Regulations on storage period of accounting vouchers, records and documents

Latest regulations on record keeping: types of documents – records to be stored, storage time of accounting vouchers – records in enterprises, penalties for violations of record keeping

I. Legal basis

• Pursuant to Article 11 of the Law on Enterprises 2020;
• Circular 10/2022/TT-BNV;
• Article 12, Article 13, Article 14 of Decree 174/2016/ND-CP.

II. Types of documents and records in the enterprise

Each document and file of a business has its own value and purpose. To facilitate the management and tracking of records, businesses need to classify them into groups, including:

1. Documents, records, administrative office papers

• Official dispatches, decrees, legal documents, directives of the leadership;
• Business establishment profile (*);
• Reference documents for purchasing office equipment and goods;
• Monthly, quarterly and annual business performance summary reports.

(*): Including business registration certificate, meeting minutes, decisions of the board of members, license to decide on establishment of construction of houses and infrastructure (if any).

2. Personnel records and documents

• Decisions, appointments, elections of leadership and management positions;
• Recruitment profile: recruitment plan, recruitment information;
• Employee records in the company: resume, degrees, labor contracts, insurance documents;
• Regulations on salary, bonus, allowance, salary increase decision, employee reward.

>> See more: Salary and bonus regulations for employees.

3. Documents on the production and business activities of the enterprise

• The company’s business plan and strategy;
• Summary table evaluating the achievements of business strategies;
• Economic, commercial and goods sale contracts;
• Minutes of agreement on business cooperation plan, profit sharing form.

4. Types of financial and accounting records and documents

• Asset inventory;
• Budget and final settlement;
• Revenue and expenditure plan and accounting documents;
• Types of reports as prescribed by competent authorities;
• Documents, circulars, decrees guiding the accounting regime.

III. Regulations on storage time of accounting documents and records in enterprises

Depending on the value of the document, the regulations on the storage period of documents and records of the enterprise will be different. There are documents that the unit only needs to store for 5 years or until the document expires. However, there are also documents that the unit needs to store for a period of up to 10 years, 20 years or forever. Specifically as follows:

1. For groups of documents, records, and administrative office papers

Documents, archives		Retention period
Minutes of meeting		10 years
Charter and internal management regulations of the company		Forever

2. For groups of documents, financial accounting records

3. For the group of documents and personnel records

Documents, archives		Retention period
Decisions, appointments, elections of leadership and management positions: Recruitment profile: recruitment plan, recruitment information Employee files in the company: resume, degrees, labor contracts, insurance documents Regulations on salary, bonus, allowance, salary increase decision, employee reward		5 years

4. For the group of documents on the company’s production and business activities

Documents, archives		Retention period
Company business plan and strategy Summary table of evaluation of achievements of business strategies Papers and documents on economic, commercial and goods sale contracts Minutes of agreement on business cooperation plan, profit sharing form		5 years

IV. Regulations on penalties for violations of regulations on archiving business records and documents

1. Violation of not keeping records and documents in the enterprise

In case an enterprise does not keep records and documents at the head office or at another location specified in the company charter, it will be fined from VND 30,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 (based on Point D, Clause 2, Article 52, Decree 122/2021/ND-CP).

2. Violation of regulations on storing accounting documents and vouchers

In case an enterprise violates regulations on preserving and storing accounting documents, penalties will be implemented according to the provisions of Article 15 of Decree No. 41/2018/ND-CP, specifically:

➧ Warning penalty for the following behavior:

• Delay in storing accounting documents for 12 months or more compared to the prescribed deadline;
• Do not arrange accounting documents for storage in chronological order and by accounting year.

➧ Fine from 5,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND for one of the following violations:

• Storing accounting documents incorrectly and insufficiently according to regulations;
• Not ensuring the safety of accounting documents during storage, causing damage or loss of documents during the storage period;
• Using accounting documents within the wrong retention period;
• Failure to conduct an inventory, classify and restore lost or damaged accounting documents.

➧ Fines from 10,000,000 VND to 20,000,000 VND for violations such as:

• Destroying accounting documents before the expiration of the storage period as prescribed by the Law on Accounting, but not to the extent of criminal prosecution;
• Failure to destroy the company’s accounting documents in accordance with regulations, specifically:
  • Failure to establish a destruction council;
  • Failure to follow standard disposal methods;
  • No destruction record.

>> You may be interested in: Regulations on administrative sanctions for violations of invoices.

V. Frequently asked questions about regulations on storing accounting vouchers, records and documents

1. Where do businesses usually store records?

Enterprises often store records at their headquarters or business locations or company branches established during the course of production and business activities.

2. Can businesses choose how long they want to keep their records?

Enterprises cannot choose the time to store records. The period of record storage of enterprises depends on the value of each type of record to the unit, it can be from 5 years to forever according to the provisions of law.

>> See details: Regulations on record retention time.