What should company do when losing a company seal?

Losing a company seal causes risks to businesses and can affect legal documents. Timely notification to competent agencies and organizations is essential. Enterprises need to announce the new seal model and carry out re-registration procedures. This process includes many related tasks to ensure legality. The following content will provide detailed instructions on the steps.

Legal regulations on seals in corporate activities

According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 43 of the Law on Enterprises 2020, enterprise seals include:

• The seal is made at a seal engraving facility (also known as a physical seal).
• Seal in the form of digital signature according to the provisions of law on electronic transactions.

In particular, according to the provisions of Decree 130/2018/ND-CP, a digital signature is a form of electronic signature created by transforming a data message using an asymmetric cryptographic system, according to That way, the person who has the original data message and the signer’s public key can accurately determine:

• The above transformation is created using the exact secret key corresponding to the public key in the same key pair.
• The integrity of the content of the data message since the above transformation was made.

Types of physical seals commonly used by businesses include:

• Round seal: Used for official company documents.
• Title seal: Used for management positions such as Director, Chief Accountant.
• Hybrid stamp: Used to confirm the integrity of multi-page documents.
• Miniature stamp: Used for small documents or when stamp space is limited.

How to handle loss of company seal

Previously, when the Law on Enterprises 2014 was still in effect, when losing its seal, businesses were obliged to notify the seal sample to the business registration agency for public posting on the National Business Registration Portal. However, the current Law on Enterprises 2020 has abolished this regulation and gives businesses the right to decide on the type of seal, quantity, form and content of the seal specified in Clause 2, Article 43 of the Law on Enterprises 2020 when losing a company seal.

The management and storage of seals is also carried out in accordance with the provisions of the company charter or regulations issued by the enterprise, branch, representative office or other unit of the enterprise with the seal as prescribed in Clause 3 Article 43 of the Law on Enterprises 2020. Therefore, when losing a company seal, an enterprise can remake the seal, replace it with a new seal or cancel the seal according to the enterprise’s regulations and charter.

However, businesses need to be aware that losing a company seal can leave legal risks, opening up the risk of the seal being used by bad guys to carry out illegal transactions, affecting the rights and interests of customers. company reputation. Besides, losing a company seal will also disrupt business operations due to the inability to authenticate documents and paperwork in a timely manner.

Therefore, businesses need to take quick actions to issue notices of cancellation/replacement/announcement of seals to internal departments of the business, as well as partners and related parties in order to minimize future legal risks.

Steps to update information after having a new company seal

After having a new seal, businesses need to take a series of steps to update information. This process ensures business continuity and legal compliance. Updating information promptly will help businesses avoid legal risks and interruptions in business transactions.

Update internal information for businesses

First and foremost, businesses need to update information and documents within the business. This helps ensure businesses can resume business operations as usual as quickly as possible:

• Change the stamp pattern on all forms and internal documents of the enterprise.
• Update information about the new seal in the Regulations on management and use of the company’s seal.
• Train employees on how to use the new seal according to regulations.

Notify banks and partners

Enterprises need to notify the bank about the loss of the seal. This will ensure the business’s account is safe and future transactions are carried out smoothly:

• Send a written notification with the new seal sample to all banks where the business opens accounts.
• Update new signature and stamp samples in bank records.
• Ask the bank to confirm the seal update.

Notifying business partners is equally important. This will ensure transactions between businesses and partners take place safely and smoothly, avoiding future risks:

• Send official notice about the seal change to partners and customers.
• Provide a new stamp sample so that partners can authenticate in subsequent transactions.
• Explain clearly when to start using the new seal and the legality of newly stamped documents.
• Review current contracts and agreements to ensure continuity.
• Notify relevant parties in these contracts about the change of seal.
• If necessary, sign a contract addendum confirming the seal change to avoid future disputes.

Risk management consulting services in businesses

During its operation, businesses may not avoid risks and legal disputes. Losing a company seal is one of the risks that can affect businesses. If there is no appropriate solution, it can leave extremely serious consequences, greatly affecting the business operations of the enterprise.

With the purpose of supporting businesses in eliminating these problems, Long Phan provides management consulting services suitable to the characteristics of businesses. Specifically:

• Conduct a survey and analyze the business’s operating environment to identify factors that may cause risks
• Assess the severity and likelihood of each risk
• Develop plans to prevent and minimize the impact of each unwanted risk
• Support businesses in implementing and adjusting management strategies
• Monitor and evaluate the implementation of risk management strategies and propose adjustments to suit each time and the actual situation of the business.

Seals play a certain role in business operations, proving the legality of records. Long Phan provides consulting and support services for your business when encountering risky situations when losing a company seal as above. If you need to use our services, please contact Long Phan via Hotline 0906.735.386 to receive comprehensive solution advice.