Knowledge base

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has issued Circular 83/2025/TT-NHNN (signed 31 December 2025), a comprehensive regulation on the internal control systems that commercial banks and foreign bank branches operating in Vietnam must maintain. It requires every bank to build its internal control system on a "three lines of defense" model: revenue-generating business units that create risk, a bank-wide compliance and risk management function, and an internal audit function. The rules set detailed requirements for managing material risk categories - credit, market, operational, liquidity, concentration, interest rate risk in the banking book, and model risk - along with an internal capital adequacy assessment process (ICAAP), stress testing, and mandatory annual reporting to the SBV on control results, risk management, and internal audit findings, due 60 to 90 days after each fiscal year end. This is an internal banking-sector governance circular that creates obligations directly for commercial banks and foreign bank branches, not for SMEs, household businesses, individuals, or foreign investors generally. Business owners and accountants have no action to take under this circular; any effect on them would only be indirect, through banks applying stricter credit-assessment procedures.

Decree 145/2026/ND-CP, effective from 22 June 2026, sets out the financial management mechanism and the enterprise-performance evaluation and classification framework that applies specifically to the Vietnam Stock Exchange (VNX) and the Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation (VSDC) - the two state-owned securities market-infrastructure entities for which the Ministry of Finance acts as state-capital owner representative. It replaces Decree 59/2021/ND-CP. The main content covers investment activities (VNX and VSDC must identify and control potential conflicts of interest before investing); a detailed breakdown of each entity's revenue sources (membership fees, market-organization fees, depository fees, clearing and settlement fees, technology infrastructure services, and more); specific expense items that are deductible when determining corporate income tax, such as VSDC's contributions to its operational risk-reserve fund; and objective factors excluded when the two entities' operating performance is evaluated and classified. Because the decree applies only to VNX, VSDC, their wholly-owned subsidiaries, and the Ministry of Finance in its ownership capacity, it does not create new compliance obligations for SMEs, accountants, or foreign investors generally. It reads as internal financial governance for the securities-market infrastructure sector rather than a rule with direct impact on the wider business community.

This is Consolidated Document No. 44/VBHN-NHNN, combining Circular 22/2019/TT-NHNN (which sets the safety limits and ratios banks and foreign bank branches must maintain) with four rounds of amendments, the latest being Circular 08/2026/TT-NHNN, effective 15 May 2026. It applies to state-owned commercial banks, cooperative banks, joint-stock commercial banks, joint-venture banks, 100%-foreign-owned banks, and foreign bank branches operating in Vietnam. The core prudential ratios are: a minimum Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 9% (both standalone and consolidated); credit-concentration caps of 5% of charter capital (or allocated capital) each for credit extended to invest in corporate bonds and credit extended to invest in shares, only permitted when the bank's non-performing loan ratio is below 3%; a minimum liquid reserve ratio of 10%; a 30-day liquidity coverage ratio (minimum 50% for VND when net outflow is positive; minimum 10% FX for commercial banks and 5% for foreign bank branches and cooperative banks); and a maximum loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) of 85%. The notable update is that Circular 08/2026/TT-NHNN revised how «total deposits» are counted for the 85% LDR cap, excluding escrow deposits, deposits for designated purposes, State Treasury demand deposits, and 80% of State Treasury term deposits. This does not create a direct compliance obligation for non-bank businesses, but it changes how much lending room banks have, which can indirectly affect credit availability for SMEs and foreign-invested companies that borrow from Vietnamese banks or foreign bank branches.

The Ministry of Finance has issued Consolidated Document No. 04/VBHN-BTC, merging Circular 98/2020/TT-BTC (effective January 1, 2021) with amending Circular 136/2025/TT-BTC (effective February 12, 2026) into a single reference text on the operation and management of securities investment funds. It applies to member funds, closed funds, open funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), real estate investment funds, and both public and private securities investment companies. Entities directly subject to the rules include fund management companies, supervisory banks, custodian banks, the Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation, stock exchanges, fund representative boards, and fund investors. The text sets out detailed requirements for fund establishment, initial public offering of fund certificates, net asset value (NAV) determination, profit distribution, fund expenses, investment limits, fund consolidation or merger, and dissolution. Circular 136/2025/TT-BTC adds two new fund categories, money market funds and infrastructure bond funds, and updates rules on annual investor congresses and investment restrictions for member funds. This is a specialized securities-industry circular administered by the State Securities Commission; it does not directly concern SME tax, accounting, or invoicing obligations, but it matters for fund management companies, custodian and supervisory banks, and foreign investors participating in Vietnam's investment fund market.

A state-owned enterprise signed a contract with the Ministry of Finance to carry out a science and technology task, with a fixed budget of VND 300 million payable upon completion and no invoice required. The contract was signed and completed in 2025, but the Ministry made payment in early 2026. The company ran into a problem because the new enterprise chart of accounts in Appendix II of Circular No. 99/2025/TT-BTC dated October 27, 2025 (effective from January 1, 2026) removed Account 161 - Non-business expenditure and Account 461 - Non-business funding sources, which had previously been used to record this type of funding. The Department of Accounting and Auditing Management and Supervision (Ministry of Finance) responded that, in substance, this is a sale-of-goods and service-provision transaction between the enterprise and the State, with the State acting as a customer, rather than a traditional budget-allocated non-business funding item. The enterprise should therefore rely on the signed science-technology task order contract and apply the revenue and expense recognition guidance in Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC to record the transaction appropriately, instead of looking for accounts equivalent to the abolished Account 161 and Account 461. This is an important reminder for state-owned enterprises and other entities with science-technology task or public-service order contracts with government agencies: from January 1, 2026, revenue from such contracts must be recorded as sales/service revenue under the new accounting regime, since the previous non-business funding accounts have been discontinued.

The Department of Accounting and Auditing Management and Supervision (Ministry of Finance) clarified that Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC on enterprise accounting standards, effective from 1 January 2026, governs fiscal years starting on or after that date. For enterprises that had been pre-accruing major fixed asset repair costs but had not yet performed the repairs when the Circular came into force: enterprises must stop further pre-accrual. When the actual repair is subsequently carried out, the enterprise offsets actual repair costs against the pre-accrued amount. Any difference between the pre-accrued amount and actual costs is allocated gradually to production and business expenses over future periods. There is no mandatory retrospective restatement of previously accrued amounts. This is important guidance for enterprises with significant fixed assets (factories, heavy equipment) that have been using the pre-accrual method for major repairs.

This is the officially consolidated text (Consolidated Document No. 31/VBHN-VPQH) of Vietnam's Law on Insurance Business No. 08/2022/QH15 (effective January 1, 2023), incorporating amendments from Law No. 139/2025/QH15 (effective January 1, 2026, with several clauses effective July 1, 2026). The law is the framework governing insurance and reinsurance business, insurance brokerage, and foreign insurance branches operating in Vietnam, as well as the rights and obligations of policyholders. The 2025 amendment updates 'cybersecurity' requirements for insurers' IT systems, narrows the scope of compulsory construction insurance, and sets out four categories of compulsory insurance: motor vehicle civil liability, fire and explosion, construction-activity insurance, and other lines mandated by separate laws. For SMEs, the law is mainly relevant through compulsory insurance obligations (construction, fire and explosion, motor vehicles) and policyholder-protection rules that apply in coverage disputes: a 21-day free-look period, ambiguous clauses interpreted in the buyer's favor, and a default 15-day claim-payment deadline.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has issued Consolidated Document No. 19/VBHN-NHNN, merging the original Decision No. 479/2004/QD-NHNN (which established the Chart of Accounts for Credit Institutions) with six rounds of amendments issued over more than two decades, the most recent being Circular No. 70/2025/TT-NHNN, effective from January 1, 2026. This is a technical document that sets out the mandatory account-coding system that credit institutions and foreign bank branches must use for their bookkeeping. The chart of accounts is organized into 9 categories: 8 categories of on-balance-sheet accounts (now called the 'Statement of Financial Position,' renamed from 'Balance Sheet' in 2022) and 1 category of off-balance-sheet accounts (category 9, covering commitments, guarantees, and written-off debts still under monitoring). Each account is coded at Level I (2 digits), Level II (3 digits), and Level III (4 digits); institutions with sufficient IT capability may apply to the SBV to open additional Level IV/V sub-accounts. The document also sets rules for accounting in foreign currency and gold (gold is treated as a foreign currency, measured in 'chi' units of 99.99%-purity gold), along with the exchange rates to use when converting balances into Vietnamese dong. The newest change, from Circular 70/2025/TT-NHNN, adds a fallback principle: for economic transactions not specifically addressed by this Decision or SBV guidance, credit institutions must apply the Accounting Law, Vietnamese Accounting Standards, and general enterprise accounting rules. Because this is an internal accounting standard specific to banks and credit institutions, typical SMEs are not directly affected, but the finance and accounting departments of credit institutions and foreign bank branches should review and update their bookkeeping systems to reflect this consolidated text.

Consolidated Document No. 18/VBHN-NHNN merges Decision No. 1789/2005/QD-NHNN (the Banking Accounting Voucher Regime) with the amendments in Circular No. 70/2025/TT-NHNN, effective from January 1, 2026. It sets detailed rules for preparing, signing, controlling, circulating, printing, safekeeping and archiving banking accounting vouchers (both paper and electronic), applying to the State Bank of Vietnam, credit institutions, foreign bank branches and any organization or individual dealing with a bank. For business owners and accountants, the key points are the mandatory voucher content (name, serial number, date, party details, amounts written in both figures and words, signatures) and the valid-signature requirements. Businesses required by law to have a chief accountant must have the account holder's signature, the chief accountant's (or authorized person's) signature, and the company seal on paper vouchers; electronic signatures must match the specimen registered with the bank. A voucher that has been erased, altered, or that uses a form not registered with the State Bank has no value for payment or bookkeeping and may be rejected by the bank. Circular No. 70/2025/TT-NHNN mainly updates the legal basis for the regime (aligning it with the current Law on the State Bank of Vietnam, Law on Credit Institutions, Accounting Law and Law on Electronic Transactions) and adds rules on electronic signatures and other electronic confirmation methods for signing vouchers. This is a technical, banking-industry operational document - it does not change any tax obligation, but it directly affects the voucher preparation and signing process every time a business deposits, withdraws, transfers funds, or issues a check through a bank.

From 1 January 2026, Circular No. 99/2025/TT-BTC on the enterprise accounting regime took effect, eliminating Account 161 (Non-business Expenditure) and Account 461 (Non-business Fund Source). The Department of Accounting and Auditing Supervision (Ministry of Finance) advises that the transfer of balances depends on the underlying nature of the funds received from the state. Three scenarios apply: (1) if the amounts are collected or disbursed on behalf of the state, transfer to Account 138 (Other receivables) and Account 338 (Other payables); (2) if the amounts are subsidies to reduce production and business costs, record as a reduction of the relevant costs; (3) if the amounts represent a state procurement order (where the state is the customer), record as accounts receivable or advance receipts from customers. Because the question did not clearly describe the nature of the funds, the Department had insufficient basis to provide specific guidance and asked the enterprise to review the nature of each amount before applying the correct accounting treatment.

The Ministry of Finance clarifies that public service units (Group 2 autonomy) retaining admission fee revenue may use the retained amount to cover operational costs for service delivery and fee collection, based on an approved budget plan, covering both recurring and non-recurring expenditure categories as listed in Article 5.2 of Decree 362/2025/ND-CP. Unspent retained fee amounts may be carried forward to subsequent years. If an amount remains unspent after five consecutive years, the unit must remit it to the state budget. Decree 362/2025/ND-CP does not specifically govern allocation to internal funds such as the development fund, income supplement fund, welfare fund, or bonus fund. Budgeting, execution, and settlement of revenues and expenditures must comply with state budget law and the unit's applicable financial autonomy mechanism under Decrees 60/2021/ND-CP and 111/2025/ND-CP.