Circular 74/2025/TT-BNNMT certification of fish and fish products exported to the United States market

CIRCULAR

Prescribing the certification of fish and fish products exported to the United States market

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Pursuant to the Law on Fisheries No. 18/2017/QH14 dated November 21, 2017; the Law No. 146/2025/QH15 dated December 11, 2025 amending and supplementing 15 laws in the fields of agriculture and environment;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 35/2025/ND-CP dated February 25, 2025, defining the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment;

At the proposal of the Director General of the Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Surveillance;

The Minister of Agriculture and Environment hereby promulgates the Circular prescribing the certification of fish and fish products exported to the United States market.

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Circular prescribes the certification of fish and fish products meeting requirements for the protection of marine mammal species for export to the United States market or to other countries and territories for export to the United States market upon request.

Article 2. Subjects of application

Organizations and individuals involved in the activities of exploitation, aquaculture, purchase, preliminary processing, processing, purchase, sale, export, and import of fish and fish products for export to the United States market or to other countries and territories for export to the United States market upon request.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

In this Circular, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Certification of fish and fish products satisfying requirements for export to the United States - Certification of admissibility (hereinafter abbreviated as COA) means a form following the guidelines of the United States , used for certain fish and fish products exported to the United States or other countries and territories that require it for export to the United States market to certify that the fish and fish products are not subject to import prohibition into the United States market.

2. Fish and fish products exported to the United States means products preliminarily processed or processed from domestically exploited or aquacultured raw materials; or from imported exploited or aquacultured raw materials that undergo preliminary processing or processing which alters the country of origin of the exported products.

3. HTS Code means the product code under the harmonized tariff schedule promulgated by the United States for the purpose of classifying goods, determining taxes, and collecting data on the international trade of the United States.

Article 4. General principles

1. COA is implemented at the request of organizations or individuals when needed. Competent authorities shall verify the information in the dossiers declared and submitted by organizations or individuals along with the Application, and issue the COA to certify that the fish and fish products are not subject to import prohibition into the United States.

2. COA is one of the supplementary documents for the importation of certain fish products into the United States and other requiring countries as part of that country's monitoring and verification system. COA is used to ensure that the exploitation of fish products in Vietnam or from other countries not subject to import prohibition complies with the import requirements under the United States Marine Mammal Protection Act and the monitoring and verification systems of other countries requiring the use of COA. The time of COA issuance is not mandatory prior to the time organizations or individuals carry out procedures for exporting fish and fish products.

3. No COA shall be issued for fish and fish products included in the import prohibition list of the United States when all of the following factors match: information on the harvesting country, species name, exploitation craft/gear, and exploitation area/region.

Article 5. Competent authorities for COA issuance

The competent authorities for COA issuance are the provincial-level state management agencies in charge of fisheries.

Article 6. Dossiers for COA issuance

1. In cases where domestically exploited raw materials are used for processing and export within the list requiring COA, the dossier shall include:

a) An Application for COA issuance according to the form prescribed in Appendix I issued herewith this Circular;

b) The receipt of fish products unloaded at port, or the Statement of Catch, or the Catch Certificate. Organizations and individuals may submit a combination of the documents specified at this Point in a single application for COA issuance.

In cases where the fish raw materials have not been fully utilized, the applicant for certification shall submit the original document for the competent authority to endorse the unused portion of the raw materials and return the original. In cases where the fish raw materials have been fully utilized, the competent authority shall retain the original document.

2. In cases where imported fish raw materials are used for processing and export within the list requiring COA, the dossier shall include an Application for COA issuance as prescribed at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article and one of the following documents:

a) A Captain’s statement accompanied by a copy of the fishing license of the fishing vessel. The contents of the Captain’s statement shall specify information on the fishing vessel for the fish and fish products imported into Vietnam, including: name of the vessel, vessel registration number (IMO/international call sign/external markings/registration number with a regional fisheries management organization, if any);flag state; fishing license number; type of fishing gear; time and area of exploitation; date and first point of landing of the vessel, which confirms that the fish were exploited in full compliance with current laws, management, and conservation measures. The Captain’s statement must bear the signature of the captain of the fishing vessel;

b) A COA issued by the country of the fishing vessel;

c) A Catch Certificate issued by the country of the fishing vessel.

3. In cases where raw materials originating from aquaculture are used for processing and export within the list requiring COA, the dossier shall include:

a) An Application for COA issuance as prescribed at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article;

b) Import documents in cases where raw materials originating from imported aquaculture are used.

Article 7. Order and procedures for COA issuance

1. Organizations and individuals shall submit one set of dossier requesting COA issuance, as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular, to the provincial-level state management agency in charge of fisheries through the following methods:

a) In person at the Single-Window Section;

b) Through public postal services as prescribed by the Prime Minister, through the hiring of services from enterprises or individuals, or through authorization in accordance with the law;

c) Online via the National Public Service Portal.

2. Form of the dossier:

a) In cases where the dossier is submitted through the methods prescribed at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article: Dossier components shall be copies accompanied by the original documents to endorse the unused portion of fish raw materials or for retention in cases where the fish raw materials have been fully utilized;

b) In cases where the dossier is submitted through the method prescribed at Point c, Clause 1 of this Article: Dossier components shall be original electronic documents or scanned original documents as prescribed, and the original documents must be sent to the provincial-level state management agency in charge of fisheries where the dossier was submitted for endorsing the unused portion of fish raw materials or for retention in cases where the fish raw materials have been fully utilized.

3. In cases where the dossier contains documents in a foreign language, there must be a Vietnamese translation as prescribed.

4. Organizations and individuals shall be responsible for the legality of the submitted dossier.

5. The provincial-level state management agency in charge of fisheries shall respond immediately regarding the completeness of the dossier for cases specified at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article; and provide a written response regarding the completeness of the dossier within one working day from the date of receipt for cases specified at Points b and c, Clause 1 of this Article.

6. Within four working days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier, the provincial-level state management agency in charge of fisheries shall conduct an appraisal of the dossier as prescribed in Article 8 of this Circular and issue the certificate according to the form in Appendix II issued herewith this Circular; in cases where the COA is not issued, a written notification must be provided, the dossier returned, and the reasons clearly stated.

Article 8. Appraisal contents for COA issuance

1. Cross-checking the information declared according to the form submitted with the Application for COA issuance against the documents attached to the dossier to ensure the correct declaration of information regarding: names of fish species, weight of species or raw materials, exploitation craft/gear used, name and registration number of the fishing vessel/fishing license number.

a) In cases of domestically exploited raw materials, proceed to cross-check information in the dossier with information in the fishing logbook of the fishing trip through the national fisheries database system;

b) In cases of imported raw materials for processing and export, proceed to cross-check information in the dossier and the provided documents; in necessary cases, information may be exchanged with the country where the fish were exploited for verification, but the dossier processing time shall not be increased;

c) In cases where exported products originate from aquaculture: performing a cross-check of the information declared in the dossier against the aquaculture database system (name of the aquaculture facility, aquacultured species, identification number of the qualified aquaculture facility, if any) or information on the attached documents.

2. Cross-checking information on the species, craft/gear, exploitation area, and harvesting country against the list of fish species prohibited from import by the United States and cases requiring a COA on the website:  https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov or on the system of the website of the state management agency in charge of fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Article 9. Revocation, modification, supplementation of information, and re-issuance of COA

1. The competent authority for COA issuance shall decide to revoke the COA in the following cases:

a) The issued COA is discovered to have been crossed out, erased, or information thereon has been changed (except for cases of modification or supplementation of information as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article);

b) The organization or individual issued with the COA uses it for improper purposes, or for types of fish and fish products other than the certified ones;

c) There is verified evidence that the dossier, documents, or information provided by the organization or individual are forged.

2. In case of modification or supplementation of information on the issued COA, or when there is a change in the form promulgated by the United States after the COA has been issued, the organization or individual shall resubmit an application according to the form prescribed in Appendix I issued herewith this Circular and a supplementary dossier (if any) together with the original issued COA. The order and procedures for the modification and supplementation of information on the COA shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 of this Circular.

3. In case of loss of the original document or if the original document is damaged to the extent that it cannot be used, the organization or individual shall resubmit an application according to the form prescribed in Appendix I issued herewith this Circular to the agency that issued the COA, clearly stating the reason. Based on the archived dossier, the provincial-level state management agency in charge of fisheries shall re-issue the COA to the organization or individual.

4. Organizations and individuals shall look up the validity of the COA on the website of the state management agency in charge of fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

Article 10. Responsibilities of agencies, organizations, and individuals

1. Responsibilities of the state management agency in charge of fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment:

a) Organizing training and guidance for provincial-level state management agencies in charge of fisheries and relevant organizations and individuals to implement the provisions of this Circular;

b) Posting the List of countries and fisheries prohibited from exporting to the United States on the agency's website for organizations and individuals to look up and use;

c) Posting the list of HTS codes that require a COA according to United States regulations on the agency's website for organizations and individuals to look up and use;

d) Compiling the list of competent authorities designated to issue the COA to provide to the United States periodically or when there are changes in information;

dd) Updating and providing full and timely information related to implementation according to the requirements of the United States Marine Mammal Protection Act;

e) Organizing inspections of COA issuance activities in localities according to its competence, Vietnamese law, and when requested by the competent authorities of the United States;

g) Updating the validity of the COA on the website for organizations and individuals to look up.

2. Responsibilities of provincial-level state management agencies in charge of fisheries:

a) Organizing the implementation of the issuance of the Certificate of fish and fish products satisfying requirements for export to the United States (COA) in accordance with regulations;

b) Providing information on the name of the unit, the person with authority, the agency's address, telephone number, and email to the state management agency in charge of fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment when there are changes to this information;

c) Compiling statistics and archiving dossiers related to COA issuance in accordance with the law on statistics and archives; providing information and dossiers for inspection upon request by competent agencies;

d) Notifying organizations, individuals, and competent agencies regarding the revocation of the issued COA in the cases prescribed in Clause 1, Article 9 of this Circular, and updating information on the validity of COAs when there are changes;

dd) Organizing inspections of the export activities of fish and fish products to the United States market based on the information in the dossiers declared by organizations and individuals for COA issuance.

3. Organizations and individuals in need of COA issuance shall be responsible for preparing dossiers, fully declaring information, submitting complete dossiers, and shall be responsible for the accuracy of the declared information.

Article 11. Transitional provisions

In cases where organizations or individuals exporting fish and fish products use raw materials exploited before the effective date of this Circular without the dossier components required under Article 6 of this Circular, they shall submit an Application according to the form in Appendix I issued herewith this Circular (declaration of the Origin Information section in the Statement of information requesting COA issuance is not mandatory) and a copy of the financial invoice or dossier proving the time of purchasing raw materials for processing and export.

Article 12. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from December 26, 2025.

2. In the course of implementation, if any issues arise or if there are difficulties or obstacles, organizations and individuals shall promptly report to the state management agency in charge of fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment for compilation and reporting to the Minister of Agriculture and Environment for consideration and decision.

* All Appendices are not translated herein.