Circulars 133 and 200, which should be choosen?

Circulars 133 and 200, which should be chosen?

Circulars 133 and 200 guide the enterprise accounting regime issued by the Ministry of Finance. Which circular should you choose to apply to your business? Let's find out with INNO!

Main content

What are Circulars 133 and 200?
What's the difference between Circular 133 and Circular 200?
How to register circulars with tax authorities?
Can the accounting regime change during the operation?

What are Circulars 133 and 200?

Circular 133 (TT133/2016/TT-BCT) and Circular 200 (TT200/2014/TT-BTC) are circulars guiding and regulating the corporate accounting regime issued by the Ministry of Finance.

According to the Ministry of Finance regulations, companies can apply Circular 133 or Circular 200 to use the accounting system for their business. However, companies need to consider carefully choosing the applicable circular following the business’s types and size.

What’s the difference between Circular 133 and Circular 200?

Although Circulars 133 and 200 are both circulars regulating the accounting regime, they have many differences. Here, INNO only lists the most general differences, so you can easily choose the one for your business. Let the accounting team handle more specialized accounting issues.

Refer to INNO Accounting services if you need a team to handle your business’s accounting-related matters!

Differences between Circular 133 and Circular 200:

Characteristic	Circular 133	Circular 200
Use for	Only applicable to small and medium businesses	Applicable to all businesses from small to large in all fields and industries.
Interim financial reporting system	No specified. I.e. only year-end financial statements (once a year).	The system of interim financial statements includes quarterly financial statements (3 months) and semi-annual reports (6 months). => This feature is suitable for large companies that need to provide quarterly, 6-monthly financial statements to related parties or companies listed on the stock exchange that must submit quarterly and semi-annual reports according to the regulations.
System of accounting accounts	Few detailed accounts (but still ensure the classification of arising transactions), saving time.	There are detailed accounts, suitable for businesses with many transactions, need to classify types of transactions (revenue, expenses, assets….) in detail. It takes longer to process transactions and prepare financial statements.

From the above differences, INNO suggests:

Companies with small and medium size, few transactions arising, operating in trade and service industries => should choose Circular 133.
Companies with a large size or with many arising transactions, many transactions that need to be classified in detail, manufacturing companies or listed companies, and foreign-invested companies that must periodically audit financial statements according to regulations. => should choose circular 200.

How to register circulars with tax authorities?

Newly established companies, within 30 days, submit the Initial Tax Declaration to the Tax Office that is directly managing, in the dossier set will include the statement of registration of the accounting regime.

Note: Some Tax Offices currently no longer accept records or some records in the Initial Tax Declaration; you should contact the Tax Office or INNO for the most accurate information to avoid document over/under submission.

Refer to INNO Initial Tax Declaration services!

Can the accounting regime change during the operation?

According to regulations, companies can change the accounting regime during operation. But the change must do from the beginning of the new financial year, and companies must notify the Tax Office by a written document.