Knowledge base

This is a consolidated document issued by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on 23 January 2026, merging Circular No. 22/2014/TT-NHNN with three subsequent amendments (Circulars 21/2015, 12/2018, and 85/2025) into a single reference text. It guides commercial banks on lending under Decree No. 67/2014/ND-CP on fisheries development policy, specifically loans to build or upgrade offshore fishing vessels and offshore fishing-logistics vessels, plus working-capital loans for offshore fishing operations. The document sets loan conditions (newly built vessels must have a main engine capacity of 400CV or more; vessel owners must be on a list approved by the provincial People's Committee), loan limits and interest rates (partially subsidized by the State Budget per Ministry of Finance guidance), loan terms, collateral (the vessel itself), debt classification and risk-handling rules for force-majeure situations, and a mechanism for transferring a loan from an old vessel owner unable to complete the project to an approved new owner. The most recent amendment (Circular 85/2025/TT-NHNN, effective 31 December 2025) only updates the names of the internal SBV units responsible for implementation (the Credit Department for Economic Sectors, Monetary Policy Department, SBV Inspection, Banking Supervision Agency, and regional SBV branches) following an organizational restructuring, without changing the underlying lending policy. This is a narrow, sector-specific credit program for fishing vessel owners and the commercial banks financing them, not a general tax, accounting, e-invoice, customs, or labor rule applicable to typical SMEs.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has issued Consolidated Document No. 39/VBHN-NHNN, merging Circular No. 01/2016/TT-NHNN (effective 22 February 2016), which guides lending policy for supporting industry development, with the amendments introduced by Circular No. 85/2025/TT-NHNN (effective 31 December 2025). This is a technical consolidation for ease of reference and does not create new legal obligations. The core policy is unchanged: credit institutions and foreign bank branches lending to projects that produce supporting-industry products on the priority list (under Decree 111/2015/ND-CP) must apply short-term VND interest rates that do not exceed the ceiling set periodically by the SBV Governor. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) borrowing with a guarantee from an eligible credit guarantee organization (such as the SME Credit Guarantee Fund or the Vietnam Development Bank) may also be considered for loans of up to 70 percent of the project's investment capital. The changes introduced by Circular 85/2025/TT-NHNN are mainly organizational: they update the legal basis to reference the SBV Law, the 2024 Law on Credit Institutions (No. 32/2024/QH15, as amended by Law No. 96/2025/QH15) and Decree 26/2025/ND-CP, and rename the receiving unit for reports from the 'Banking Supervision Agency' to the 'Department of Credit Institution Supervision' following an SBV restructuring. SMEs and enterprises investing in supporting-industry projects should update the address for their quarterly reports (Forms 01 and 02, due before the 10th of the month following each reporting quarter) and reference the updated legal basis when preparing loan or credit guarantee applications.

The Department of Accounting and Auditing Management and Supervision (Ministry of Finance) confirmed that industrial zone infrastructure enterprises subleasing state-leased land (where the state lease uses a lump-sum payment model) must determine the nature of their sublease contract — as asset rental (VAS 06) or service provision (VAS 14) — based on the contract terms, land law provisions, and actual circumstances. Revenue must be **allocated over the lease period** for operating leases rather than recognized in full upon receipt of payment. This is important revenue accounting guidance for industrial zone enterprises, affecting financial statement presentation and CIT declarations based on revenue actually earned each period.

The Department of Accounting and Auditing Management (Cuc QLKT) of the Ministry of Finance clarifies how to determine whether a company with an independently accounting branch qualifies as a "large-scale other enterprise" subject to mandatory financial statement audit under Decree 90/2025/ND-CP (meeting at least two of three thresholds: average social insurance-enrolled employees, total annual revenue, total assets). The Department rules that the thresholds must be assessed using consolidated or combined financial statement figures, not each entity's stand-alone figures. Since the parent accounting unit is required by Article 29 of the Accounting Law to prepare combined or consolidated financial statements incorporating the branch, the relevant figures are those from the combined/consolidated financial statements of the most recent preceding year (2024).

The Ministry of Finance clarifies how public service units (category 3, with 10-30% self-financing) should handle the accounting transition for fixed assets purchased from service revenue before 31 December 2024, as they move from Circular 107/2017/TT-BTC to Circular 24/2024/TT-BTC. Under Circular 107/2017, the residual value of fixed assets was tracked on separate accounts by funding source (accounts 3661, 3662, 3663, 43142, 421, etc.). The unit must identify which account currently carries the residual value of fixed assets purchased from service revenue as of 31 December 2024. The absence of a balance on Account 366 does not mean the source is missing - the unit must trace which accounting account reflects that residual value, then transfer the corresponding source balance to Account 421 and continue accounting under Circular 24/2024/TT-BTC from fiscal year 2025.

The National Assembly Office has published Consolidated Document No. 90/VBHN-VPQH of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations (Law No. 15/2012/QH13), merging all nine rounds of amendments since 2014, most recently Law No. 88/2025/QH15 (effective July 1, 2025) and upcoming changes taking effect July 1, 2026 under the new Cybersecurity Law and Anti-Drug Law. This is a reference consolidation, not new legislation, but it is the foundational legal basis for every administrative penalty decision a business may face. Key points for SME owners and accountants: fines imposed on organizations are always double the fine imposed on individuals for the same violation. Maximum fine caps are set by sector - for example, accounting, invoices, fees and charges, and national reserves top out at VND 50 million; customs and tax procedures top out at VND 100 million; while tax, independent audit, securities, competition, and personal data protection violations follow their own specialized laws rather than this general cap. The statute of limitations for imposing penalties is generally 1 year, extended to 2 years for violations involving accounting, invoices, fees and charges, securities, and intellectual property, while tax and independent-audit violations follow the limitation periods set in tax administration and independent audit law. The law also sets out five forms of penalty (warning, fine, suspension of licenses/operations, confiscation of exhibits or instrumentalities, and deportation), lists of mitigating and aggravating circumstances, cases where no penalty applies (force majeure, legitimate self-defense, etc.), and prohibited conduct by enforcement officials (harassment, soliciting money, covering up violations). Businesses should keep this consolidated text on hand when dealing with tax, customs, or sector inspectors, since it determines fine levels, limitation periods, and the right to appeal.

A company going through dissolution asked the Ministry of Finance (MOF) how far forward it should accrue savings deposit interest when preparing financial statements, given that Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC requires a financial statement once a business is no longer a going concern. MOF's Department of Accounting and Auditing Supervision Management clarified that financial statements must be prepared at the legal 'point of dissolution' under the Law on Enterprises, not at the date the company simply issues its dissolution decision - a distinction many businesses get wrong. For the accrued interest itself, the company should apply the accounting principles for Account 128 (Held-to-Maturity Investments) under Circular 99/2025/TT-BTC together with the specific terms of its deposit contract, recognizing interest consistent with the correctly determined dissolution point rather than any of the three dates it had proposed.

The Ministry of Finance's Department of Accounting and Auditing Management and Supervision issued an official response to a reader's question about accounting treatment between a provincial Local Development Investment Fund (LDIF) and a local Housing Fund, in cases where the LDIF is assigned to manage the Housing Fund under Decree No. 302/2025/ND-CP dated November 19, 2025. According to the guidance, when an LDIF receives entrusted management of the operations and capital of a local Housing Fund, it must separately account for the entrusted capital and any assets formed from that capital, keeping them distinct from the LDIF's own operating capital and assets, per Clause 3, Article 32 and Article 38 of Decree No. 147/2020/ND-CP. Accounting for the entrusted activity follows Circular No. 90/2021/TT-BTC, which allows the fund to open additional detail-level sub-accounts to meet its own management needs. The Ministry also noted that other matters raised - such as final settlement of revenue and expenses, distribution of income-expense differentials, and annual financial planning for the Housing Fund - fall outside the authority of the Department of Accounting and Auditing Management and Supervision and will be forwarded to the relevant unit for a separate response. This guidance applies mainly to off-budget state financial funds at the provincial level and does not directly affect the accounting or tax obligations of private enterprises or household businesses.

The Government is submitting to the National Assembly a draft Law amending and supplementing several articles of the Securities Law, expected to be considered for passage at the 2nd Session of the 16th National Assembly term. This is an early-stage draft, and the detailed content of the proposed amendments has not yet been published. Because the Securities Law governs securities issuance and trading, public companies, and capital markets, any amendment could affect listed companies, public companies, investors, and financial intermediaries. Business owners and accountants should monitor this draft's progress to prepare for potential changes to disclosure obligations, issuance conditions, or public company governance requirements. Since the specific text of the proposed amendments is not yet publicly available, RegHub will update this article once the detailed draft or the official enacted law is released.

The Government is submitting to the National Assembly a draft law amending and supplementing several provisions of three key financial and banking laws: the State Bank of Vietnam Law No. 46/2010/QH12, the Anti-Money Laundering Law No. 14/2022/QH15, and the Law on Credit Institutions No. 32/2024/QH15. The draft is expected to be reviewed and passed at the First Extraordinary Session of the 16th National Assembly. At this stage, only the draft title and procedural metadata (submitting authority, expected passage session) are publicly available; the detailed text of the proposed amendments has not yet been released. Because it touches three foundational laws governing the banking system and anti-money laundering framework, the amendments could affect credit institutions, commercial banks, finance companies, and businesses that transact through the banking system, particularly around anti-money laundering compliance requirements (KYC, suspicious transaction reporting). Businesses, especially credit institutions, fintech companies, and foreign-invested enterprises operating in the financial sector, should monitor this draft closely as it progresses. RegHub will provide a full update once detailed provisions or the final enacted text become available.

Vietnam's Ministry of Finance is leading the drafting of a law that would amend and supplement provisions of both the Accounting Law and the Law on Independent Audit. The draft will be reviewed by the National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee before being submitted to the 16th National Assembly term. At this stage, the only public information available is the title of the draft law and the responsible agencies; no detailed article-by-article content has been released yet.

The Ministry of Finance guidance states that when a company dismantles components of a tangible fixed asset (TFA) and replaces them with new equipment that increases capacity or extends useful life, the carrying cost of the removed component must be **deducted from the TFA's original cost**, while the cost of the new component is **added to the original cost** and depreciated going forward. This applies even when the removed parts do not individually qualify as stand-alone fixed assets. The deduction is recorded at the time the component is physically removed. The deduction value is estimated using TFA records or market data and must be disclosed in the financial statements. Companies bear sole responsibility for determining whether the activity constitutes routine maintenance (expensed) or a capital upgrade increasing economic benefit (capitalized), as only upgrades justify adjusting the TFA's original cost.