Laws of Vietnam

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To issue together with this Decision the "Regulation on the opening and use of accounts at the State Treasury."

Article.2- This Decision takes effect from July 1, 1997, replacing Decision No. 80-TC/QDKBNN of March 6, 1990 of the Minister of Finance issuing the "provisional Regulation on the opening and use of deposit accounts for draft budget allocations, accounts for allocated expense limits and other accounts at the State Treasury."

Article 3.- The Director of the Ministry of Finance’s Office, the Heads of the units attached to the Ministry of Finance, the General Director of the State Treasury, the Directors of the State Treasuries of the provinces, cities, urban and rural districts and provincial towns shall have to implement this Decision.

The Minister of Finance

REGULATION ON THE OPENING AND USE OF ACCOUNTS AT THE STATE TREASURY
(issued together with Decision No. 430-TC/QD/KBNN of June 17, 1997 of the Minister of Finance)

A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

The subjects that may open accounts at the State Treasury include:

1. All units that use State budget allocations;

2. Other units and individuals that open accounts at the State Treasury under the regulations of a competent agency(agencies) or by decision of the General Director of the State Treasury.

Depending on the management requirements and the mode of budget allocation, the subjects may open accounts at the State Treasury in the following forms:

1. Account for expense limit

This account may be opened by those units which receive funding from the State budget in the mode of expense limits, which include:

1.1 Limit for current expenses

1.2 Limit for capital construction investment expenses

1.3 Limit for authorized expenses

2. Account for deposits of budget drafting units

This account may be opened in the following cases:

2.1 The units receive State budget allocations through "spending orders" to transfer money into their accounts at the State Treasury.

2.2 The units of the people’s armed forces (security and defense).

2.3 The boards of management of capital construction projects funded by the State budget

3. Account for other deposits

This account may be opened by units for the following contents:

3.1 Other deposits (not State budget allocations) of non-business units that have revenues, of units of the people’s armed forces.

3.2 Deposits of other units and individuals according to the regulations of a competent level or by decision of the General Director of the State Treasury.

1. A unit may open an account at the State Treasury of the locality where it has its head office according to the regulations of the Director of the State Treasury of the province or city directly under the Central Government. If it needs to open an account in another locality, a written approval of the higher-level State Treasury is required.

2. Units and individuals shall not be permitted to open deposit accounts for foreign currency(ies) unless there is a decision of the competent agency.

The account holder is the owner or the representative of lawful ownership of the money deposited at the State Treasury (expense limits or deposits). The account holder shall be responsible for observing the regulation on the opening and use of accounts at the State Treasury and the State regime on financial and monetary management; submit to the inspection and control of the financial agency and the State Treasury; be entitled to request the State Treasury where the account is opened to conduct valid and lawful economic transactions. The account holder may authorize another person to sign on his/her behalf transaction papers with the Treasury in accordance with the authorization legislation and procedures.

1. The State Treasury has the responsibilities:

- To guide customers in observing the regulation on the opening and use of accounts at the State Treasury;

- To provide services for customers according to current financial management regimes and principles;

- To supervise and control the observance of the financial and monetary management regimes and the regulation on the opening and use of accounts at the State Treasury;

- To keep confidential economic information on deposit accounts of customers as stipulated.

2. The State Treasury has the powers:

- To refuse to collect or pay if the payment procedures and accounting documents are not valid or if it discovers the account holder’s violation of the financial management regime, the regulation on the opening and use of accounts or laws;

- To block or make on its own deductions from the accounts of account holders as prescribed by law;

- To supply economic information on account operations to the functional agency or competent agency as stipulated by the Government.

B. SPECIFIC REGULATIONS

1. For units:

To open an account, a unit shall have to send to the State Treasury where the account is to be opened the following papers:

- The account opening request

- The registration of the specimen seal and signature(s)

- The decisions on the appointment of the account holder and chief accountant

- Papers ascertaining the lawfulness of the establishment of the unit, except for a number of special cases stated in Article 5 below.

2. For individuals

To open an account, a State official or employee shall have to send to the State Treasury the following papers:

- The State employee’s card or a letter of introduction of the employing agency

- The account opening request

- The registration of the specimen signature(s).

3. The account opening request

The account opening request must be signed by the account holder and affixed with the agency’s seal (the agency’s seal is not required for State officials and employees).

The account holder must be the head of the unit or the person who is authorized to be account holder.

For each account, a unit or an individual shall have to make the account opening request in three copies, and this request shall have to be remade when the name or the operating characteristics of the unit, or the account ownership right of the individual is changed.

4. The registration of the specimen seal and signature

The account opening unit or individual shall have to make a registration of the specimen seal and signature according to the printed form stipulated by the State Treasury. The signature shall not be stamped or photocopied.

a/ For units:

- The account opening unit shall have to register with the State Treasure where it opens an account the signature of the account holder (the first signature) and the signature of the person authorized to sign for the account holder, the signature of the chief accountant or the person in charge of accounting and financial matters (the second signature) and the person authorized to sign for the chief accountant or the person in charge of accounting and financial matters. For units of the people’s armed forces without chief accountants, the signature registration is not required.

- The registration of the specimen seal and signature must clearly indicate the full name(s) and title(s) of the signer(s). For units of the people’s armed forces, it is not necessary to indicate the signer’s title.

- The person who registers his/her signature shall have to sign two specimen signatures on the registration of the specimen seal and signature in the designated frame.

- Each unit shall be entitled to register only a maximum of 4 people for the first signature (the account holder and 3 authorized people); 3 people for the second signature (the chief accountant and 2 authorized people)

b/ For individuals: Each individual shall have to sign 3 specimen signatures on the registration of the specimen signatures.

The unit that opens an account for transactions with the State Treasury shall have to affix clearly its registered specimen seal which has already been registered with the police office. For units of the people’s armed forces, the specimen seal must be registered with the secrecy protection agency of the services (defense or security). For each account, the account opening unit shall have to make three copies of the registration of the specimen seal and signature and send them to the State Treasury where the account is opened.

When the person who signs the first signature or second signature or the specimen seal is changed, the account opening unit shall have to remake the registration of the specimen seal and signature to replace the former one that has been registered with the State Treasury.

The registration of the specimen seal and signature already registered with the State Treasury shall be valid from the date of registration to the time the opening account unit registers another specimen seal and signature to replace the former ones or closes the transaction account at the State Treasury.

5. The paper ascertaining the establishment of the unit and the decision on the appointment of the account holder

The account opening unit shall have to send to the State Treasury where it is to open an account a copy of the Decree or Decision on its establishment signed by the competent level (the latest effective document); a copy of the decision on the appointment of the account holder (a copy of the decision on the appointment of the head of the unit or the person authorized to be the account holder) certified by the immediate higher level agency or a State notary office.

For State agencies (the Office of the Government, the Office of the National Assembly, the Office of the State President), the offices of the Communist Party of Vietnam, mass organizations... the paper ascertaining the lawfulness of their establishment is not required.

For the ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies attached to the Government, the Communist Party of Vietnam’s committees of various levels, central mass organizations, provincial and district People’s Committees... a copy of the decision on the appointment of the head of the unit or on the appointment of the person authorized to be account holder is not required.

For a unit of the people’s armed forces, only the letter of its superior unit to introduce the account holder is required.

1. At the State Treasury offices, when a customer submits papers for opening a transaction account, the chief accountant (or the person in charge of accounting) shall have to personally receive and deal with it. After examining the procedural validity and lawfulness, he/she shall record the serial number of the customer’s account (for expense limit or deposits according to the set regime) and the starting date of such account on the account opening request and the registration of the specimen seal and signature of the customer, sign his/her name on the account opening request and submit all the dossier to the Director of the State Treasury for signing of approval.

2. The account opening dossier already signed and approved by the Director of the State Treasury shall be dealt with as follows:

- Be recorded in the book of registration of account openings.

- The chief accountant of the Treasury shall personally file and preserve one copy of the account opening request, one copy of the specimen seal and signature registration and the papers ascertaining the establishment of the unit and the appointment of the account holder (filed according to the cardinal order of the account serial numbers).

- To hand over one copy of the account opening request, one copy of the specimen seal and signature registration to the accountant directly in charge of the unit or individual for filing them into the transaction accounting dossier.

- To return to the account holder one copy of the account opening request and one copy of the specimen seal and signature registration.

1. Accounts of expense limit:

The budget drafting units and investors that are recipients of budget allocations in the form of expense limits shall use this account under the control of the State Treasury office according to the current expenditure control regime and regulation on the allocation and settlement of the investment capital in capital construction.

2. Deposit accounts:

2.1. Units and individuals may use their deposit accounts only for transactions within the scope of their operation and in consistence with the account contents already registered with the State Treasury. It is strictly forbidden to lend or lease accounts. Units and individuals may use money in deposit accounts only within the available amount of the CREDIT balance still deposited at the State Treasury and shall have to observe the regime on non-cash payment, the cash management regime and the financial regulations of the State.

2.2. Any expenditures paid from the deposit account of a unit or individual must be based on valid and lawful documents approving such expenditures of the account holder. When a unit breaches payment disciplines or upon the decision of a competent agency to force the unit to make a payment, the State Treasury shall be entitled and obliged to deduct money from the unit’s account to effect such payment.

2.3. When a unit or individual delays in making compulsory payments to the State budget, the State Treasury, basing itself on the request of a competent agency, shall be entitled to deduct on its own money from the deposit account of such unit or individual to make payments to the State budget. If such account has no balance or insufficient balance for such payments, the State Treasury shall record in a separate monitoring book the deficit; if the account has a sufficient balance, the State Treasury shall be entitled to continue deducting money therefrom to pay to the State budget and calculate a fine on the delayed payment according to the current non-cash payment regulation. Such fine shall be remitted to the State budget according to the level of the used budget.

2.4. When discovering a customer using the deposited money at variance with the registered account contents and the list of State budget or violating the payment and cash management procedures. ., the State Treasury shall be entitled to refuse payments, return the payment documents to customers for remaking them. In case of violation of the financial regime, the Treasury shall be entitled to retain the payment documents and notify the competent levels thereof for examination and handling.

2.5. Daily, the transacting units shall have to go to the State Treasury office where they open accounts to receive documents and detail books, compare the transaction data with those of the State Treasury. For units which are far away from the State Treasury office, if they have written requests, the State Treasury may mail documents and detail book to them and the mailing fee shall be paid by the customers to the State Treasury.

2.6. Every month, the transacting units shall have to send to the State Treasury a written confirmation (in two copies) of the account balance affixed with the unit’s seal and signed by the account holder. The State Treasury shall have to check it for the unit (the chief accountant shall sign for certification and affix a seal "TREASURY ACCOUNTANT", or ‘STATE TREASURY" for the State Treasury of a district or provincial town), return one copy to the unit and file one copy in the accounting dossier of the State Treasury.

2.7. When discovering any data error in the detail book of the account of a customer, the State Treasury shall immediately inform the customer thereof for adjusting it. On the contrary, if a customer discovers any error in his/her account, he/she shall also have to inform the State Treasury thereof for adjusting it, ensuring the parity between data of the two sides.

3. When making accounting documents and payment documents, units and individuals shall have to comply fully and correctly with the regulation on the making of State Treasury accounting documents issued by the Ministry of Finance.

1. Blocking

An account shall be blocked in the following cases:

1.1. At the written request of a competent agency.

1.2. The account holder violates payment disciplines (issuing checks in excess of the account balance, hiring out or lending accounts).

1.3. The account holder who is an individual dies without any authorized person or heir. Even when there is an authorized person, the account may still be blocked if it is so requested by a competent agency.

The blocking of an account shall cease upon decision of a competent agency.

2. Liquidation

An account shall be liquidated in the following cases:

2.1. The unit’s legal transaction name no longer exists because of merger, dissolution or renaming. For accounts of budget drafting units, they are opened elsewhere.

2.2. The account holder has a written request to liquidate his/her account.

2.3. Cases of account liquidation which arise after there is the result of the handling of a blocked account.

2.4. The account does not operate for three consecutive months and the State Treasury notifies the account holder thereof. Within 30 days after the date of notification, if the account holder has no opinion, the balance of the account shall be handled as follows:

- For an account originating from the State budget, it shall be remitted to the State budget.

- For an account of an enterprise or individual, it shall be transferred by the State Treasury into a temporary account pending the handling decision of a competent agency.

When blocking or liquidating an account, the concerned unit and the State Treasury shall have to compare the data and confirm the account balance as of the date of data comparison, make a record thereon affixed with the seals and signatures of the two sides, each side shall keep one copy of the record.

The handling and transfer of the balance of an account to another place shall be effected at the specific request of the concerned unit or a competent agency.

1. Interests on deposits

All deposit accounts of budget drafting units and investors that are recipients of State budget allocations shall bear no interest

The deposit accounts which shall bear interests at a rate of non-time deposits paid by the State Bank to the State Treasury include: deposits which are Vietnam social insurance, medical insurance funds, the National Investment Support Fund, deposits of enterprises (if any) and of individuals.

2. Payment charges and account management service charges

The State Treasury shall not collect payment charges and service charges for non-interest accounts.

Accounts with interests shall be subject to payment charges and service charges similar to those collected by the State Bank from the State Treasury

The Minister of Finance