Vietnam: Applying the reduction or exemption of inspection of quality of group-2 commodities

According to Decree No. 154/2018/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, reduction or exemption of inspection of quality of group-2 commodities shall be applied, subject to the following provisions:

- The imported goods have the same name, usage, brand, type, technical specifications, are made by a manufacturer, are of the same origin, and are imported by the same importer, and, after 03 consecutive imports, gain the results of conformity with the national technical regulations based on which the inspecting agency has issued a written document confirming the exemption from the regulatory quality inspection within a period of 02 years.

Moreover, according to Decree No. 154/2018/NĐ-CP, an application for the exemption from the regulatory quality inspection includes:

- The application form for the exemption from the regulatory quality inspection, specifying such information as commodity name, brand, type, technical specifications, origin, manufacturer, quantity and volume of imported goods as registered, and unit of measurement.

- Copied results of assessment of conformity with national technical regulation carried out in 03 consecutive imports.

The importer applying for reduction or exemption from the regulatory quality inspection shall prepare and submit 01 set of application to the inspecting agency. To be specific:

- With respect to direct submission of the application, if the required documents referred to in Point b of this Clause are not yet authenticated, original shall be needed for comparison;

- With respect to submission of the application by post, the importer needs to include authenticated copies or certified true copies (signature and stamp is required) of the documents stipulated in Point b of this Clause.

Within 03 days of receipt of the application, if the application documentation is incomplete or invalid as per law, the inspecting agency informs the importer in writing to submit a complete application;

Within 05 days from the receipt of the valid application, the inspecting agency shall issue a written document confirming the exemption from the regulatory quality inspection, including the following information: commodity name, brand, type, technical specifications, origin, manufacturer, quantity and volume of imported goods as registered, and unit of measurement.

Notably, in case of refusal to confirm the exemption from the regulatory quality inspection, the inspecting agency must notify the reasons in writing to the importer.

During duration of such exemption or reduction:

- Every 03 months, the importer must report on the import status enclosed with the results of assessment of conformity with national technical regulations and applied standards to the inspecting agency for its supervision and conduct of post-inspection activities.

- The inspecting agency has the right to conduct a surprise inspection of shipments when finding out or receiving complaints upon the quality of the imported goods (if necessary).

During the reduction or exemption period, if the imported goods sold on the market are found not conformable with the national technical regulations or applied standards or if the complaints or denunciations upon results of the assessment of conformity are verified as true or when the importer fail to pass the surprise inspection of conformity, the inspecting agency shall send out a notification of suspension of the exemption.

Annually, the inspecting agency conducts the inspection at the storage facility of the importer. The Ministry of Science and Technology promulgates procedures and contents of the inspection of quality of products and goods during the production process.

View details at Decree No. 154/2018/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, effective from November 09, 2018.

-Thao Uyen-

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