Within the system of reporting obligations applicable to enterprises, the obligations to conduct statistical surveys and to submit financial statements are often overlooked. However, given their important role in serving the management purposes of the State authorities, any failure to submit, late submission, or incomplete submission of such reports may result in legal consequences for enterprises.
In this week’s article of our Weekly Debrief series on reporting obligations applicable to enterprises, we focus on reviewing and systematizing the obligations to conduct statistical surveys that enterprises are commonly required to perform, as well as the obligation to submit financial statements that all enterprises must comply with on a periodic basis. In doing so, we clarify the form of submission, reporting cycles, main contents to be noted, and the potential consequences arising from non-compliance, with a view to assisting enterprises in proactively managing compliance risks in practice.
| Obligation Name | Form of submission, Receiving Authority and Deadline | Reporting cycle | Main contents | Potential consequences for non-compliance |
| Enterprise Survey | Provision of information via the electronic survey questionnaire (Webform). Accounts and access instructions for the Webform will be provided to the surveyed entities by the local Sub-department of Statistics.
Each year, the Ministry of Finance (formerly the Ministry of Planning and Investment) issues an Enterprise Survey Plan or an Economic Census Plan, which provides specific guidance on the scope, subjects, survey contents, and data collection period, among others.
For reference, pursuant to Decision No. 3100/QD-BTC dated 4 September 2025, in 2026, enterprises will be required to participate in the Economic Census to provide information for the period from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. The data collection period will be from 1 April 2026 to 31 August 2026 for Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and until 30 June 2026 or 31 May 2026 for other provinces and cities. Enterprises are recommended to directly contact the local Sub-department of Statistics for guidance on account issuance, access to the Webform, and proper completion of the Webform in a full and accurate manner.
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Annually, on 1 April (except for years in which the Economic Census is conducted). | Contents:
✓ Identification information of the surveyed entity; ✓ Information on employees and employees’ income; ✓ Information on capital sources, assets, revenue and profits of the surveyed entity; ✓ Information on energy; ✓ Information on production and business activities of the surveyed entity, including production and business results, products, and production and business costs; ✓ Statistical information on investment capital, construction, and national accounts; ✓ Statistical information on industrial sectors; ✓ Statistical information on trade and services, information technology, and science and technology; and ✓ Thematic information subject to assessment, depending on actual requirements. Legal basis: Item No. 23, Section II, Decision No. 03/2023/QD-TTg dated 15 February 2023. |
Late submission: depending on the length of delay, administrative fines may range from VND 600,000 (delays of less than 5 days) to VND 14 million (delays of 10 days or more);
Failure to conduct the survey: fines ranging from VND 14 million to VND 20 million; Incomplete submission of information: fines ranging from VND 600,000 to VND 2 million; Untruthful declaration, or misrepresentation: fines ranging from VND 6 million to VND 20 million.[1] |
| Economic Census | Once every five years, on 5 January and 1 April (conducted in years ending with “1” and “6”). | Contents:
✓ Identification information of the surveyed entity; ✓ Information on employees and employees’ income; ✓ Information on assets of the surveyed entity; ✓ Information on production and business activities of the surveyed entity, including production and business results, products, and production and business costs; ✓ Information on energy and application of information technology; ✓ Thematic information subject to assessment, depending on actual requirements; ✓ Number of employees, capital sources, assets, net revenue, employees’ income, and profit before tax; ✓ Statistical information on investment capital, construction, and national accounts; ✓ Statistical information on industry and energy; ✓ Statistical information on trade and services, information technology, and science and technology; and ✓ Costs of transportation and insurance for imported goods. Legal basis: Item No. 03, Section II, Decision No. 03/2023/QD-TTg dated 15 February 2023. |
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| Submission of Financial Statements (FS) | Submission in person, by post, or by other methods as required by the receiving authority, no later than 90 days from the end of the annual accounting period.
In the absence of specific guidance from the receiving authority regarding the individual/department/system responsible for receiving FS, enterprises are recommended to submit FS by post to retain evidence that the FS have been sent to the competent authority. |
Annually. | Contents Submission of annual FS (audited, if subject to statutory audit requirements, e.g. foreign-invested enterprises) to:
✓ the Department of Finance (only applicable to foreign direct investment enterprises); ✓ the directly managing tax authority; ✓ the statistical authority; and ✓ the management board of export processing zones, industrial zones, or high-tech zones, if so required (only applicable to enterprises headquartered in such zones).
Legal basis: Article 29.3 of the Law on Accounting; Articles 109.2 and 110 of Circular No. 200/2014/TT-BTC dated 22 December 2014.
Circular No. 99/2025/TT-BTC dated 27 October 2025 replaces Circular No. 200/2014/TT-BTC and becomes effective as of 1 January 2026, applicable to financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2026. Pursuant to Articles 25 and 26 of Circular No. 99/2025/TT-BTC, from the financial year 2026 onwards, the deadline for submission of FS remains unchanged; however, the submission of FS to competent authorities must be carried out in accordance with relevant laws. |
Late submission: depending on the length of delay, fines may range from VND 5 million (delays of less than three months) to VND 20 million (delays of three months or more);
Failure to submit: fines ranging from VND 40 million to VND 50 million; False information in FS: fines ranging from VND 20 million to VND 30 million.[2] |
For a comprehensive and systematic overview of periodic reporting obligations applicable to FOCs, readers may refer to earlier issues of this series:
- Reports related to investment projects: Link.
- Reports related to business activities and foreign loans: Link.
- Reports on Labor and Occupational Safety and Health: Link.
Overall, the obligations to conduct statistical surveys and to submit financial statements are not merely formal requirements, but an integral part of an enterprise’s legal compliance framework. Proper identification of the scope of obligations, adherence to reporting cycles, and control over data consistency form the basis for minimizing potential legal risks during business operations.
As we conclude our Weekly Debrief series on mandatory periodic reporting obligations applicable to enterprises, we hope that this series has provided a concise and systematic overview of key reporting obligations that enterprises should take into account. In the context of increasingly standardized compliance requirements, proactively establishing an effective mechanism for monitoring and managing reporting obligations will continue to be a critical factor for enterprises in their ongoing operations.
[1] Articles 4 and 5 of Decree No. 95/2016/ND-CP dated 1 July 2016.
[2] Articles 6 and 12 of Decree No. 41/2018/ND-CP dated 12 March 2018.
