How will violations against regulations on confidentiality be penalized?

Securing customer information is the principle of any enterprise providing auditing services. Violation against regulations on confidentiality will cause the enterprise to be penalized pursuant to Article 47, Decree 41/2018/ND-CP:

1. A fine ranging from VND 5.000.000 to VND 10.000.000 shall be imposed for revealing information relevant to audit documents, clients and audited units, except when it is permitted by the client and audited unit, or regulated by law.

2. A fine ranging from VND 10.000.000 to VND 20.000.000 on auditing firms for failure to create and operate an internal control system for ensuring the confidentiality obligations are fulfilled.

3. A fine ranging from VND 30.000.000 to VND 40.000.000 shall be imposed for using information relevant to audit documents, clients and audited units to infringe the interests of the State, public interests, rights and lawful interests of agencies, organizations and individuals.

4. Additional penalties:

a) The audit practitioner committing the violation mentioned in Clause 3 of this Article shall have his/her certificate of audit practice registration suspended for 3-6 months from the day the decision on penalty imposition comes into effect;
The auditing firm committing the violation mentioned in Clause 3 of this Article shall have its certificate of eligibility to provide audit services suspended for 6-12 months from the day the decision on penalty imposition comes into effect.

5. Remedial Measure:

Return illegal profits earned by violations mentioned in Clauses 1 and 3 of this Article.

As an established company in the field of tax and legal consulting, Vinasc hopes to adequately inform our customers to help them mitigate the risk during operation in Vietnam. Should there be any further concern, please contact Vinasc’s Customer Care department for timely support.