The Law on State Audit was firstly issued in 2015 and amended in 2019, in which, Article 8 provides for prohibited acts in the field of state audit. Normally, the Government will issue the Decree guiding the acts, levels of penalties, forms of sanction, order, procedures, and competence to sanction administrative violations based on the law. However, due to the peculiarities of the legal status of the State Audit[1], On February 28, 2023, the National Assembly Standing Committee issued Ordinance No. 04/2023/UBTVQH15 ("Ordinance 04") on sanctioning administrative violations in the field of state audit.
Regarding the level of monetary administrative penalties, it just like for the field of accounting and independent auditing, the maximum level in the field of state audit is 50 million VND for individuals and 100 million VND for organizations.
Regarding the remedies, Ordinance 04 provides 2 forms:
- Forcibly rectifying information, documents and data with false, inaccurate or dishonest contents;
- Forcibly surrendering illegal profits (if any) due to administrative violations in the field of state audit.
Regarding the competence to sanction administrative violations:
- The head of the audit team decides on the sanction of up to 30 million VND for individuals and 60 million VND for organizations;
- The Chief Auditor (the head of the specialized State Audit or the regional State Audit) decides on the sanction of up to the maximum framework.
- The Chief Auditor has the authority to make decisions to enforce the sanction decision.
Ordinance 04 takes effect on May 1, 2023.
[1] Article 118 of the 2013 Constitution stipulates: The State Audit "is an agency established by the National Assembly", "operates independently", "is responsible for and reports to the National Assembly and the National Assembly Standing Committee during the time when the National Assembly is not in session."
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