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On June 16th, 2022, a decision approving Vietnam’s chemical industry development strategy was signed by deputy prime minister Le Van Thanh.  Under the strategies, new policies, tasks, and measur...

On June 16th, 2022, a decision approving Vietnam’s chemical industry development strategy was signed by deputy prime minister Le Van Thanh. 

Under the strategies, new policies, tasks, and measurements are established to implement new goals and evaluate industry’s performance. By 2030, domestic chemical industry will achieve sustainable growth and circular economy goals in an eco-friendly and sustainable manner. 

The chemical industry will be divided into 10 sub-categories, and each sub-category has a different product to be focused on research and development.

• Basic chemicals:  sodium, acid sulfuric, caustic soda flake, yellow phosphorus, thermal acid phosphoric and its derivatives, high economic valued phosphorus products, ammoniac products, nitrate salts, basic organic chemical products, solvents, ammonium nitrate, explosive precursors (dual-use chemicals), etc. 

• Petrochemistry: ammonia, methanol, ethylene, propylene, benzene, xylene, toluene, petrochemical/gasification (from natural gases) products, resin in primary forms, glues, synthetic rubber raw materials such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), purified terephthalic acid (PTA), mono ethylene glycol (MEG), urea-formaldehyde (UF), melamine formaldehyde (MF), polyamide 6, etc. and other certain chemicals, additives and semi-finished products, etc.  

• Technical rubber: driving belts, felts, washers, conveyor belts and technical rubber accessories. 

• Pharmaceutical: antibiotic products; raw materials producing important medicines; extracts from herbal materials and semi-synthetics products from natural compounds. 

• Fertilizers: nitrogenous fertilizer, ammonium sulfate, sodium fertilizers, calcium ammonium nitrate 

• Pesticides: eco-friendly carbamate-based, active ingredients, azole ingredients and their derivatives, pyrethroid and validamycin ingredients pesticides. 

• Paint and Printing inks: resin slabs, filler powder and solvents such as acrylic, epoxy, and polyurethane, and specialized types of filler powder such as kaolin, calcium carbonate, silicon dioxide and high-performance paints such as UV/EB, nano, water-based, etc. 

• Detergent: new detergents and cosmetics that are from natural ingredients and eco-friendly. 

• Industrial gases: high-valued rare gases (Xenon, Krypton), specialty gases (high-purified gases, semiconductor gases, standard and mixed gases); producing hydrogen from renewable energy sources. 

• Electrochemical products: High-grade specialized batteries and cells such as sealed batteries, solid fuel cells, nickel–metal hydride batteries or Li-ion batteries, new-generation batteries used in advanced electronic equipment. 

Consultation on the proposed amendments to the Vietnamese rules on their restricted chemical licences, labelling, management logbooks, and annual reporting deadlines is currently ongoing until June 26...

Consultation on the proposed amendments to the Vietnamese rules on their restricted chemical licences, labelling, management logbooks, and annual reporting deadlines is currently ongoing until June 26, 2022. The approved changes would accordingly be applied to the existing chemicals law in Vietnam, Decree 113/2017/ND-CP.

The Draft Circular published on April 28, 2022, by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) mainly proposes revision on several of the requirements stated in Circular No. 32/2017/TT-BCT Providing Guidelines for Implementation of the Law on Chemicals and the Decree No 113/2017/ND-CP.A key change seen in the proposals is that for hazardous chemicals called out in the chemicals law, companies concerned are obliged to prepare Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) before chemicals use and/or circulation in the market. To fulfill this requirement means to have information prepared according to Appendix 9 in the instructions.

It also proposes an amendment to the submission deadline for industrial annual reports which is to be altered from January 15 to February 15 for those activities relevant to chemicals. This includes where the dangerous chemical ingredients with a maximum concentration of 0.1% for mixtures would also have to be listed. Noteworthily, this does not apply to exempted chemicals in Annex II (i.e. the list of restricted chemicals) of the chemical law. Another highlight of the draft is the stipulation of the expiry date for the issuance or renewal of manufacturing or trade licences for restricted chemicals, which would be modified as “5 years from the issue date”. For the case of re-issued licences, the original expiry date will apply.

At the same time, guidance on management logbook preparations for manufacture, trade, and use of industrial precursors is brought up. Requests for chemical labelling to comply with effective regulations for goods as well as warning signs for dangerous chemicals transportation to comply with rules are also seen in the draft. The current progress of the Draft Circular could serve as a reminder to either the manufacturers or the importers of restricted chemicals that, upon the approval of the draft, compliance with the latest amendments would be crucially necessary.

On July 9, 2021, the General Department of Chemicals of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) of Vietnam published a draft decree to amend Decree No. 113/2017/ND-CP regarding the Law on Chemic...

On July 9, 2021, the General Department of Chemicals of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) of Vietnam published a draft decree to amend Decree No. 113/2017/ND-CP regarding the Law on Chemicals.

This amendment includes the addition of regulated chemicals under POPs convention, the designation of chemicals requiring special controls upon import, the establishment of concentration cut-off value for regulated chemicals, and supplements on exemption.

 The amendment includes the following:

·         Addition of ‘banned chemicals’, that is, 12 substances that are regulated by the Chemical Weapons Convention will be added to the Annex III list of banned chemicals

·         Addition of ‘restricted chemicals’, these are six substances regulated by the Stockholm Convention which will be added to the list of restricted chemicals of Annex IV in this new amendment. The six substances include Hexabromocyclododecane, Chlordecone, Pentachlorobenzene (PeCB), Polychlorinated naphthalene (PCN) Decabromodiphenyl ether (DBDE), Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and its salts.

·        Upon import, Nitrous oxide, cyanide, mercury, and mercury compounds will be newly designated as chemicals subject to special control. And after they are declared for import, MOIT will determine their compliance and notify the results while taking the annual import volume into account.

·        Concentration cut-off value will be specified and conditional chemicals, restricted chemicals, and chemicals to be declared will not be regulated if their concentration is less than 0.1%.

·        The annual reporting deadlines for chemical activities will change.

·         Entities engaged in various chemical activities are to submit the results of the previous year's activities to local authorities by January 15 of each year. The proposed amendment changes the deadline to February 15.

·         And there are also changes to the GHS classification categories.

The draft is expected to come into force in early 2022 with minor revisions.

Vietnamese National Chemical Inventory (NCI) Notification window opened on 16th October 2020 and is about to close on 15th April 2021. Vietnam began to compile the national chemical inventory (...

Vietnamese National Chemical Inventory (NCI) Notification window opened on 16th October 2020 and is about to close on 15th April 2021.

Vietnam began to compile the national chemical inventory (NCI) in 2012. Substances that are not listed on the inventory will be considered as new substances and require registration before they can be used, imported, or produced in Vietnam. So far, there are 5 times where companies can nominate substances to the inventory. The inventory contains about 40,000 substances. The new deadline for substance submission is April 15th, 2021. The final draft of the inventory is expected to be released by the end of this year.

If companies are exporting to Vietnam then for a smooth continued trade and to avoid heavier regulatory obligations later-on enterprises are encouraged to submit information on chemicals that have been imported, manufactured, and used in Vietnam.

The information required for submission are:

1. Chemical name,
2. CAS registry number,
3. Safety Data Sheet,
4. Proof of the chemical used in Vietnam (including purchase contracts, invoices, or custom forms).

GPC through its Vietnamese affiliates can help you with an end-to-end compliance solution for Vietnam! 
 

Update: 2021-02-28

Vietnam has reopened the nomination of chemicals for inclusion in its draft national inventory until 15 April next year.  In the first round of nominations, the Vietnamese ...

Vietnam has reopened the nomination of chemicals for inclusion in its draft national inventory until 15 April next year. 

In the first round of nominations, the Vietnamese Centre for Emergency Response to Chemicals (VCERC) accepted submissions from industry from early April until 30 May this year, after which it would begin checking and verifying the nominated substances. It was the final opportunity for industry to nominate substances. 

After May’2020 several industry bodies raised concerns previously about the lack of time to gather the required information and also because of the world pandemic situation, so this time it has given a longer period of six months to make submissions. 

Authorities expects to complete and publish the national chemical inventory in 2021 or 2022. 

After the inventory is published, any substance which is not listed on it or not officially recognised by Vietnam, will be considered as a new chemical and subject to risk assessment. More clarity is expected on how new chemicals will be regulated by the authorities. 

Following information needs to be submitted for doing the nomination on Vietnamese chemical inventory and it has to be done by the Vietnamese legal entity 

• chemical name; 

• Cas number; 

• safety data sheets (SDSs); and 

• evidence or documentation proving the chemical has been used in the Vietnamese market (this can include purchasing contracts and invoices). 

For more details please contact us at compliance@gpcregualtory.com

Notification to the Vietnam chemical inventory is reopened the notification to the inventory may be done before 15th April 2021. A longer time duration of about six months is provided so that all stak...

Notification to the Vietnam chemical inventory is reopened the notification to the inventory may be done before 15th April 2021. A longer time duration of about six months is provided so that all stakeholders could gather relevant information and nominate the substances to the inventory. Its expected that the final inventory would be published in 2022.

If a substance is not notified into the inventory with the designated period it would be considered as a New substance and would be subjected to Risk Assessment.

information To be submitted in the inventory

For online registration process, company must be a legally registered business entity in Vietnam with a tax identification number. It should submit:

• chemical name;
• Cas number;
• safety data sheets (SDSs); and
• evidence or documentation proving the chemical has been used in the Vietnamese market (this can include purchasing contracts and invoices).

Once registered online, companies will be able to search the site for chemicals. The search results will give their status, which falls into four categories:

• nominated and verified – for this group, no further action is required. The chemicals have been included on the draft inventory;
• nominated with some documentation – chemical substances that have been nominated, but have not yet been verified. In this case, companies can choose to attach further evidence or documentation. They are encouraged to submit additional evidence if feasible. If a company declines to do so, and any information submitted by another company looking to nominate the same substance is also deemed insufficient, the substance will not be added to the draft list of chemicals;
• nominated – chemical substances that have been nominated but no documentation submitted. If no evidence is provided for these chemicals, they will not be added to the draft inventory; and
• not nominated – if not listed, then these chemical substances have not yet been nominated. Companies can do so and submit the required evidence.