Circular No. 07/2017/TT-BKHCN dated June 16, 2017 of the Ministry of Science and Technology on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 27/2012/TT-BKHCN of December 12, 2012, prescribing the state inspection of the quality of imported goods under the management of the Ministry of Science and Technology

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 27/2012/TT-BKHCN of December 12, 2012, prescribing the state inspection of the quality of imported goods under the management of the Ministry of Science and Technology[1]

Pursuant to the November 21, 2007 Law on Product and Goods Quality;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 132/2008/ND-CP of December 31, 2008, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Product and Goods Quality;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 20/2013/ND-CP of February 26, 2013, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology;

At the proposal of the Director General of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality and the Director of the Department of Legal Affairs;

The Minister of Science and Technology promulgates the Circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 27/2012/TT-BKHCN of December 12, 2012, prescribing the state inspection of the quality of imported goods under the management of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Article 1.To amendand supplement a number of articles of the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 27/2012/TT-BKHCN of December 12, 2012, prescribing the state inspection of the quality of imported goods under the management of the Ministry of Science and Technology, as follows:

1. To amend and supplement Article 2 as follows:

“Article 2. Objects of inspection

1. Likely unsafe goods imported into Vietnam (below referred to as group-2 goods) which are managed in accordance with relevant national technical regulations promulgated by the Ministry of Science and Technology, and other likely unsafe goods under the management of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

2. This Circular does not apply to:

a/ Personal luggage of people on entry; and organizations’ or individuals’ movable assets within the duty-free limit;

b/ Goods within the duty-free limit of diplomatic organizations or diplomats or international organizations;

c/ Goods samples for advertising which are not valid for use; sample goods for scientific research or research serving production; and goods samples for testing to serve inspection and certification of conformity with national technical regulations or inter-laboratory testing;

d/ Goods temporarily imported for display or introduction at commercial fairs or exhibitions;

dd/ Gifts and donations within the duty-free limit;

e/ Goods exchanged by border residents within the duty-free limit;

g/ Goods temporarily imported for re-export;

h/ Goods in transit, border-gate transfer or transshipment;

i/ Goods brought from abroad in bonded warehouses (except goods brought from bonded warehouses into the inland for sale);

k/ Materials or supplies used for processing for foreign traders, or for exports production;

l/ Duty-free goods sold to people on exit (managed under regulations on temporary import for re-export);

m/ Goods re-imported for repair, recycling or destruction at the request of foreign partners;

n/ Goods imported to meet urgent requirements as instructed by the Government or Prime Minister;

o/ Specialized imported goods for national defense and security purposes;

p/ Goods eligible for exemption from or reduction of quality inspection on a case-by-case basis as prescribed by the Ministry of Science and Technology;

q/ Other types of goods for non-commercial purposes (non-commercial goods) as prescribed by law.

3. Imported goods being radioactive substances or products containing radioactive substances must comply with the Law on Atomic Energy and guiding documents”.

2. To add Clause 2a to, and amend Clause 3 of, Article 4 as follows:

“2a/Importermeans an organization or individual that imports goods (goods owner) or an organization, individual or agent authorized by the goods owner to import gods (authorized person).

3. A goods lot quality certificate may be one of the following papers:

a/ Conformity self-assessment result made by the importer;

b/ Certification or inspection result made by the registered or accredited certification organization or inspection organization in accordance with law;

c/ Conformity certification result made by the designated certification organization”.

3. To amend and supplement Article 5 as follows:

“Article 5. Quality requirements for imported goods to go through customs clearance

1. In case imported goods are assessed based on the importer’s self-assessment result:

a/ The importer shall make a written registration for quality inspection of imported goods, made according to Form No. 1. DKKT issued together with Circular No. 27/2012/TT-BKHCN of December 12, 2012, which states that the importer conducts conformity self-assessment, and commits that the products or goods quality conforms with the relevant national technical regulation or announced applicable standard and that he/she/it shall entirely take responsibility before law for the products or goods quality.

Within 1 working day, the inspection agency shall give certification in the importer’s written registration that the importer has registered the quality inspection of imported goods. The importer shall submit the certified written registration to the customs office for customs clearance;

b/ Within 15 working days from the date of customs clearance, the importer shall submit the self-assessment result to the inspection agency. The self-assessment result must include the following information:

- Name of the organization or individual; address; telephone number, fax number;

- Name of products or goods;

- Code of the national technical regulation;

- Conclusion that products or goods are conformable with the relevant national technical regulation;

- Commitment that the products or goods quality conforms with the relevant national technical regulation or announced applicable standard; and that the importer  shall entirely take responsibility before law for the  products or goods quality and self-assessment result.

The importer shall entirely take responsibility for the self-assessment result and ensure that the goods conform with the relevant national technical regulation or announced applicable standard. In case the goods do not conform with the relevant national technical regulation or announced applicable standard, the importer shall promptly report such to the inspection agency and concurrently handle and recall such goods in accordance with law.

2. In case imported goods are assessed based on the assessment result of the registered or accredited certification organization or inspection organization (below referred to as the certification organization or inspection organization)

a/ The importer shall make a written registration for quality inspection of imported goods, made according to Form No. 1. DKKT issued together with Circular No. 27/2012/TT-BKHCN of December 12, 2012, and commit that the products or goods quality conforms with the relevant national technical regulation or announced applicable standard, and that he/she/it shall entirely take responsibility before law for the  products or goods quality.

Within 1 working day, the inspection agency shall give certification in the importer’s written registration that the importer has registered quality inspection of imported goods. The importer shall submit the certified written registration to the customs office for customs clearance;

b/ Within 15 working days from the date of customs clearance, the importer shall submit a certified true copy of the certification result or inspection result of conformity with the relevant national technical regulation to the inspection agency.

In case the goods have been assessed in the exporting country by a Vietnam-based certification organization or by an accredited certification organization, within 3 working days from the date of customs clearance, the importer shall submit a certified true copy of the certification result of conformity with the relevant national technical regulation to the inspection agency.

The importer shall entirely take responsibility for and ensure that the goods conform with the relevant national technical regulation or announced applicable standard. In case the goods do not conform with the relevant national technical regulation or announced applicable standard, the importer shall promptly report such to the inspection agency and concurrently handle and recall such goods in accordance with law.

3. In case imported goods are assessed based on the assessment result of a designated certification organization

a/ The importer shall make a written registration for quality inspection of imported goods, made according to Form No.1. DKKT issued together with Circular No. 27/2012/TT-BKHCN of December 12, 2012, and commit that the products or goods quality conforms with the relevant national technical regulation or announced applicable standard and that he/she/it shall entirely take responsibility before law for the products or goods quality. Such written registration shall be enclosed with a certified true copy of the result of certification of conformity with the relevant national technical regulation given by the designated certification organization, and other documents specified in Article 6 of Circular No. 27/2012/TT-BKHCN of December 12, 2012;

b/ The inspection agency shall issue a notice of the result of state inspection of the imported goods quality. The order and procedures for processing import dossiers must comply with Articles 7 and 8 of Circular No. 27/2012/TT-BKHCN of December 12, 2012;

c/ After receiving the notice of the result of state inspection of the imported goods quality, the importer shall submit a certified true copy of this notice to the customs office for customs clearance”.

4. To add the following Article 5a:

“Article 5a. Quality inspection of group-2 goods

1. Imported goods being steel (except steel used for concrete reinforcement) must comply with Clause 1, Article 5 of this Circular. In case the imported goods are detected to be unconformable with the relevant national technical regulation or announced applicable standard or when there is a complaint or denunciation about the conformity self-assessment result and such complaint or denunciation is verified as grounded, the imported steel must comply with Clause 2, Article 5 of this Circular.

2. Imported goods being safety helmets for motorcycle riders; children toys, steel for concrete reinforcement, and electrical and electronic devices (that are safe and electromagnetically compatible) must comply with Clause 2, Article 5 of this Circular.

3. Imported goods being petrol, diesel fuel, biofuel or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) must comply with Clause 3, Article 5 of this Circular.

4. Other likely unsafe imported goods shall be inspected in accordance with relevant national technical regulations, specifying one of the cases prescribed in Article 5 of this Circular”.

5. To amend Point d, Clause 1, Article 6 as follows:

“d/ Other relevant documents: copy (certified by the importer) of the bill of lading; invoice; imported goods declaration; certificate of origin (C/O) (if any); photos or descriptions of the goods with contents to be compulsorily expressed on the goods labels and supplementary labels (if the principal labels do not fully have the contents as required); and certificate of free sale (CFS) (if any)”.

6. To amend Point b, Clause 2, Article 7 as follows:

“To inspect the contents to be compulsorily expressed on the goods labels and consistency of such contents with those stated in the goods lot import dossier”.

7. To add the following Article 9a:

“Article 9a. Application of the measure of exemption from inspection of imported goods

a/ For imported goods referred to in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 5 of this Circular which have the same appellations, utilities, labels, types and technical specifications, are of the same manufacturer or origin or of the same importer, after 3 consecutive times of importation within 6 months, they have been assessed as conformable with relevant national technical regulations, the inspection agency shall issue a written certification on exemption from quality state inspection within 1 year, including such information as goods appellation, label, type; technical specifications; origin, manufacturer; import quantity and volume as registered; and unit of calculation;

To be entitled to exemption  from quality inspection of imported goods, the importer shall make a written request for inspection exemption, stating the goods appellation, label, type; technical specifications; origin, manufacturer; import quantity and volume as registered; unit of calculation; and results of assessment of conformity with relevant national technical regulations for 3 consecutive times of importation within 6 months.

b/ During the period of exemption from state inspection of the imported goods quality:

- Once every 3 months, the importer shall submit a report on importation, enclosed with the result of assessment of conformity with the relevant national technical regulation or announced applicable standard, to the inspection agency for monitoring and inspection.

- The inspection agency may carry out extraordinary inspection of the imported goods lot (when necessary).

c/ During the period of exemption from inspection, if marketed imported goods are detected to be unconformable with the relevant national technical regulation or announced applicable standard or when there is a complaint or denunciation about the result of conformity assessment and such complaint or denunciation is verified as grounded or the extraordinary inspection shows that conformity assessment result of the import lot is unsatisfactory, the inspection agency shall issue a written notice to cease the application of exemption from inspection.

Annually, the inspection agency shall carry out inspection at goods storage facilities of the importer. The order and contents of inspection must comply with the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 26/2012/TT-BKHCN of December 12, 2012, prescribing the state inspection of the quality of marketed goods”.

8. To amend Clause 1 of, and add Clause 4 to, Article 15 as follows:

“1. To provide conformity assessment results for the inspection agency and importer within 7 days after taking samples of imported goods, based on the assessment result of the designated certification organization.

For imported goods which are assessed based on the self-assessment result of the importer or certification and inspection result of the registered or accredited certification organization or inspection organization, the certification organization or inspection organization shall provide the conformity assessment result for the importer right after receiving the conformity assessment result so that within 15 working days from the date of customs clearance, the importer shall submit the conformity assessment result to the inspection agency.

In case the conformity assessment period is required to be extended due to a technical reason or for an objective cause,the certification organization or inspection organization shall promptly notify the reason and time limit for returning the conformity assessment result to the importer for reporting to the inspection agency.

4. To promptly report  violations committed by the importer to the inspection agency”.

9. To annul Article 10.

Article 2.Effect

This Circular takes effect on October 1, 2017.

Article 3.Organization of implementation

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees, products and goods quality inspection agencies, importers, and related organizations and agencies shall implement this Circular.

2. The Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality shall guide and examine the implementation of this Circular.

Inspection agencies shall report problems arising in the course of implementation in writing to the Ministry of Science and Technology via the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality for guidance or study for amendment and supplementation as appropriate.-

For the Minister of Science and Technology
Deputy Minister
TRAN VIET THANH