Tiếng Việt
中文 (中国)
LEGAL DOCUMENT | MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE
Decree 17/2020/ND-CP – Amendments to business investment conditions under the state management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade
Decree 17/2020/ND-CP amends and supplements various decrees on conditional business requirements in sectors such as automobiles, electricity, chemicals, food, gas, alcohol and tobacco. For import-export and logistics operations, the Decree should be reviewed whenever the cargo is subject to licenses, specialized inspection or conditional business requirements before customs clearance.
QUICK SUMMARY
- Issued by the Government on 05 February 2020 and effective from 22 March 2020.
- The core purpose is to reduce, amend and repeal certain business investment conditions under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
- Logistics-sensitive product groups include imported automobiles, chemicals, MOIT-managed food products, gas, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.
- For each shipment, enterprises should review the HS code, technical description, intended use, license requirements and specialized management obligations; the trade name alone is insufficient.
DOCUMENT INFORMATION
Document titleDecree on amendments to some Articles of Decrees related to business investment conditions under the state management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade
Number17/2020/ND-CP
IssuerGovernment of Vietnam
SignatoryNguyen Xuan Phuc
Issuance date05/02/2020
Effective date22/03/2020
Document typeDecree
Application statusReview subsequent amendments, consolidated documents and sectoral guidance at the time of actual application.
KEY CONTENT TO NOTE
| Sector | Main regulatory impact | Implication for import-export / logistics |
|---|---|---|
| Imported automobiles | Amends quality management methods for imported brand-new automobiles and adds requirements concerning navigation software/equipment containing maps that violate Vietnam’s sovereignty. | Review technical dossiers, quality documents, navigation/map materials and quality-control obligations before customs procedures. |
| Electricity | Amends conditions for electricity activities and consultancy services for electrical works. | Relevant to project cargo, imported equipment for power projects and technical service providers in the supply chain. |
| Chemicals | Amends conditions for manufacturing, exporting and importing scheduled chemicals, DOC and DOC-PSF chemicals; repeals certain conditions. | Check chemical lists, CAS numbers, HS codes, SDS/MSDS, import/export licenses and chemical declaration obligations. |
| MOIT-managed food products | Amends conditions and dossiers related to food safety eligibility certificates. | Review food safety dossiers, self-declaration/product declaration, supplementary labels and storage conditions. |
| Gas business | Amends certain gas business conditions. | Shipments of gas, gas containers or distribution systems may require additional business-condition and safety review. |
| Alcohol business | Amends/repeals several alcohol business conditions and adds rules for alcoholic beverages under 5.5% ABV. | Imported alcohol requires review of import border gates, registration/licenses, labeling, food safety, stamps and distribution rights. |
| Tobacco business | Amends/repeals certain tobacco business requirements. | Review business licenses, specialized equipment lists and environmental/fire-safety obligations. |
AFFECTED ENTERPRISES
- Automobile importers, distributors, warranty and maintenance service providers.
- Electricity enterprises, power project owners and electrical design/supervision consultants.
- Chemical manufacturers, traders, exporters and importers.
- Food manufacturers and traders under MOIT management.
- Gas, alcohol and tobacco traders.
- Logistics providers, freight forwarders, customs brokers, procurement, legal, compliance and operations teams handling conditional goods.
ENTERPRISE REVIEW CHECKLIST
| Item | Review point | Operational note |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Goods identification | Product name, HS code, technical specifications, catalogue/datasheet, CAS for chemicals, ABV for alcohol. | Do not determine policy based on the trade name only. |
| 2. Conditional business scope | Determine whether the goods fall under conditional business sectors. | Commonly relevant to alcohol, tobacco, gas, chemicals, automobiles and certain food products. |
| 3. Specialized licenses/registrations | Import licenses, business registrations, registration for alcohol under 5.5% ABV, chemical licenses where applicable. | Review before booking or before ETA. |
| 4. Customs dossier | Invoice, Packing List, Bill of Lading/AWB, contract/PO, C/O if any, technical documents, licenses or specialized inspection results. | Information must be consistent with the customs declaration. |
| 5. Food safety/product labeling | Product declaration/self-declaration, food safety inspection, original label, Vietnamese supplementary label, storage conditions. | Especially important for food, alcohol and consumer goods under MOIT management. |
| 6. Fire safety, environment, occupational safety | Review obligations during manufacturing, warehousing, transportation, warranty/maintenance or distribution. | These requirements are often missed when only import documents are reviewed. |
| 7. Post-clearance obligations | Record retention, additional specialized documents and post-clearance audit response where applicable. | Set up a product-specific checklist to avoid missing documents. |
TECHNICAL TERM NOTES
Conditional business requirements: statutory requirements that must be satisfied before/during business operations.HS code: customs classification code used to determine tariff and management policy.Food safety: regulatory compliance for food products and food establishments.CAS: international chemical identifier.MSDS/SDS: chemical safety data sheet.ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival.
NOTES FOR IMPORT-EXPORT / LOGISTICS APPLICATION
- This Decree is not a tariff schedule; it mainly addresses conditional business and specialized management obligations.
- For conditional goods, legal review should be completed before finalizing purchase terms, shipping schedules and customs-clearance plans.
- For imported alcohol, review import border gates, ABV, licenses/registration, labels, food safety and distribution rights.
- For chemicals, review the controlled chemical list, CAS, SDS/MSDS, import/export licenses and chemical declaration requirements.
- For imported automobiles, review quality dossiers, technical materials and navigation/map software where relevant.
RELATED LEGAL DOCUMENTS TO REVIEW
| Related document | No. | Issuer | Date | Relevance | Key articles/appendices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Law on Government Organization | 2015 | National Assembly | 19 Jun 2015 | Legal basis for the Government’s authority to issue the Decree. | Preamble. |
| Commercial Law | 36/2005/QH11 | National Assembly | 14 Jun 2005 | Relevant to international trade in goods, agency, processing and transit operations. | Review when applying to import-export transactions. |
| Law on Chemicals | 06/2007/QH12 | National Assembly | 21 Nov 2007 | Basis for amendments concerning chemicals, scheduled chemicals and DOC/DOC-PSF chemicals. | Chapter III; Articles 5–9. |
| Law on Food Safety | 55/2010/QH12 | National Assembly | 17 Jun 2010 | Basis for food manufacturing and trading conditions under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. | Chapter IV; Articles 10–13. |
| Law on Electricity and amending Law | 28/2004/QH11; 24/2012/QH13 | National Assembly | 03 Dec 2004; 20 Nov 2012 | Basis for amendments on electricity activities and electricity consultancy services. | Chapter II; Articles 3–4. |
| Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harms | 09/2012/QH13 | National Assembly | 18 Jun 2012 | Basis for amendments on tobacco business conditions. | Chapter VIII; Articles 18–19. |
| Law on Investment and amendment to conditional business sectors | 67/2014/QH13; 03/2016/QH14 | National Assembly | 26 Nov 2014; 22 Nov 2016 | General legal basis for reduction and amendment of conditional business requirements. | Preamble; conditional business review. |
| Law on Prevention and Control of Harms of Alcoholic Beverages | 44/2019/QH14 | National Assembly | 14 Jun 2019 | Basis for amendments concerning alcohol business, especially alcoholic beverages under 5.5% ABV. | Chapter VII; Articles 16–17. |
| Decree on automobile manufacturing, assembly and import | 116/2017/ND-CP | Government | 17 Oct 2017 | Partially amended/repealed for automobile import and warranty/maintenance services. | Articles 1–2; replacement of Form No. 05 by Form No. 15. |
| Decree detailing the Law on Electricity | 137/2013/ND-CP | Government | 21 Oct 2013 | Partially amended/repealed regarding electricity business conditions. | Articles 3–4. |
| Decree amending business conditions under MOIT management | 08/2018/ND-CP | Government | 15 Jan 2018 | Further amended in the electricity and chemical chapters. | Articles 3 and 5. |
| Decree on chemicals controlled under the Chemical Weapons Convention | 38/2014/ND-CP | Government | 06 May 2014 | Partially amended/repealed for scheduled chemicals, DOC/DOC-PSF and export/import licenses. | Articles 5–7. |
| Decree guiding the Law on Chemicals | 113/2017/ND-CP | Government | 09 Oct 2017 | Partially amended/repealed; includes controlled chemical lists and specialized management requirements. | Articles 8–9; chemical appendices. |
| Decree amending business conditions in international trade, chemicals, industrial explosives, fertilizers, gas and food | 77/2016/ND-CP | Government | 01 Jul 2016 | Amended/repealed and supplemented with food safety dossiers and related business conditions. | Articles 10–14. |
| Decree detailing the Law on Food Safety | 15/2018/ND-CP | Government | 02 Feb 2018 | Must be cross-checked when determining food establishments subject to or exempt from food safety certificates. | Article 12 is referenced. |
| Decree on gas business | 87/2018/ND-CP | Government | 15 Jun 2018 | Amended on certain gas business conditions. | Article 15. |
| Decree on alcohol business | 105/2017/ND-CP | Government | 14 Sep 2017 | Amended/repealed in several alcohol business conditions; adds a chapter on alcoholic beverages under 5.5% ABV. | Articles 16–17; Forms 14 and 15. |
| Decree on tobacco business | 67/2013/ND-CP | Government | 27 Jun 2013 | Partially amended/repealed regarding tobacco business conditions. | Articles 18–19. |
| Circulars/decisions/official letters for specialized management | By product group | MOIT/specialized authorities | To be reviewed case by case | Not fully determinable from the main Decree alone; cross-check against the actual goods, HS code, import purpose and licenses. | Further review required based on dossier/product group. |
VIEW / DOWNLOAD THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT AND FULL TEXT
The full official Vietnamese text is embedded in one expandable block to keep the WordPress page clean. Enterprises should cross-check the signed PDF from the Government document portal before application.
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CLICK TO VIEW THE FULL TEXT OF DECREE 17/2020/ND-CP
Priority official source: Government document portal. This English page is a reference translation for business understanding and is not an official legal translation.
Note: This page is prepared for business and logistics reference only. For a specific dossier, the Vietnamese original and the latest amendments/consolidated texts should be checked before application.
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Resolution No. 66.13/2026/NQ-CP on food product declaration and registration
Resolution 09/2026/NQ-CP: Suspension and adjustment of the application period of Decree 46/2026/ND-CP on food safety
Decree 46/2026/ND-CP: Guidance on the Law on Food Safety
Law on Food Safety No. 55/2010/QH12 – full original text, legal status and import-export compliance notes
Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP: Detailing the Implementation of Certain Articles of the Law on Food Safety
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