nine-month accounting reports...) must be stored for a minimum of 5 years from the end of the accounting year.

Article 14: All accounting documents directly related to bookkeeping and annual financial reporting must be stored for 20 years, specifically as follows:

1. Accounting documents of the accounting year: stored for 20 years from the end of the accounting year;

2. Accounting documents of project investors' units, including accounting documents of the accounting year and accounting documents on final project investment settlement reports: stored for 20 years from the approval of the final project investment settlement report;

3. Accounting documents on fixed assets, including accounting documents related to the liquidation and sale of fixed assets: stored for 20 years from the completion of the liquidation and sale of fixed assets;

4. Accounting documents related to dissolution, bankruptcy, shareholding reform, and ownership conversion: stored for 20 years from the end of each respective task;

5. Records of destruction of stored accounting documents and related documents on the destruction of accounting documents: stored for 20 years from the date of record creation.

Article 15: Accounting documents stored for more than 20 years are those with historical value and significant economic, political, and social meaning for the unit, industry, or locality, such as:

1- Summary accounting books;

2- Annual financial reports;

3- Final project investment settlement report files;

4- Other accounting vouchers and documents. The determination of accounting documents stored for more than 20 years is based on the historical value and long-term significance of the documents and information, decided upon for specific cases by the unit, industry, or authorized agency, and entrusted to the accounting department or another department for storage in the form of originals or otherwise.

Article 16: Accounting documents that have reached their retention period of five years or twenty years but are related to lawsuits, disputes, cases that have been, are being, or have not yet been adjudicated shall not apply the retention periods specified in Article 13, Article 14, and Article 15, but shall be applied according to the retention periods prescribed by current laws relevant to such matters or pursuant to the decision of the competent authority.

Article 17: In cases of force majeure due to natural disasters or fires causing damage or loss of accounting documents, the unit must establish a Recovery Committee for Accounting Documents chaired by the unit head, the chief accountant or the person responsible for accounting, and representatives from relevant departments. The Committee must carry out the following tasks:

- By all means, recover and preserve any recoverable documents;

- Conduct an inventory to determine the number of remaining documents, the number of lost or irrecoverably damaged documents;

- Prepare a record confirming the number of remaining documents and the number of lost documents for each type of accounting document. The record must be stored for the same retention period as the damaged or lost documents.

DESTRUCTION OF ACCOUNTING DOCUMENTS AT THE END OF THEIR RETENTION PERIOD

Article 18: Accounting documents that have reached their retention period as stipulated herein may be destroyed upon the decision of the unit head if there is no other designation by a person or state agency with authority. The destruction of accounting documents at the end of their retention period must be carried out fully and correctly in accordance with the procedures prescribed herein.

Article 19: Procedures for destroying accounting documents at the end of their retention period:

1- The unit that stores the accounting documents shall be responsible for their destruction;

2- The unit head decides to establish a "Committee for Destroying Accounting Documents at the End of Their Retention Period." The Committee consists of unit leadership, the chief accountant or the person responsible for accounting work, and a representative from the storage department;

3- The Committee for Destroying Accounting Documents must conduct an inventory, evaluate, and classify the documents by type, prepare a "List of Accounting Documents to be Destroyed" and a "List of Accounting Documents to be Stored for Over Twenty Years;"

4- Prepare a "Record of Destruction of Accounting Documents at the End of Their Retention Period" and proceed with the destruction of the accounting documents. The Record of Destruction of Accounting Documents at the End of Their Retention Period, in addition to the contents required in a standard record, must clearly specify: the types of accounting documents destroyed, the retention period for each type (from year to year), the method of destruction, conclusions, and signatures of the committee members.

The Record of Destruction of Accounting Documents at the End of Their Retention Period, along with the List of Accounting Documents to be Destroyed and the List of Accounting Documents to be Stored for Over Twenty Years, serves as the basis for recording in the "Accounting Document Storage Tracking Register" and storing for twenty years in the unit's archive.

Article 20: The destruction of accounting documents at the end of their retention period must be carried out immediately while preparing the Record of Destruction of Accounting Documents. Depending on the specific conditions of each unit, the destruction of accounting documents can be conducted through methods such as burning, cutting, shredding by machine or manually, ensuring that the destroyed accounting documents cannot be reused for any information or data on them. In cases where scrap paper is recycled as raw material, the Committee for Destroying Accounting Documents must implement the aforementioned destruction methods before removing the scrap paper from the unit.

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 21: The Accounting Document Retention System takes effect from January 1, 2001. All previous regulations contrary to this system are abolished.

Article 22: Any acts of destroying, damaging, or losing stored accounting documents will be subject to administrative penalties or other legal actions depending on the nature and severity of the violation.

Article 23: Sectors and fields with special characteristics regarding accounting documents (such as banking, securities markets, etc.), based on this system, shall cooperate with the Ministry of Finance and the National Archives Administration to develop accounting document retention systems for their respective sectors and fields.