Accounting books are the enterprise’s legal memory: every figure on the financial statements and tax returns must be traceable back to books and vouchers. That is why, in the accounting penalty system, book-related conduct — above all not opening books at all — is fined on its own graduated scale in Article 9 of Decree 41/2018/ND-CP, and it is also the “mother” error dragging a chain of consequences when the tax authority or auditors cannot verify the enterprise’s figures.
Not opening accounting books: Clause 3, Article 9 of Decree 41/2018/ND-CP — VND 5–10 million
Under Article 9 of Decree 41/2018/ND-CP on bookkeeping violations, failing to open accounting books at the start of the accounting period or from the date the entity is established falls under Point a, Clause 3 of that article, fined at VND 5–10 million for individuals (organisations pay double). This must be kept clearly separate from Clause 4 (VND 20–30 million) — the heaviest group in Article 9, reserved for two evidence-destroying acts: destroying accounting books before the retention deadline or deliberately damaging them, and keeping the entity’s assets, funding sources or liabilities off the books. Not opening books is a serious violation because it severs the basis for verifying figures, but its place on the scale is Clause 3 — not the VND 20–30 million group. And this fine addresses only the accounting violation; if the absence of books makes tax obligations indeterminable, the enterprise simultaneously faces separate tax handling — tax imposition (no books to examine) and declaration fines under Decree 125/2020/ND-CP. The two sanction layers run in parallel and do not replace each other.
The full Article 9 scale: from formal errors to intentional acts
Article 9 of Decree 41/2018/ND-CP ranks bookkeeping violations in four ascending tiers. Clause 1 — VND 1–2 million: formal defects of the books: missing entity or book names, missing signatures of the preparer or chief accountant or the entity’s seal, unnumbered pages or missing seal-overlap stamping, writing with non-compliant instruments, loose-leaf books not bound, and books missing some prescribed main content. Clause 2 — VND 3–5 million: books not recording the full prescribed main content; corrections not made by the prescribed method; and failing to print paper books after closing books on electronic media as required. Clause 3 — VND 5–10 million: not opening books at period start/from establishment; recording transactions without supporting accounting vouchers or with figures that do not match the vouchers; recording books non-consecutively or non-continuously in chronological order; and failing to close books at period end or at the end of the retention period. Clause 4 — VND 20–30 million: destroying books before the deadline or deliberately damaging them; keeping assets or liabilities off the books. For FDI enterprises using a group ERP (topic FDI-LC-2054), the two rungs of this scale most often tripped over are not printing paper books after the electronic close (Clause 2) and not closing the books (Clause 3) — still bookkeeping violations under Vietnamese law even if system data is complete.
After being fined, must the books still be opened? And gaps from late accounting services
Yes — the fine does not replace the bookkeeping duty. The penalty decision carries remediation: compelled opening and full preparation of accounting books for the relevant periods, restored from original vouchers; non-remediation continues liability and aggravates any re-inspection. A common real-world case for newly established FDI enterprises: operations are running but the accounting service contract was signed late, leaving the first months unbooked. The correct handling: (1) engage a qualified accounting service provider under the Accounting Law (or hire qualified accountants/chief accountant — the FDI-LC-2012 to 2016 cluster) as early as possible; (2) restore books for the gap period from original vouchers (invoices, bank statements, contracts, receipts/payments) — the shorter the gap and the more complete the vouchers, the more feasible the restoration; (3) self-review and proactively remediate before the authorities discover it, earning mitigating circumstances (topic FDI-LC-2062). Final legal responsibility still rests with the enterprise — late engagement or a deficient provider does not shift liability away from the taxpayer.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the fine for not opening accounting books?
Under Point a, Clause 3, Article 9 of Decree 41/2018/ND-CP, not opening accounting books is fined at VND 5–10 million for individuals (double for organisations). The VND 20–30 million level in Clause 4 applies only to destroying or deliberately damaging accounting books and to keeping assets and liabilities off the books. Missing books may additionally lead to tax imposition and declaration fines under Decree 125/2020/ND-CP.
What are the fines for improper bookkeeping?
On the four-tier scale of Article 9 of Decree 41/2018/ND-CP: formal book defects (missing names, signatures, page numbers, seals) VND 1–2 million; books not recording the full main content, corrections by the wrong method, or not printing paper books after the electronic close VND 3–5 million; not opening books, entries not matching vouchers, or not closing books VND 5–10 million; destroying or damaging books, or keeping assets and liabilities off the books, VND 20–30 million.
After being fined, must supplementary books still be opened?
Yes — remediation compels opening and fully preparing the accounting books for the relevant periods from original vouchers. Paying the fine does not erase the bookkeeping duty; non-remediation continues liability.
How are book gaps from late-engaged accounting services handled?
Engage a qualified service immediately (or qualified staff), restore the gap period’s books from original vouchers (invoices, statements, contracts), and self-remediate before discovery for mitigation. Liability ultimately remains with the enterprise.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council