General Requirements for Imports

Law on Food Safety 55/2010/QH12: This Law provides organizations with responsibilities to ensure food safety and conditions related to food trade and safety assurance for imported food. It also provides guidance on the inspection of imported fresh and frozen fishery products and sampling to be carried out at the border.

You can find the Law at the following link: https://vanbanphapluat.co/law-no-55-2010-qh12-of-june-17-2010-on-food-safety

Decree 38/2012/ND-CP: This Decree details implementation for a number of the articles outlined in the Law on Food Safety, including state inspection for the food safety of imported food, monitoring plans, samples of products imported for the first time and business registration certificate for food importers.

Please find the Decree at the following link: https://vanbanphapluat.co/decree-no-38-2012-nd-cp-detailing-the-implementation-of-the-law-on-food-safety

Circular 218/2015/TT-BTCC: Provides guidance about imported food inspection advice as well as the treatment, destruction, or re-exportation of non-compliant food.

You can find the Circular at the following link: https://vanbanphapluat.co/circular-218-2015-tt-btc-policies-tax-administration-traders-purchase-sell-goods-border-gate-markets

Additives, contaminants, antimicrobials and residues

Circular 24/2013/TT-BYT: Provides guidance about veterinary medicine residue in food, which are permitted to be added to food sold domestically in Viet Nam, their standards and their maximum levels.

You can find the Circular at the following link: https://vanbanphapluat.co/circular-no-24-2013-tt-byt-maximum-limits-on-residues-of-veterinary-medicines-in-food

Circular 24/2019/TT-BYT: Provides guidance about additives and contaminants in foodstuffs which are permitted to be added to food, their standards and their maximum levels.

You can find the Circular at the following link, available only in Vietnamese: https://vanbanphapluat.co/circular-24-2019-tt-byt-guiding-the-management-and-use-of-food-additives

Circular 50/2016/TT-BYT: Provides guidance about pesticide in foodstuffs, which are permitted to be added to food sold in Viet Nam, their standards and their maximum levels.

You can find the Circular at the following link: https://vanbanphapluat.co/circular-50-2016-tt-byt-regulations-on-maximum-residue-levels-of-pesticide-in-food

Microbiological and Organic Criteria

Circular 29/2010/TT-BNNPTNT: Provides guidance about the microbiological maximum limits in foodstuffs of aquatic animal origin.

You can find the Circular at the following link: https://vanbanphapluat.co/circular-no-29-2010-tt-bnnptnt-promulgating-the-lists-of-food-safety-criteria

Traceability

Decree 115/2018/ND-CP: Provides guidance on the recall procedures of imported products that are subject to mandatory inspection at border and it provides guidance on penalties for Administrative violations against regulations on food safety.

You can find the Circular at the following link, available only in Vietnamese: https://vanbanphapluat.co/decree-115-2018-nd-cp-penalties-for-administrative-violations-against-regulations-on-food-safety

Law on Customs 54/2014/QH13: Covers the “one step back and one step forward” elements of traceability for foodstuffs of animal origin.

You can find the Law at the following link: https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/vn/vn081en.pdf

Law on Fisheries: Aims at combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, thereby promoting the sustainability of global fisheries.

You can find the Law at the following link: https://www.ecolex.org/details/legislation/law-on-fisheries-182017qh14-lex-faoc171855/

Labelling and Packaging

Decree 38/2012/ND-CP: Provides guidance about the necessary requirements for packaging.

You can find the following Decree at the following link: http://www.salute.gov.it/imgs/C_17_pagineAree_1155_listaFile_itemName_16_file.pdf

Decree 43/2017/ND-CP: Provides guidance about the necessary requirements and standards for labelling.

How do you find the last consolidated version of the regulations?

In order to find the latest consolidated version of the regulations, visit the following link and enter the name of the regulation: https://thuvienphapluat.vn/en/index.aspx

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