News Details

Vietnam — 17 January 2026. Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has issued Notice No. 363/BCT-HC (17 January 2026) and confirmed that the key implementing instruments under Chemicals Law No. 69/2025/QH15 were issued and took effect from 17 January 2026: Decrees 24/2026/ND-CP, 25/2026/ND-CP, 26/2026/ND-CP and MOIT Circulars 01/2026/TT-BCT and 02/2026/TT-BCT. MOIT also signals that, until online systems are fully operational, authorities should receive and process dossiers in paper form to avoid disruption—especially for chemical import/export licensing.

What Changes for Companies

1) List-based scoping is now formalized
Decree 24 sets the core “list architecture” via annexes covering: basic chemicals, chemicals subject to conditional manufacture/trade, specially controlled chemicals, and chemicals requiring a chemical incident prevention/response plan. It also introduces an annual review mechanism for updating the lists.

2) Imports: NSW declarations are a key operational trigger 
Decree 26 establishes a pre-clearance import declaration requirement via the National Single Window (NSW) for chemicals under HS Chapters 28–29, with typical dossier components including commercial invoice (and Vietnamese translation where relevant) and SDS. The NSW feedback is intended to support customs clearance workflows.

3) Products: hazardous-chemical information disclosure is reinforced
For products and goods containing hazardous chemicals, the framework strengthens expectations around information declaration in the sector database before market placement and public disclosure/label communication, with Circular 01 providing procedural detail and templates, including an SDS content structure.

4) Safety and security controls are more procedural 
Decree 25 and Circular 02 put clearer structure around operational governance, including periodic chemical safety training (every 2 years), chemical incident prevention/response plans (with defined appraisal steps and timelines), and consultant certification mechanics (with standardized forms and documentation expectations, including record retention for drills).

Outlook for Industry

For importers, manufacturers, and downstream distributors, the immediate priority is execution readiness: screen substances against the new lists, validate NSW declaration readiness (including Vietnamese SDS/invoice translation controls), and ensure EHS documentation (training, incident plans, drills) aligns with the new templates and processes. In the near term, companies should also be prepared for interim paper-based filings while digital systems stabilize.