Consolidated Document No. 18/VBHN-NHNN: Banking Accounting Voucher Regime

Overview

Consolidated Document No. 18/VBHN-NHNN merges Decision No. 1789/2005/QD-NHNN dated December 12, 2005, issued by the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam on the Banking Accounting Voucher Regime (effective from January 7, 2006), as amended by Circular No. 70/2025/TT-NHNN dated December 31, 2025 (effective from January 1, 2026). It is a technical document governing the content, preparation method, signing, control, circulation, management and use of accounting vouchers in banking operations.

Scope and applicable entities

• The State Bank of Vietnam, credit institutions, foreign bank branches, and non-credit-institution entities engaged in banking activities.
• Organizations and individuals (customers) that use banking accounting vouchers when transacting with a bank.

Voucher forms and templates

Banking accounting vouchers may be paper or electronic. Templates fall into two groups: general templates set by the Ministry of Finance (applied to administrative units or enterprises, as applicable), and banking-specific templates (for payment, credit, and cash receipt/disbursement operations) set by the State Bank.

Mandatory voucher content

Every voucher must include: name and serial number; the date of preparation; the name, address, ID card/passport number, and account number of the payer and their bank; the same details for the beneficiary; the description of the economic/financial transaction; quantity, unit price, and amount (cash receipt/disbursement vouchers must state the amount in both figures and words); and the signatures of the preparer, approver, and other relevant parties. Vouchers related to cash/asset movements or interbank transfers must additionally carry the signature of the chief accountant (or person in charge of accounting) and the unit head (or authorized person).

Electronic vouchers

Electronic vouchers must carry the same content as paper vouchers and must be encrypted to ensure data safety during use, transmission, and storage. Banks and customers using electronic vouchers must meet technical infrastructure requirements, register electronic signatures, and apply security measures against forgery and data theft. When converting between electronic and paper vouchers, the original document used as the conversion basis must be marked with the code «DCH» (converted) and retains only archival value, no longer being valid for transactions.

Preparation, signing, and control

• Each transaction may only generate one voucher; paper vouchers must be written in ink, without erasures or abbreviations; a voucher that has been erased or altered has no value for payment or bookkeeping.
• Signatures must be made by an authorized person or their delegate, matching the specimen registered with the bank; electronic signatures must match those issued by the bank.
• For customers that are organizations legally required to have a chief accountant, the voucher must carry the account holder's signature, the chief accountant's (or delegate's) signature, and the unit's seal.
• Before posting, every voucher must be checked for clarity, legality, validity, data accuracy, and whether signatures and seals match the registered specimens. Electronic vouchers additionally require verification of identification codes, encryption keys, and file names before the transaction content is checked.

Circulation, printing, and archiving

• Vouchers received during business hours must be processed and posted the same day (except for technical failures or other objective reasons).
• For cash deposit vouchers, the bank must collect the full amount before posting; for cash withdrawal vouchers, the bank posts the entry first, then pays out.
• Banking-specific voucher templates on the mandatory list must be registered with the State Bank before issuance; unregistered templates are deemed invalid and will not be accepted for payment.
• After posting, vouchers are kept at the accounting department for no more than 12 months from the end of the fiscal year, then transferred to storage in accordance with the Accounting Law.

Photocopied vouchers, provision to authorities, and lost/damaged vouchers

Photocopied vouchers may only be made in specific cases (for foreign donors under a commitment, when originals are seized or confiscated by a competent authority, or when originals are lost or destroyed by natural disaster or fire), and must carry a valid confirming signature and seal. Providing vouchers to investigating or inspecting authorities must follow proper legal procedure, witnessed by the chief accountant or their delegate; only a competent authority may seize, confiscate, or seal vouchers, and must prepare minutes recording the action. If blank checks are lost, the bank must report the serial numbers and quantity to the local police and publicize the loss through mass media to invalidate the missing checks.

Amendments under Circular No. 70/2025/TT-NHNN

Circular No. 70/2025/TT-NHNN (effective January 1, 2026) updates the legal basis of the Regime to align with current law: the 2010 Law on the State Bank of Vietnam (No. 46/2010/QH12), the 2024 Law on Credit Institutions (No. 32/2024/QH15, amended by Law No. 96/2025/QH15), the 2015 Accounting Law (No. 88/2015/QH13, amended by Law No. 56/2024/QH15), and the 2023 Law on Electronic Transactions (No. 20/2023/QH15). It also amends Article 8 of the Regime, adding a requirement that electronic vouchers carry an electronic signature or another electronic confirmation method under current law.

What this means for businesses

Businesses and individuals transacting with a bank (cash deposits/withdrawals, transfers, checks, payment orders) should make sure their transaction vouchers carry valid signatures matching the specimen registered with the bank where the account is held - and, for enterprises required to have a chief accountant, must include the account holder's signature, the chief accountant's signature, and the company seal. Signature or seal mismatches, or any erased/altered voucher, can lead the bank to reject the transaction and delay payment.