Law Amend 10 Laws Related to Administrative Procedures and Business Conditions in the Fields of Agriculture and Environment 2026, No. 21/2026/QH16

LAW

AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF 10 LAWS RELATED TO ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES AND BUSINESS CONDITIONS IN THE FIELDS OF AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Resolution No. 203/2025/QH15;

The National Assembly promulgates the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of 10 Laws Related to Administrative Procedures and Business Conditions in the Fields of Agriculture and Environment, including the Law on Crop Production No. 31/2018/QH14, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 146/2025/QH15; the Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine No. 41/2013/QH13, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 35/2018/QH14 and Law No. 146/2025/QH15; the Law on Animal Husbandry No. 32/2018/QH14, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 146/2025/QH15; the Law on Animal Health No. 79/2015/QH13, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 21/2017/QH14 and Law No. 146/2025/QH15; the Law on Fisheries No. 18/2017/QH14, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 31/2024/QH15, Law No. 43/2024/QH15 and Law No. 146/2025/QH15; the Law on Geology and Minerals No. 54/2024/QH15, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 147/2025/QH15; the Law on Water Resources No. 28/2023/QH15, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 84/2025/QH15, Law No. 116/2025/QH15 and Law No. 146/2025/QH15; the Law on Irrigation No. 08/2017/QH14, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 35/2018/QH14, Law No. 59/2020/QH14, Law No. 72/2020/QH14, Law No. 16/2023/QH15, Law No. 28/2023/QH15, Law No. 54/2024/QH15 and Law No. 146/2025/QH15; the Law on Hydro-meteorology No. 90/2015/QH13, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 35/2018/QH14, Law No. 64/2020/QH14 and Law No. 146/2025/QH15; and the Law on Dikes No. 79/2006/QH11, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Law No. 15/2008/QH12, Law No. 35/2018/QH14, Law No. 60/2020/QH14, Law No. 18/2023/QH15, Law No. 47/2024/QH15, Law No. 84/2025/QH15 and Law No. 146/2025/QH15.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Crop Production

1. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 9 as follows:

“3. Producing plant varieties that fail to meet production requirements; producing fertilizers that fail to meet production requirements or without a certificate of eligibility for fertilizer production.”.

2. To amend and supplement Article 17 as follows:

“Article 17. Self-declaration of circulation of plant varieties

1. Organizations and individuals shall make self-declaration of circulation of plant varieties and be responsible for the completeness and accuracy of the self-declared information.

2. The Minister of Agriculture and Environment shall detail the self-declaration of circulation of plant varieties.”.

3. To add Clauses 8 and 9 after Clause 7, Article 19 as follows:

“8. Testing of cultivation and use values shall be conducted in accordance with national standards; in the absence of national standards, in-house standards shall be applied.

9. Testing of distinctness, uniformity and stability shall be conducted in accordance with national standards; in the absence of national standards, guidance documents published by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, a member country of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, or a country cooperating with Vietnam in plant variety protection, or issued by the state management agency in charge of plant variety protection shall be applied.”.

4. To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 2, Article 34 as follows:

“a) To comply with regulations on testing of cultivation and use values and regulations on testing of distinctness, uniformity and stability of plant varieties;”.

5. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 36 as follows:

“2. A decision on recognition of fertilizers in circulation in Vietnam is valid for 10 years and may be extended for 10 years each time.”.

6. To replace the phrase “accredited” with the phrase “having the function of plant variety testing or having registered operations in the field of plant variety testing” in Clause 5, Article 13.

7. To annul a number of articles, clauses and points, and remove a number of phrases as follows:

a) To annul Article 21; Clause 2, Article 22; Clause 1, Article 31; Point b, Clause 2, Article 37; Article 42; Article 46; and Point a, Clause 2, Article 51;

b) To remove the phrase “and trade/trading in” from the title of Article 22 and Clause 1, Article 35;

c) To remove the phrase “and trading in” from the title of Section 4, Chapter II, and the title of Section 2, Chapter III.

Article 2. Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine

1. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 51 as follows:

“3. A pesticide registration certificate shall be valid for 10 years and may be extended multiple times.”.

2. To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 52 as follows:

“4. An extended pesticide registration certificate shall be valid for 10 years.”.

3. To amend and supplement Article 66 as follows:

“Article 66. Validity duration of certificates of eligibility for pesticide production and certificates of eligibility for pesticide trading

A certificate of eligibility for pesticide production shall be valid for 05 years, while a certificate of eligibility for pesticide trading shall be valid for an indefinite period.”.

4. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 67 as follows:

“3. For imported pesticides specified in Clause 1 and at Point b, Clause 2 of this Article, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall organize state inspection of their quality in accordance with the law on product and goods quality. In case of pesticides for fumigation, the manufacturer’s quality certificate shall be equivalent to a certificate of conformity.”.

5. To annul a number of articles and points, and remove the following phrase:

a) To annul Article 23 and Point a, Clause 2, Article 24;

b) To remove the phrase “re-grant,” from Clause 2, Article 63.

Article 3. Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Animal Husbandry

1. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 15 as follows:

“2. The international exchange of domestic animal genetic resources on the List of domestic animal breeds banned from export for the purposes of scientific research, exhibition or advertising, and the exchange of Vietnamese precious and rare domestic animal genetic resources with third parties, shall be approved by the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where such genetic resources are stored.”.

2. To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 20 as follows:

“4. An importer of breeding males, sperms and embryos of cattle breeds shall:

a) Declare applicable standards in accordance with the law on animal husbandry before putting them into production or trading; take responsibility for their origin, provenance, records and pedigrees, and the authenticity of the declared information on productivity and quality indicators of imported strains and breeds;

b) For breeding males being new domestic animal strains or breeds, conduct assays under Article 26 of this Law before putting them into production or trading.”.

3. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 26 as follows:

“3. Organizations and individuals wishing to have new domestic animal strains and breeds recognized shall perform assays thereof in accordance with regulations on assay of domestic animal strains and breeds.”.

4. To amend and supplement Article 33 as follows:

“Article 33. Publication and modification of information about animal feed products

1. Except animal feed products specified in Article 36 of this Law, producers and traders shall themselves publicize and modify information about their animal feed products on the portal of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Producers and traders shall take responsibility for the quality and safety of the animal feed products about which information has been publicized.

2. The Government shall detail this Article.”.

5. To amend and supplement Article 39 as follows:

“Article 39. Grant and revocation of certificates of eligibility for animal feed production

1. Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall grant and revoke certificates of eligibility for animal feed production to/from animal feed production establishments in their localities. In case an importing country has different requirements, the competence to grant and revoke certificates of eligibility for animal feed production to/from animal feed production establishments shall comply with the Government’s regulations.

2. A certificate of eligibility for animal feed production shall be revoked in the following cases:

a) It is erased, crossed out or has its contents modified;

b) The establishment no longer satisfies the conditions prescribed in Clause 1, Article 38 of this Law;

c) The establishment commits another violation subject to revocation of the certificate of eligibility for animal feed production in accordance with law;

d) The animal feed production establishment fails to comply with requirements of the agency competent to grant the certificate of eligibility for animal feed production regarding supervision of the maintenance of production conditions;

dd) At the request of the organization or individual granted the certificate of eligibility for animal feed production.

3. The Government shall prescribe dossiers, order and procedures for grant and revocation of certificates of eligibility for animal feed production; and modification of information about organizations and individuals in certificates of eligibility for animal feed production.”.

6. To amend and supplement Article 58 as follows:

“Article 58. Grant and revocation of certificates of eligibility for animal husbandry for large-scale farm-based animal husbandry

1. Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall grant and revoke certificates of eligibility for animal husbandry.

2. A certificate of eligibility for animal husbandry shall be revoked in the following cases:

a) It is erased, crossed out or has its contents modified;

b) The farm-based animal husbandry establishment no longer satisfies the conditions prescribed in Article 55 of this Law;

c) The farm-based animal husbandry establishment commits another violation subject to revocation of the certificate of eligibility for animal husbandry in accordance with law;

d) The farm-based animal husbandry establishment fails to comply with requirements of the agency competent to grant the certificate of eligibility for animal husbandry regarding supervision of the maintenance of animal husbandry conditions;

dd) At the request of the organization or individual granted the certificate of eligibility for animal husbandry.

3. The Government shall prescribe dossiers, order and procedures for grant and revocation of certificates of eligibility for animal husbandry; and modification of information in certificates of eligibility for animal husbandry.”.

7. To annul a number of articles, clauses and points, and remove a number of words and phrases as follows:

a) To annul Article 27; Point a, Clause 2, Article 31; Clause 3, Article 37; Article 40; Clause 2, Article 41; Point a, Clause 2, Article 49; and Point a, Clause 2, Article 51;

b) To remove the word “conditions” from Point dd, Clause 2, Article 49;

c) To remove the phrase “re-grant” from Point g, Clause 1, Article 80.

Article 4. Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Animal Health

1. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 41 as follows:

“2. Responsibilities for conducting quarantine are prescribed as follows:

a) The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall conduct quarantine and grant quarantine certificates in accordance with Vietnamese law and requirements of importing countries or animal and animal product owners, except the case specified at Point b of this Clause;

b) Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall conduct quarantine and grant quarantine certificates for imported terrestrial animals participating in trade fairs, exhibitions, sport competitions or art performances; and imported terrestrial animal products participating in trade fairs or exhibitions, in accordance with Vietnamese law and requirements of importing countries or animal and animal product owners.”.

2. To amend and supplement Clauses 1, 2 and 3, Article 46 as follows:

“1. Quarantine registration shall be carried out as follows:

a) Organizations and individuals shall register for quarantine with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment when importing animals and animal products on the List of terrestrial animals and animal products subject to quarantine;

b) In case of import of terrestrial animals for participation in trade fairs, exhibitions, sport competitions or art performances; or terrestrial animal products for participation in trade fairs or exhibitions, organizations and individuals shall register for quarantine with Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees.

2. After receiving quarantine registrations from organizations and individuals, based on the situation of diseases and epidemics and the disease and epidemic and veterinary sanitation management and surveillance system of the exporting country, competent authorities shall act as follows:

a) The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall issue a document guiding related organizations and individuals in conducting quarantine of imported animals and animal products.

Animals and animal products from countries or territories that are registered for import into Vietnam for the first time or from countries or territories with high risk of animal disease and epidemic must undergo risk analysis conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment under Article 43 of this Law;

b) Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall issue documents guiding related organizations and individuals in conducting quarantine of terrestrial animals for participation in trade fairs, exhibitions, sport competitions or art performances; and imported terrestrial animal products for participation in trade fairs or exhibitions.

3. Quarantine declaration shall be carried out as follows:

a) Before animals and animal products arrive at the border gate of importation, organizations and individuals shall make quarantine declaration with the central-level animal health management agency;

b) In case of import of terrestrial animals for participation in trade fairs, exhibitions, sport competitions or art performances; or terrestrial animal products for participation in trade fairs or exhibitions, quarantine declaration shall be made with the provincial-level animal health management agency.”.

3. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 47 as follows:

“1. For imported animals, the agency conducting quarantine specified in Clause 3, Article 46 of this Law shall conduct quarantine as follows:

a) Examining the dossier for quarantine declaration and health conditions of animals; if the quarantine dossier is valid and animals show no sign of contracting a dangerous disease, giving certification for carrying out procedures and transferring animals to a quarantine isolation zone or a place of quarantine isolation;

b) Supervising animals at the quarantine isolation zone or place of quarantine isolation; the period of monitoring quarantine isolation must be suitable to each animal species and each disease subject to inspection but must not exceed 45 days from the date the quarantine isolation begins;

c) Collecting specimens for inspecting animal diseases and applying compulsory animal disease prevention measures as prescribed;

d) Granting an import quarantine certificate for animals satisfying veterinary sanitation requirements and notifying such to the animal health management agency in the place of destination;

dd) Guiding the goods owner in applying sanitization, disinfection and decontamination measures.

2. For imported animal products, the agency conducting quarantine specified in Clause 3, Article 46 of this Law shall conduct quarantine as follows:

a) Examining the dossier for quarantine declaration and actual state of goods; if requirements are satisfied, taking samples for checking veterinary sanitation indicators under regulations;

b) Granting an import quarantine certificate for animal products satisfying veterinary sanitation requirements and notifying such to the animal health management agency in the place of destination;

c) Guiding the goods owner in applying sanitization, disinfection and decontamination measures.”.

4. To add Clause 1a after Clause 1, Article 56 as follows:

“1a. Responsibilities for conducting quarantine are prescribed as follows:

a) The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall conduct quarantine and grant quarantine certificates for exported aquatic animals and animal products not for use as food, except the case specified at Point b of this Clause;

b) Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall conduct quarantine and grant quarantine certificates for exported aquatic animals and animal products not for use as food that are carried along by persons or sent by post.”.

5. To amend and supplement Article 58 as follows:

“Article 58. Quarantine of aquatic animals and animal products imported, temporarily imported for re-export, temporarily exported for re-import, in border-gate or bonded-warehouse transfer or transit through the Vietnamese territory; aquatic animals participating in trade fairs, exhibitions, sport competitions or art performances; aquatic animal products participating in trade fairs or exhibitions; transportation of aquatic animal clinical specimens

1. Quarantine of imported aquatic animals and animal products shall comply with Article 44; Point a, Clause 1, Point a, Clause 2, and Point a, Clause 3, Article 46; and Article 47 of this Law.

2. Quarantine of aquatic animals and animal products temporarily imported for re-export, temporarily exported for re-import, in border-gate or bonded-warehouse transfer or transit through the Vietnamese territory; aquatic animals participating in trade fairs, exhibitions, sport competitions or art performances; and aquatic animal products participating in trade fairs or exhibitions shall comply with Articles 49, 50 and 51 of this Law.

3. Organizations and individuals that wish to bring aquatic animal clinical specimens into Vietnam or send them abroad shall register and send dossiers to Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees for transportation permission. Transportation of aquatic animal clinical specimens shall comply with Clauses 2 and 3, Article 52 of this Law.”.

6. To amend and supplement Article 96 as follows:

“Article 96. Grant, re-grant, extension and revocation of certificates of eligibility for manufacture of veterinary drugs

1. Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall grant, re-grant, extend and revoke certificates of eligibility for manufacture of veterinary drugs, except the case specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall grant, re-grant, extend and revoke certificates of eligibility for manufacture of veterinary drugs in case an importing country or importing enterprise requires provision of a certificate of eligibility for manufacture of veterinary drugs granted by a central-level competent agency for export. Such certificate shall be valid for the veterinary drug manufacturing establishment with respect to veterinary drugs for domestic consumption and export.

A certificate of eligibility for manufacture of veterinary drugs granted by the Chairperson of a provincial-level People’s Committee to a veterinary drug manufacturing establishment shall cease to be valid when the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment grants a certificate of eligibility for manufacture of veterinary drugs to such establishment at the request of an importing country or importing enterprise.

3. A certificate of eligibility for manufacture of veterinary drugs shall be revoked in the following cases:

a) The certificate of eligibility for manufacture of veterinary drugs is erased or tampered with;

b) The establishment no longer manufactures veterinary drugs;

c) The establishment commits another violation which is subject to revocation of the certificate of eligibility for manufacture of veterinary drugs as prescribed by law;

d) At the request of the organization or individual granted the certificate of eligibility for manufacture of veterinary drugs.

4. The Government shall prescribe the grant, re-grant, extension and revocation of certificates of eligibility for manufacture of veterinary drugs.”.

7. To amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 101 as follows:

“1. Veterinary drugs shall pass quality testing before being registered for circulation in Vietnam, and such testing shall be conducted at a recognized or designated veterinary drug testing establishment.”.

Article 5. Annulling a number of articles and clauses and removing a number of phrases of the Law on Fisheries

1. To annul Clause 2, Article 28; Article 33; Clause 2, Article 35; Article 63; and Article 64.

2. To remove the phrase “detail Clause 2 of this Article; and” from Clause 4, Article 28.

3. To remove the phrase “, buying and selling or importing” from Point d, Clause 2, Article 31.

4. To remove the phrase “in detail conditions on facilities buying and selling or importing aquatic feeds and aquaculture environment treatment products;” from Clause 5, Article 34.

5. To remove the phrase “Clause 2 and” from Clause 6, Article 35.

Article 6. Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Geology and Minerals

1. To amend and supplement Clause 3, Article 26 as follows:

“3. In case it is necessary to explore or exploit minerals in areas where mineral activities are banned or areas where mineral activities are temporarily banned, including minerals falling under the competence to grant mineral exploration licenses and mining licenses of the Minister of the ministry assigned to act as the focal-point agency assisting the Government in performing the state management of geology and minerals as specified in Clause 1, Article 108 of this Law, the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall consider and approve such exploration or exploitation before a dossier of application for a mineral exploration license or mining license is prepared.

In case an area proposed for approval of mineral exploration or exploitation in an area where mineral activities are banned or temporarily banned is located in a sea area outside the maritime administrative boundaries of provinces or cities, or in a sea area where the maritime administrative boundaries of provinces or cities have not yet been determined, the competence to handle the case shall comply with the Government’s regulations.”.

2. To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 33 as follows:

“4. The Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where the investment project is implemented shall consider and approve the contents of assessment of the extent of impact on minerals subject to reserve as specified in Clause 3 of this Article.”.

3. To amend and supplement Point c, Clause 4, Article 44 as follows:

“c) In case an organization or individual has completed the exploration work under the mineral exploration scheme and its/his/her mineral exploration license has expired but an additional exploration volume is required by a competent state agency, including a license granted by another competent agency or person before the effective date of this Law and a license falling under the competence of the Minister of the ministry assigned to act as the focal-point agency assisting the Government in performing the state management of geology and minerals as specified in Clause 1, Article 108 of this Law, the organization or individual shall report such to the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee for approval before implementation.

For a mineral exploration license covering an area located in 02 or more provincial-level administrative units, the competence to handle the case shall rest with the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where the area covered by the mineral exploration license accounts for the largest proportion of the mineral exploration area. The Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee handling the administrative procedure shall be responsible for consulting the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where part of the area covered by the mineral exploration license is located.

For a mineral exploration license covering a sea area outside the maritime administrative boundaries of provinces or cities, or a sea area where the maritime administrative boundaries of provinces or cities have not yet been determined, the competence to handle the case shall comply with the Government’s regulations;”.

4. To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 2, Article 47 as follows:

“b) To comply with the contents of the mineral exploration license.

In case of conducting exploration at a depth exceeding the exploration depth prescribed by the Government, adding technology testing samples or trial pits, adjusting exploration methods or reducing the volume of exploration work, including under a license granted by another competent agency or person before the effective date of this Law and a license falling under the competence of the Minister of the ministry assigned to act as the focal-point agency assisting the Government in performing the state management of geology and minerals as specified in Clause 1, Article 108 of this Law, the organization or individual shall report to, and obtain written approval from, the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee competent under Point c, Clause 4, Article 44 of this Law before implementation.

In case the mineral exploration area is located in a sea area outside the maritime administrative boundaries of provinces or centrally run cities, or in a sea area where the maritime administrative boundaries of provinces or centrally run cities have not yet been determined, the organization or individual shall report to the competent agency or person for handling in accordance with the Government’s regulations;”.

5. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 51 as follows:

“1. The National Mineral Reserves Assessment Council shall recognize mineral exploration and supplementary exploration results in the following cases:

a) Group-I minerals, except the case specified at Point a, Clause 2 of this Article;

b) Minerals in sea areas outside the maritime administrative boundaries of provinces or cities, or in sea areas where the maritime administrative boundaries of provinces or cities have not yet been determined.

2. Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall recognize mineral exploration and supplementary exploration results in the following cases:

a) Group-I minerals in areas with scattered, small amounts of minerals that have been demarcated and publicized by competent agencies or persons;

b) Group-II and group-III minerals, except the case specified at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article.”.

6. To amend and supplement Point e, Clause 2, Article 59 as follows:

“e) In case of conducting supplementary exploration to upgrade resources or reserves of main minerals or determine the reserves of associated minerals (if any), including under a license granted by another competent agency or person before the effective date of this Law or a license falling under the competence of the Minister of the ministry assigned to act as the focal-point agency assisting the Government in performing the state management of geology and minerals as specified in Clause 1, Article 108 of this Law, the organization or individual shall formulate a supplementary exploration scheme and submit it to the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee for consideration and written approval before implementation, and report thereon to the competent agency or person in order to have the supplementary exploration results recognized.

For a mining license covering an area located in 02 or more provincial-level administrative units, the competence to handle the case shall rest with the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where the area covered by the mining license accounts for the largest proportion of the mineral exploitation area.

In case mineral exploitation is conducted in a sea area outside the maritime administrative boundaries of provinces or cities, or in a sea area where the maritime administrative boundaries of provinces or cities have not yet been determined, the organization or individual shall report to the competent agency or person for handling in accordance with the Government’s regulations;”.

7. To amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 83 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2 as follows:

“1. Organizations and individuals conducting mineral exploitation and falling into the case specified in Clause 1, Article 82 of this Law shall formulate dossiers of request for appraisal and approval of mine closure schemes, including for mines operated under mining licenses granted by other competent agencies or persons before the effective date of this Law or mines falling under the licensing competence of the Minister of the ministry assigned to act as the focal-point agency assisting the Government in performing the state management of geology and minerals as specified in Clause 1, Article 108 of this Law, and submit them to the dossier-receiving agency for handling administrative procedures of the provincial-level People’s Committee for appraisal and approval before carrying out mine closure activities.

2. Based on the results of appraisal of the dossiers specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall approve mine closure schemes and adjustments to mine closure schemes.”;

b) To amend and supplement Clauses 6 and 7, and add Clauses 6a and 6b after Clause 6 as follows:

“6. For the case specified in Clause 2, Article 82 of this Law, organizations and individuals shall formulate mine closure plans, including for mines operated under licenses granted by other competent agencies or persons before the effective date of this Law or mines falling under the licensing competence of the Minister of the ministry assigned to act as the focal-point agency assisting the Government in performing the state management of geology and minerals as specified in Clause 1, Article 108 of this Law, and submit them to the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee for consideration and written approval before conducting mine closure.

6a. For a mining license covering an area located in 02 or more provincial-level administrative units, including a license granted by another competent agency or person before the effective date of this Law or a license falling under the competence of the Minister of the ministry assigned to act as the focal-point agency assisting the Government in performing the state management of geology and minerals as specified in Clause 1, Article 108 of this Law, the competence to approve a mine closure scheme, adjust the contents of an approved mine closure scheme, and accept a mine closure plan shall rest with the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where the area covered by the mining license accounts for the largest proportion of the mineral exploitation area. The Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee handling the administrative procedure shall be responsible for consulting the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where part of the area for which approval of a mine closure scheme, adjustment of the contents of an approved mine closure scheme, or acceptance of a mine closure plan is requested is located.

6b. For a mining license covering a sea area outside the maritime administrative boundaries of provinces or centrally run cities, or a sea area where the maritime administrative boundaries of provinces or centrally run cities have not yet been determined, including a license granted by another competent agency or person before the effective date of this Law or a license falling under the competence of the Minister of the ministry assigned to act as the focal-point agency assisting the Government in performing the state management of geology and minerals as specified in Clause 1, Article 108 of this Law, the competence to handle the case shall comply with the Government’s regulations.

7. The Government shall detail Clauses 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 6a and 6b of this Article; and prescribe dossiers, order and procedures for appraisal, approval and adjustment of mine closure schemes and acceptance of mine closure plans.”.

8. To amend and supplement Clauses 1 and 2, Article 84 as follows:

“1. Organizations and individuals conducting mineral exploitation and falling into the cases specified in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 82 of this Law shall close mines after the competent agency or person approves the mine closure scheme or accepts the mine closure plan.

In case of exploiting group-IV minerals, organizations and individuals conducting mineral exploitation shall close mines and report the implementation results to the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee.

2. In case a license is invalidated under Point d, Clause 2, Article 66 or Point d, Clause 2, Article 71 of this Law, or an organization or individual conducting mineral exploitation is unable to close the mine, the agency or person competent to approve the mine closure scheme or accept the mine closure plan as specified in Article 83 of this Law shall select a qualified unit to formulate and organize the implementation of mine closure in accordance with the bidding law and other relevant laws.”.

9. To amend and supplement a number of clauses and points of Article 108 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 1 as follows:

“a) Mineral exploration licenses and mining licenses for group-I minerals, excluding group-I minerals in areas with scattered, small amounts of minerals that have been demarcated and publicized by the Minister of the ministry assigned to act as the focal-point agency assisting the Government in performing the state management of geology and minerals;”;

b) To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:

“3. Except the case specified at Point b, Clause 2, Article 111 of this Law in which organizations and individuals choose to carry out the order, procedures and competence prescribed by the law effective at the time of receipt of their dossiers, and except the case specified in Clause 4 of this Article, the competence to re-grant, extend, modify, revoke, approve the return of, or renew licenses, and approve the transfer of mineral exploration or mining rights, including for licenses granted by other competent agencies or persons before the effective date of this Law, is prescribed as follows:

a) The Minister of the ministry assigned to act as the focal-point agency assisting the Government in performing the state management of geology and minerals shall re-grant, extend, modify, revoke, approve the return of, or renew mining licenses, and approve the transfer of mining rights, for the cases specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

In case of transfer of rare-earth mining rights, the Minister of the ministry assigned to act as the focal-point agency assisting the Government in performing the state management of geology and minerals shall decide after obtaining the Prime Minister’s opinions;

b) Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall re-grant, extend, modify, revoke, approve the return of, or renew mining licenses, and approve the transfer of mining rights, for group-II minerals, group-III minerals, and group-I minerals in areas with scattered, small amounts of minerals that have been demarcated and publicized by the Minister of the ministry assigned to act as the focal-point agency assisting the Government in performing the state management of geology and minerals as specified in Clause 2 of this Article; extend, modify, revoke and approve the return of mining licenses for group-IV minerals; and extend, modify, revoke and approve the return of salvage mining licenses, and approve the transfer of salvage mining rights;

c) The Minister of the ministry assigned to act as the focal-point agency assisting the Government in performing the state management of geology and minerals shall revoke mineral exploration licenses for the cases specified in Clause 1 of this Article. Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall revoke mineral exploration licenses for the cases specified in Clause 2 of this Article, and revoke mineral exploration licenses covering areas located in 02 or more provincial-level administrative units that fall under their licensing competence;

d) Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall re-grant, extend, modify and approve the return of mineral exploration licenses, and approve the transfer of mineral exploration rights, for the cases specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

In case of transfer of rare-earth mineral exploration rights, the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall decide after obtaining the Prime Minister’s opinions;

dd) In case an area for which re-grant, extension, modification or approval of the return of a mineral exploration license or mining license, or approval of the transfer of mineral exploration rights or mining rights as specified at Points b and d of this Clause is requested is located in 02 or more provincial-level administrative units, the competence to handle the case shall rest with the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee of the locality where the mineral exploration or exploitation area accounts for the largest proportion of the total area. The Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee handling the administrative procedure shall be responsible for consulting Chairpersons of the provincial-level People’s Committees of the provinces or centrally run cities where parts of the mineral exploration or exploitation area covered by the mineral exploration license or mining license are located;

e) In case an area for which re-grant, extension, modification or approval of the return of a mineral exploration license, or approval of the transfer of mineral exploration rights as specified at Point d of this Clause is requested is located in a sea area outside the maritime administrative boundaries of provinces or centrally run cities, or in a sea area where the maritime administrative boundaries of provinces or centrally run cities have not yet been determined, the competence to handle the case shall comply with the Government’s regulations.”.

10. To replace a number of phrases in the following clauses and points:

a) To replace the phrase “Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 53 of this Law” with the phrase “Clauses 1, 1a and 2, Article 53 of this Law” in Clause 1a, Article 55;

b) To replace the phrase “Ministry of Agriculture and Environment” with the phrase “ministry assigned to act as the focal-point agency assisting the Government in performing the state management of geology and minerals” in Clause 4, Article 10; Point c, Clause 2, and Clause 3, Article 14; Points c and d, Clause 2, and Clause 3, Article 20; Clause 1, Article 29; Clause 2, Article 31; Point b, Clause 1, and Clauses 5, 6 and 7, Article 33; Clauses 1 and 2, Article 34; Point d, Clause 1, Article 41; Clause 4, Article 42; Point b, Clause 1, Article 43; Clause 6, Article 44; Clause 3, Article 45; Clause 6, Article 47; Clause 2, Article 49; Clause 6, Article 50; Point b, Clause 1, Article 55; Clause 3, Article 57; Clause 4, Article 59; Clause 2, Article 63; Clause 6, Article 64; Clause 3, Article 69; Point g, Clause 2, and Clause 4, Article 70; Clause 6, Article 73; Clause 3, Article 74; Point c, Clause 2, Article 76; Clause 5, Article 82; Clause 2, Article 85b; Clauses 1, 2 and 3, Article 85d; Point b, Clause 2, Article 88; Clause 4, Article 89; Clause 5, Article 90; Clause 2, Article 93; Point a, Clause 1, and Clause 5, Article 96; Clause 3, Article 100; Clause 2, Article 101; Clause 1, Article 106; Clauses 2 and 3, Article 107; and Clause 1, Point b, Clause 2, and Clause 4, Article 108.

Article 7. Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Water Resources

1. To amend and supplement Article 37 as follows:

“Article 37. River basin water diversion

1. Projects involving water diversion activities that greatly affect socio-economic development activities, the environment and the people’s lives shall be notified to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and related provincial-level People’s Committees before competent state agencies approve the investment policy for or decide on investment in such projects, and must satisfy the following requirements:

a) Conforming to water resource master plans, provincial master plans and other relevant master plans; conforming to socio-economic development plans of localities and sectors related to water resource extraction and use in river basins; and conforming to the supply capacity of water sources from which water is diverted and the water use demand of donor river basins and receiving basins;

b) Taking measures to mitigate impacts of water diversion on water extraction and use, maintenance of flows, flood prevention and control, erosion of river beds, banks and plains, saltwater intrusion, and socio-economic development and the environment, particularly during the dry season, in sections of rivers and streams from which water is diverted or which receive diverted water downstream of water diversion works; in case of causing damage, paying compensation and bearing responsibility in accordance with law.

2. The Government shall detail this Article.”.

2. To amend and supplement a number of clauses and points of Article 38 as follows:

a) To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 7 as follows:

“a) The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees and related organizations in, formulating and modifying procedures for inter-reservoir operation in river basins and submit them to the Prime Minister for approval, except the case specified in Clause 9a of this Article.

In case ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees, and dam and reservoir management and operation organizations request the modification of inter-reservoir operation procedures, they shall formulate and send modification plans to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment for consideration and summarization and for collection of opinions from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Construction, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees and related organizations before submission to the Prime Minister for approval, except the case specified in Clause 9a of this Article;”;

b) To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 8 as follows:

“a) The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall formulate or modify real-time inter-reservoir operation procedures and submit them to the Prime Minister for approval, except the case specified in Clause 9a of this Article.

In case ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees, and dam and reservoir management and operation organizations request the modification of real-time inter-reservoir operation procedures, they shall formulate and send modification plans to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment for consideration and summarization and for collection of opinions from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Construction, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees and related organizations before submission to the Prime Minister for approval, except the case specified in Clause 9a of this Article;”;

c) To amend and supplement Clause 9a as follows:

“9a. In case of partial adjustment of inter-reservoir operation procedures without fundamentally changing the operation principles of such procedures, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall approve such adjustment after collecting opinions from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Construction, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees and related organizations, and report implementation results to the Prime Minister.”.

3. To annul a number of clauses and points, and remove a number of phrases as follows:

a) To annul Point e, Clause 1, Article 42; and Clause 2, Article 70;

b) To remove the phrase “re-grant,” from Clause 6, Article 31 and Clauses 1 and 2, Article 53;

c) To remove the phrase “qualified” from Clause 7, Article 50;

d) To remove the phrase “, suspend” from Clauses 1 and 2, Article 53.

Article 8. Removing a phrase from a number of articles of the Law on Irrigation

To remove the phrase “re-grant,” from Clause 3, Article 44 and Point h, Clause 1, Article 57.

Article 9. Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Hydro-meteorology

1. To amend and supplement Clause 10, Article 8 as follows:

“10. Conducting weather modification without notifying the plan to a competent state management agency or against the plan already notified to such agency.”.

2. To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 41 as follows:

“4. Weather modification may only be conducted under a plan already notified to a competent state management agency and publicly disclosed to residents in the area to be directly affected before implementation. The competent state management agency shall be responsible for receiving, monitoring and supervising the implementation of the plan in accordance with law.”.

3. To amend and supplement Article 44 as follows:

“Article 44. Making weather modification plans and supervising their implementation

1. Agencies and organizations that wish to conduct weather modification shall make weather modification plans containing the following contents:

a) Names of agencies and organizations participating in weather modification;

b) The purpose of weather modification as prescribed in Article 42 of this Law;

c) The area where weather modification is expected to be conducted;

d) The estimated time of conducting weather modification;

dd) Measures for conducting weather modification;

e) A plan to ensure safety and minimize negative effects of weather modification activities.

2. Agencies and organizations that wish to conduct weather modification shall, after making the weather modification plans specified in Clause 1 of this Article, collect opinions of residents in the areas to be directly affected; take such opinions into account and finalize the plans before implementation.

3. Before conducting weather modification, agencies and organizations that wish to conduct weather modification shall notify their weather modification plans to the receiving agencies specified in Clause 4 of this Article and publicly disclose information on such plans to residents in the areas to be directly affected.

4. Agencies competent to receive notifications of weather modification plans shall assume the prime responsibility for monitoring and supervising compliance with the law on weather modification activities according to their competence; handle violations or propose competent agencies to handle violations in accordance with law, specifically as follows:

a) The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall receive notifications in cases where weather modification is conducted in two or more provinces or centrally run cities;

b) Provincial-level People’s Committees shall receive notifications in cases where weather modification is conducted within the administrative boundaries of a province or centrally run city.

5. In case of any change in the contents of a weather modification plan, the agency or organization specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall notify and publicly disclose information in accordance with Clause 3 of this Article.

6. The competent agencies specified in Clause 4 of this Article shall send notifications concerning the weather modification plans they have received to agencies responsible for coordinating in monitoring and supervision, specifically as follows:

a) In case weather modification is conducted in two or more provinces or centrally run cities, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall send the received plan to the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Science and Technology, and People’s Committees of provinces and centrally run cities with areas to be directly affected for coordination in monitoring and supervising weather modification activities in accordance with regulations;

b) In case weather modification is conducted within the administrative boundaries of a province or centrally run city, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall send the received plan to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Science and Technology for coordination in monitoring and supervising weather modification activities in accordance with regulations.

7. The Minister of Agriculture and Environment shall detail Clauses 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of this Article.”.

4. To amend and supplement Clause 12, Article 51 as follows:

“12. To organize the monitoring and supervision of the implementation of weather modification plans according to competence.”.

5. To amend and supplement Point i1, Clause 1, Article 53 as follows:

“i1) To organize the monitoring and supervision of the implementation of weather modification plans according to their competence;”.

Article 10. Amending and supplementing Clause 4, Article 26 of the Law on Dikes

To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 26 as follows:

“4. Provincial-level People’s Committees shall be responsible for directing the formulation of construction investment projects containing contents on assurance of flood drainage and dike safety as specified in Clause 3 of this Article; Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall approve the contents on assurance of flood drainage and dike safety of the construction investment projects specified in this Clause.”.

Article 11. Effect

This Law takes effect on January 1, 2027.

Article 12. Transitional provisions

1. Documents, licenses and certificates resulting from the settlement of administrative procedures that were issued by competent agencies or persons before the effective date of this Law and remain valid or unexpired shall continue to be applied and used for the validity duration or term stated in such documents, licenses or certificates, except the cases specified in Clauses 4, 5 and 6 of this Article.

Where organizations or individuals wish to apply for the amendment, supplementation, re-grant, extension or modification of documents, licenses or certificates, they shall send written requests to state agencies or competent persons as prescribed by this Law for settlement.

2. Organizations and individuals whose dossiers for settlement of administrative procedures were received by state agencies or competent persons before the effective date of this Law but for which no results have been issued shall continue to have such procedures settled in accordance with the law effective at the time of receipt of the dossiers.

3. Documents, licenses and certificates issued in paper form before May 18, 2026, and remaining valid or unexpired, which are lost, torn or damaged, may, at the request of organizations or individuals, be issued copies from original registers by competent agencies or persons in accordance with law.

4. Pesticide registration certificates issued before May 18, 2026, and remaining valid or unexpired shall have their validity duration extended by an additional 05 years from the expiry date stated in such certificates.

5. Decisions on recognition of fertilizers in circulation in Vietnam issued before May 18, 2026, and remaining valid or unexpired shall have their validity duration extended by an additional 05 years from the expiry date stated in such decisions.

6. Certificates of eligibility for pesticide trading issued before May 18, 2026, and remaining valid or unexpired shall continue to be applied and used without a validity duration.

This Law was passed on August 24, 2026, by the 16^th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its First Extraordinary Session.

President of the National Assembly

TRAN THANH MAN