Sangha Council Orders Temple Donations Go Into Official Bank Accounts

On October 9, 2026, at the Detchaprak Hall of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara, the 23rd/2026 meeting of the Sangha Supreme Council was held. After the meeting, Associate Professor Chatchai Chaiyaporn, Acting Director of the Sangha Secretariat Office, announced that the Council had approved measures to tighten the management of temple finances and assets to comply with its resolutions, laws, and related ministerial regulations. Although the Ministerial Regulation on the Maintenance and Management of Temple Property of 2021 and the Council’s own resolutions were already clear, many temples continue to deposit Kathin, Phaphak, donation, and other income into personal or corporate accounts, or keep them outside the temple’s accounting system, creating risks of embezzlement and illegal activity. To emphasize compliance, the Council resolved that all temples must place every type of income into the temple’s official financial and accounting system, correctly and clearly, to prevent loss and misuse. Consequently, the Council issued a directive for all temples to strictly follow the 2021 Ministerial Regulation on Temple Property Management and the Council’s guidelines on opening bank accounts, withdrawing funds, and preparing standard income‑expenditure reports and balance sheets. This is not a new rule but a reinforcement of existing procedures.

For temples already using the electronic donation system (e-Donation), they should continue to use it so donors receive tax deductions as allowed by law. All temple income—including Kathin, Phaphak, donations, merit‑making contributions, and any other revenue belonging to the temple—must be deposited into a bank account held in the temple’s name or clearly identified as the temple’s account. No temple income may be placed in personal accounts, or in accounts under individuals, foundations, juristic persons, or agencies that are not the temple’s.

The Acting Director added that temple money must remain within the temple’s financial and accounting system, including income from Kathin, Phaphak, donations, and merit‑making, and must be recorded completely as temple revenue and retained as part of the temple’s balance according to the Council’s criteria, enabling accurate tracing of receipts, payments, and remaining balances. Reports of the temple’s cash balance must show cash, checks, and all bank deposits belonging to the temple, and the bank passbooks, account books, financial documents, and evidence, as well as inventories and documents related to temple property, must be kept at the temple in a suitable, secure, and verifiable location. Furthermore, no temple money, accounts, financial documents, or property may be placed under the custody or control of any person, juristic entity, or agency without legal backing or a Council resolution.

Associate Professor Chatchai also noted that the Council has assigned the National Office of Buddhism to send a letter to the Ministry of Interior requesting cooperation to remind provincial governors, district officials, local‑government executives, local administrators, and related officials not to advise abbots or suggest methods that differ from the Council’s resolution.