（Adopted at the Fifth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on December 29， 1993， promulgated by Order No. 17 of the President of the People's Republic of China on December 29， 1993 and effective as of the date of its promulgation.）
时效性：已被修正　 颁布日期：19931229 　实施日期：19850501 　失效日期：20000701 　颁布单位：全国人大常委会

The Fifth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress， having considered the proposal submitted by the State Council on the Draft Amendment to the Accounting Law of the People's Republic of China， decides to amend the Accounting Law of the People's Republic of China as follows：

1. Article 1 is amended as follows：“ This Law is formulated in order to standardize and improve accounting work， to ensure that accounting personnel exercise their functions and powers according to law and to bring into play the role of accounting in safeguarding the order of the socialist market economy， strengthening economic management and increasing economic results.”

2. Article 2 is amended as follows：“ Government agencies， public organizations， enterprises， institutions， self-employed industrial and commercial households and other organizations shall abide by this Law in handling accounting affairs.”

3. The first paragraph of Article 4 is amended as follows： “The heads of units shall direct the accounting offices， accounting personnel and other personnel in implementing this Law and shall ensure the accounting information belegitimate， authentic， accurate and complete， and protect the functions and powers of accounting personnel from being infringed upon. No one is allowed to attack or retaliate against accounting personnel.”

4. The second paragraph of Article 6 is amended as follows： “The departments of finance under the people's governments of the provinces， autonomous regions， and municipalities directly under the Central Government， the competent departments of the State Council and the General Logistics Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army may， on condition that this Law and the uniform accounting system of the State are not contravened， formulate specific measures or supplementary stipulations for the implementation of the uniform accounting system of the State and submit them to the department of finance under the State Council for examination and approval or for the record.”

5. Item （4） of Article 7 is amended as follows：“ increases and decreases of capital and funds， receipts and outlays of appropriations”。

6. The first paragraph of Article 9 is amended as follows： “In accounting practice Renminbi shall be used as the base currency for bookkeeping.”

The second paragraph is amended as follows：“ The units whose receipts and expenditures in transactions are calculated chiefly in foreign currency may select certain foreign currency as the base currency for bookkeeping， but the prepared accounting statements shall be reflected in Renminbi converted from the foreign currency”。

7. The first paragraph of Article 10 is amended as follows： “Accounting documents， account books， accounting statements and other accounting information shall conform to the provisions of the uniform accounting system of the State， and no accounting documents and account books may be counterfeited or concocted， and no false accounting statements may be submitted.”

A paragraph is added to this Article as the second paragraph： “With respect to the accounting practice conducted with computers， the requirements for the software used and for the accounting documents， account books， accounting statements and other accounting information produced therefrom shall conform to the provisions of the department of finance under the State Council.”

8. The first paragraph of Article 14 is amended as follows： “Each unit shall prepare its accounting statements on the basis of the accounting records and in accordance with the provisions of the uniform accounting system of the State and shall submit such accounting statements to the department of finance and other relevant departments.”

9. The first paragraph of Article 19 is amended as follows： “An accounting office and accounting personnel shall not handle any unlawful receipts and disbursements.”

The second paragraph is amended as follows： “An accounting office and accounting personnel shall put a stop to or correct receipts and disbursements which they believe to be unlawful； if they fail in their effort， they shall make a written report to the head of the unit requesting action. The head of the unit shall make a decision in writing on the matter within 10 days from the date of receiving the written report and shall be responsible for the decision.”

Two paragraphs are added as the third and forth paragraph： “An accounting office and accounting personnel who neither put a stop to or correct unlawful receipts and disbursements nor submit a written report to the head of the unit shall also be held responsible.”

“An accounting office and accounting personnel shall make a report on the receipts and disbursements which gravely violate the law and harm the interests of the State and the public to the competent unit or department of finance， auditing and taxation. The unit or department receiving the report shall be responsible for its settlement.”

10. The first paragraph of Article 20 is amended as follows： “All units must， in accordance with the law and relevant provisions of the State， accept supervision by departments of finance， auditing and taxation and must truthfully provide them with accounting documents， account books， accounting statements， other accounting information and relevant data. They may not conceal， falsify or refuse to provide such material and information.”

The second paragraph of Article 20 is deleted.

11. The first paragraph of Article 21 is amended as follows： “According to the needs of its accounting work， each unit shall set up an accounting office or staff a relevant office with accounting personnel and designate an accountant in charge. Where conditions do not permit， the unit may entrust its bookkeeping to an accounting consultancy and service agency established with approval. Large and medium-sized enterprises， institutions and competent departments may have accountants-general. The position of an accountant-general shall be assumed by a person with the professional and technical title of accountant or above.”

12. Article 23 is amended as follows： “Accounting personnel shall possess necessary professional knowledge. The appointment or removal of the persons in charge of accounting offices and the accountants in charge in State-owned enterprises and institutions shall be approved by the competent units and the said persons and accountants may not be arbitrarily transferred or replaced. If an accountant who is loyal to his duty and adheres to principles is wrongly treated， the competent unit shall instruct the unit in which he works to correct the mistake； if an accountant proves himself unsuitable for accounting work because of dereliction of duty and abandonment of principle， the competent unit shall instruct the unit in which he works to replace or remove him.”

13. Article 26 is amended as follows：“ Where heads of units， accounting personnel and other personnel are found to have counterfeited， concocted or deliberately destroyed accounting documents， account books， accounting statements and other accounting information or used such false accounting documents， account books， accounting statements and other accounting information to evade tax and harm the State and public interests， the departments of finance， auditing and taxation and other relevant competent departments shall， within their functions and duties prescribed by the law and administrative rules and regulations， be responsible for handling the matter and investigating the responsibility of the said persons. If it constitutes a crime， criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the law.”

14. Article 27 is amended as follows： “Where accounting personnel have accepted inauthentic and illegitimate original vouchers or have not submitted a written report on illegitimate receipts and disbursements to the head of the unit or have not reported the receipts and outlays， which are gravely in violation of the law and harmful to the State and public interests， to the competent units or departments of finance， auditing and taxation， administrative sanctions shall betaken against such accounting personnel if the circumstances are serious； in case such an act causes grave losses to the public or private property and therefore constitutes a crime， criminal responsibility shall be investigated in accordance with the law.”

15. Article 28 is amended as follows： “Where the head of a unit who， after receiving a written report from accounting personnel pursuant to the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 19 of this Law， has made a decision on the illegitimate receipts and disbursements or has failed to make a decision on the matter within the stipulated period of time without any justifiable reason， he shall be given administrative sanctions if serious consequences are thus caused. If such an act has caused grave losses to the public or private property and therefore constitutes a crime， criminal liability shall be investigated in accordance with the law”。

16. Article 30 is deleted.

In addition， appropriate adjustments and revisions shall be made to the wording of some of the clauses.

This Decision shall go into effect as of the date of its promulgation.

The Accounting Law of the People's Republic of China shall be republished after correspondingly amendments are made according to this Decision.

Accounting Law of the People's Republic of China

（Adopted at the Ninth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on January 21， 1985 and revised in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Accounting Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the Fifth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress on December 29， 1993）

Contents

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Accounting Practice

Chapter III Accounting Supervision

Chapter IV Accounting Offices and Accounting Personnel

Chapter V Legal Liability

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is formulated in order to standardize and improve accounting work， to ensure that accounting personnel exercise their functions and powers according to law and to bring into play the role of accounting in safeguarding the order of the socialist market economy， strengthening economic management and raising economic results.

Article 2 Government agencies， public organizations， enterprises， institutions， self-employed industrial and commercial households and other organizations shall abide by this Law in handling accounting affairs.

Article 3 Accounting offices and accounting personnel must abide by laws and regulations， and handle accounting affairs， conduct accounting computation and control and exercise accounting supervision in accordance with the stipulations of this Law.

Article 4 The heads of units shall direct their accounting offices， accounting personnel and other personnel in implementing this Law and shall ensure the accounting information be legitimate， authentic， accurate and complete， and protect the functions and powers of accounting personnel from being infringed upon. No one is allowed to attack or retaliate against accounting personnel.

Moral encouragement and material awards shall be given to the accounting personnel who have made out standing achievements in conscientiously implementing this Law and who are devoted to their duty.

Article 5 The department of finance under the State Council shall administer the accounting work throughout the country.

The departments of finance under the local people's governments at various levels shall administer the accounting work of their respective areas.

Article 6 A uniform accounting system of the state shall be formulated by the department of finance under the State Council in accordance with this Law.

The departments of finance under the people's governments of the provinces， autonomous regions， and municipalities directly under the Central Government， the competent departments of the State Council and the General Logistics Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army may， on condition that this Law and the uniform accounting system of the state are not contravened， formulate specific measures or supplemental stipulations for the implementation of the uniform accounting system of the State and submit them to the department of finance under the State Council for examination and approval or for the record.

Chapter II Accounting Practice

Article 7 Accounting procedures shall be undertaken and accounting conducted with respect to the following transactions：

（1） receipts and disbursements of cash holdings and a liable securities；

（2） receipts， issuances， additions， reductions and use of money and articles of property；

（3） creation and settlement of debts and claims；

（4） increases and decreases of capital and funds， receipts and outlays of appropriations；

（5） computation of revenue， expenses and costs；

（6） computation and treatment of financial results； and

（7） other transactions that are subject to accounting procedures and to accounting.

Article 8 The fiscal year shall start on January 1 and end on December 31 on the Gregorian calendar.

Article 9 In accounting practice Renminbi shall be used as the base currency for bookkeeping.

The units whose receipts and expenditures in transactions are calculated chiefly in foreign currency may select certain foreign currency as the base currency for bookkeeping， but the prepared accounting statements shall be reflected in Renminbi converted from the foreign currency.

Article 10 Accounting documents， account books， accounting statements and other accounting information shall conform to the provisions of the uniform accounting system of the State， and no accounting documents and account books may be counterfeited or concocted， and no false accounting statements may be submitted.

With respect to the accounting practice conducted with computers， the requirements for the software used and for the accounting documents， account books， accounting statements and other accounting information produced therefrom shall conform to the provisions of the department of finance under the State Council.

Article 11 In handling the transactions specified in Article 7 of this Law， original documents must be drawn up or obtained， and then promptly filed with the accounting office.

Accounting offices must examine the original documents and prepare accounting vouchers based on the original documents examined.

Article 12 Each unit shall set up its accounting items and account books in accordance with the provisions of the accounting system.

Accounting offices shall keep their books on the basis of the examined original documents and accounting vouchers in accordance with the book keeping rules stipulated by the accounting system.

Article 13 Each unit shall set up a property inventory system and ensure that the accounting records conform to the physical assets and cash holdings.

Article 14 Each unit shall prepare its accounting statements on the basis of the accounting records and in accordance with the provisions of the uniform accounting system of the state and shall submit such accounting statements to the department of finance and other relevant departments.

Accounting statements shall be signed or sealed by the unit's administrative head， the person in charge of the counting office and the accountant in charge. If the unit has an accountant-general， he shall also sign or seal the accounting statements.

Article 15 Archives shall be established for accounting documents， account books， accounting statements and other account in information in accordance with the relevant state provisions， and shall be properly retained. The period of retention of the archives and the procedures for their destruction shall be stipulated jointly by the department of finance under the State Council and the relevant departments.

Chapter III Accounting Supervision

Article 16 The accounting office and accounting personnel of a unit shall exercise accounting supervision over the unit.

Article 17 Accounting offices and accounting personnel shall not accept any original documents that are inauthentic or illegitimate. Original documents which are inaccurately and incompletely recorded shall be returned for correction or supplementation.

Article 18 When an accounting office and accounting personnel find that the accounting records do not conform to the physical assets and cash holdings， they shall deal with the issue in accordance with relevant stipulations. If they have no authority to handle the case by themselves， they shall report immediately to the administrative head of their unit requesting an investigation and a settlement of the issue.

Article 19 An accounting office and accounting personnel shall not handle any unlawful receipts or disbursements. An accounting office and accounting personnel shall put a stop to or correct receipts and disbursements which they believe to be unlawful； if they fail in their effort， they shall make a written report to the head of the unit requesting action. The head of the unit shall make a decision within 10 days from the date of receiving the written report and shall be responsible for the decision.

An accounting office and accounting personnel who neither put a stop to or correct unlawful receipts and disbursements nor submit a written report to the head of the unit shall also be held responsible.

An accounting office and accounting personnel shall make a report on the receipts and disbursements which gravely violate the law and harm the interests of the State and the public to the competent unit or department of finance， auditing and taxation. The unit or department receiving the report shall be responsible for its settlement.

Article 20 All units must， in accordance with the law and relevant provisions of the State， accept supervision by departments of finance， auditing and taxation and must truthfully provide them with accounting documents， account books， accounting statements， other accounting information and relevant data. They may not conceal， falsify or refuse to provide such material and information.

Chapter IV Accounting Offices and Accounting Personnel

Article 21 According to the needs of its accounting work， each unit shall set up an accounting office or staff a relevant office with accounting personnel and designate an accountant in charge. Where conditions do not permit， the unit may entrust its bookkeeping to an accounting consultancy and service agency established with approval. Large and medium-sized enterprises， institutions and competent departments may have accountants-general. The position of an accountant-general shall be assumed by a person with the technical title of accountant or above.

Accounting offices shall establish an internal auditing system. A cashier shall not be concurrently in charge of auditing， taking custody of accounting archives or keeping the revenue， expense or claims and liability accounts.

Article 22 The main functions of accounting offices and accounting personnel shall be：

（1） to conduct accounting practice pursuant to the provisions of Chapter II of this Law；

（2） to exercise accounting supervision pursuant to the provisions of Chapter III of this Law；

（3） to formulate specific procedures for handling accounting affairs in their respective units；

（4） to participate in the formulation of economic and business plans， and examine and analyse the results of the execution of budget and financial plans； and

（5） to handle other accounting affairs.

Article 23 Accounting personnel shall possess necessary professional knowledge. The appointment and removal of the persons in charge of accounting offices and the accountants in charge in State-owned enterprises or institutions shall be approved by the competent units and the said persons and accountants may not be arbitrarily transferred or replaced. If an accountant who is loyal to his duty and adheres to principles is wrongly treated， the competent unit shall instruct the unit in which he works to correct the mistake； if an accountant proves himself unsuitable for accounting work because of dereliction of duty and abandonment of principle， the competent unit shall instruct the unit in which he works to replace or remove him.

Article 24 Accounting personnel who are being transferred to other work or leaving their posts must finalize the handing-over procedure with the persons who are taking over.

The person in charge of the accounting office and the accountant in charge shall supervise handing-over procedures for ordinary accountants. The administrative head of a unit shall supervise handing-over procedures between the person in charge of the accounting office and the accountant in charge； when necessary， the superior administrative unit may send people to participate in the supervision of the hand-over.

Chapter V Legal Liability

Article 25 Administrative sanctions shall be taken against administrative heads of those units and accounting personnel who have seriously violated the provisions for accounting practice specified in Chapter II of this Law.

Article 26 Where heads of units， accounting personnel and other personnel are found to have counterfeited， concocted or deliberately destroyed accounting documents， account books， accounting statements and other accounting information or used such false accounting documents， account books， accounting statements and other accounting information to evade tax and harm the State and public interests， the departments of finance， auditing and taxation and other relevant competent departments shall， within their functions and duties prescribed by the law and administrative rules and regulations， be responsible for handling the matter and investigating the responsibility of the said persons. If it constitutes a crime， criminal liability shall be investigated in accordance with the law.

Article 27 Where accounting personnel have accepted inauthentic and illegitimate original vouchers or have not submitted a written report on illegitimate receipts and disbursements to the head of the unit or have not reported the receipts and outlays， which are gravely in violation of the law and harmful to the State and public interests， to the competent units or departments of finance， auditing and taxation， administrative sanctions shall be taken against such accounting personnel if the circumstances are serious； in case such an act causes grave losses to the public or private property and therefore constitutes a crime， criminal liability shall be investigated in accordance with the law.

Article 28 Where the head of a unit who， after receiving a written report from accounting personnel pursuant to the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 19 of this Law， has made a decision on the illegal mate receipts and disbursements or has failed to make a decision on the matter within the stipulated period of time without any justifiable reason， he shall be given administrative sanctions if serious consequences are thus caused. If such an act causes grave losses to the public or private property and therefore constitutes a crime， criminal liability shall be investigated in accordance with the law.

Article 29 Administrative sanctions shall be taken against administrative heads of units and other personnel who attack or retaliate against the accounting personnel who perform their duties pursuant to this Law.

Criminal liability shall be investigated if the circumstances are serious.

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Article 30 This Law shall come into force on May 1， 1985.