Decree 17/2020/ND-CP amends multiple business-condition regimes under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. For importers and distributors of alcohol, chemicals, gas, minerals, motor vehicles, food or tobacco, HS and duty review alone is not sufficient; licenses, product declarations, registration and market-circulation conditions must also be checked.

QUICK SUMMARY

Item	Operational note
What does it regulate?	It amends or simplifies several business conditions concerning motor vehicles, electricity, chemicals, food, minerals, gas, alcohol, tobacco and trade promotion.
Key effective dates	General effective date: 22 March 2020; motor-vehicle and alcohol provisions: 05 February 2020.
Affected businesses	Importers/exporters, factories, EPE/FDI enterprises, trading companies, distributors, alcohol/gas/chemical/mineral/motor-vehicle/tobacco businesses and logistics providers.
Immediate action	Review licenses, business conditions, product declaration, food safety, import documents, labels, HS, C/O and effective dates before document finalization or ETA.

DOCUMENT INFORMATION

Field	Content
Document title	Decree No. 17/2020/ND-CP on amendments to several Decrees related to business investment conditions under the state management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade
Number	17/2020/ND-CP
Issuing authority	Government of Viet Nam
Date of issuance	05 February 2020
Effective date	22 March 2020; provisions on motor vehicles and alcohol business took effect from the signing date under Article 21
Signer	Nguyen Xuan Phuc
Effect status	Partially expired according to the National Legal Document Database; status must be re-checked before application
Scope	Amending, supplementing and repealing certain business investment conditions under the management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade

KEY CONTENTS TO NOTE

The following points translate legal amendments into operational checks for import-export, logistics, procurement, legal, compliance and operation teams. This article does not replace the Vietnamese original or current amended documents.

Topic	Key note
Effective dates and transition	Article 21 sets the general effective date as 22 March 2020; motor-vehicle and alcohol provisions take effect from the signing date. Article 20 provides transition rules for imported vehicle type assessment.
Imported motor vehicles	Amends Decree 116/2017/ND-CP, including management of imported brand-new vehicle quality, type assessment and a maximum type-assessment frequency of 36 months.
Electricity	Amends licensing and personnel conditions for electricity activities, technical management, operation, electrical consulting and fire prevention requirements.
Chemicals	Amends conditions for production, export and import of CWC chemicals, Schedule 1/2/3 chemicals, and requirements on environment, safety and chemical transport.
Food business	Amends food-safety facility conditions, procedures for issuance/re-issuance of certificates of food safety eligibility and supporting dossiers.
Minerals	Clarifies legal origin of minerals, mineral trading conditions, export conditions and cases of re-export or overseas testing/analysis.
Gas, alcohol and tobacco	Amends gas business conditions; adds rules for alcohol below 5.5% ABV; amends several tobacco business conditions.
Trade promotion	Repeals certain wording related to use of “in the name of Viet Nam” under Decree 81/2018/ND-CP.

AFFECTED BUSINESSES / PRODUCT GROUPS

Product group / situation	Documents to check	Recommended timing
Motor vehicles and warranty/maintenance services	Check Decree 116/2017/ND-CP, quality inspection dossiers, test results, type-assessment documents, model and manufacturer data.	Before import contract signing or before arrival.
Alcohol below 5.5% ABV	Check import conditions, international border gates and district-level registration requirements.	Before import/business operation.
Chemicals and CWC-related chemicals	Check lists, HS codes, CAS, MSDS/SDS, import/export licenses, transport and storage conditions.	Before booking and customs declaration.
Food under MOIT management	Check product declaration, food safety certificate, labels, test reports and ingredients.	Before shipment or ETA.
Minerals	Check lawful origin, mining/import documents, quality standards and special radioactive-material issues if any.	Before sales contract or export dossier.
Gas, LPG and LNG	Check tanks, cylinders, leases, inspection certificates, conformity certificates and safety conditions.	Before applying for or renewing certificates.
Tobacco and tobacco materials	Check specialized machinery lines, standards, environment, fire prevention and corresponding licenses.	Before production, import or trading.

IMPACT ON IMPORT-EXPORT / LOGISTICS OPERATIONS

Operational stage	Control point
Customs declaration	The Decree is not a tariff schedule; however, business conditions and licensing requirements may affect goods-policy checks during import declaration.
Documents	Commercial documents, C/O, catalogue, MSDS/SDS, licenses, product declarations, test reports and labels must match product names, models, content and origin.
Timeline	If licenses, registrations or declarations are not ready before ETA, demurrage, detention, storage or supplementary document requests may arise.
Post-clearance compliance	Companies should retain shipment dossiers, licenses, registrations, evidence of lawful origin and periodic reports where required.
Cost	Additional costs may arise from testing, certification, facility appraisal, storage, document amendments or post-clearance follow-up.

BUSINESS CHECKLIST

Dossier group	Documents to check	Control objective
Product data	Product name, expected HS, catalogue/datasheet, model, content/composition, MSDS/SDS if chemical.	Identify whether licensing or specialized controls apply.
Commercial documents	Contract/PO, Invoice, Packing List, B/L/AWB, C/O and payment documents.	Control consistency for customs and licensing.
Specialized dossiers	Business license, import license, product declaration, food safety, conformity certificate, test report and label dossier.	Used for customs clearance and market circulation.
Timeline	Ready date, ETD/ETA, license validity, reporting deadlines and appraisal/renewal periods.	Prevent storage, demurrage and detention costs.
Lawful origin	C/O, import declarations, mining permits, sales documents and origin evidence.	Important for minerals, alcohol, chemicals, gas and tobacco.
Post-clearance records	Customs declaration, commercial documents, licenses, test results, declaration dossier and handover records.	For post-clearance audit and market surveillance.

Group	Document	Authority	Role	Review note
Law	Law on Commerce 2005	National Assembly	Foundation for commercial activities and international trade.	Check by transaction.
Law	Law on Chemicals 2007	National Assembly	Foundation for chemical production, trading, export and import.	Check chemical lists, MSDS/SDS, CAS and HS codes.
Law	Law on Food Safety 2010	National Assembly	Foundation for food-safety requirements under MOIT management.	Check Decree 15/2018/ND-CP and specialized documents.
Law	Law on Electricity 2004 and 2012 amendment	National Assembly	Foundation for electricity activities and electricity consulting.	For electricity-sector businesses.
Law	Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcoholic Beverages 2019	National Assembly	Foundation for production, import, distribution and retail of alcohol.	Pay attention to alcohol below and above 5.5% ABV.
Decree	Decree 116/2017/ND-CP	Government	Partially amended/repealed for motor vehicles.	Review imported vehicle quality dossiers.
Decree	Decrees 137/2013/ND-CP and 08/2018/ND-CP	Government	Amended regarding electricity activity conditions.	Check personnel, equipment and fire prevention.
Decree	Decrees 38/2014, 77/2016 and 113/2017	Government	Related to CWC chemicals, chemicals, food, gas and minerals.	Review by product group.
Decree	Decree 87/2018/ND-CP	Government	Amended regarding gas business.	Check LPG/LNG facilities, cylinders and conformity.
Decree	Decree 105/2017/ND-CP	Government	Partially amended/repealed regarding alcohol business.	Check licenses, registration and reporting.
Decree	Decree 67/2013/ND-CP	Government	Partially amended/repealed regarding tobacco business.	Check machinery, environment, fire prevention and license conditions.
Decree	Decree 81/2018/ND-CP	Government	Certain trade-promotion provisions were repealed by Article 21 of Decree 17/2020/ND-CP.	Relevant for fairs, exhibitions and trade promotion.

VIEW / DOWNLOAD ORIGINAL DOCUMENT

Companies should verify the original text from official sources before applying it to a shipment or business dossier.

View on Government portal Download signed PDF Check effect status

Primary sources: Government legal document portal and the National Legal Document Database. The Vietnamese original controls legal application.

FULL TEXT OF THE DOCUMENT

Decree 17/2020/ND-CP is a lengthy signed PDF with multiple pages and schedules. The full-text area below embeds the Government portal signed PDF directly for in-page reading, while keeping official source buttons in case the browser or WordPress theme blocks the preview.

View original on Government portal Open/download signed PDF Check legal status

OPEN DECREE 17/2020/ND-CP FULL-TEXT PREVIEW

LIVE PDF PREVIEW OF DECREE 17/2020/ND-CP

Primary official sources: Government legal document portal and the National legal document database. The frame uses the signed PDF directly from the Government portal. If a browser or WordPress theme still blocks the preview, use the signed PDF button above to verify the official Vietnamese text.

THE GOVERNMENT
——–
SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Independence – Freedom – Happiness

Decree No. 17/2020/ND-CP dated 05 February 2020

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of decrees on business investment conditions under the state management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade

This English text is an operational reference rendering only. The controlling legal text is the Vietnamese signed PDF published by the Government portal. For actual application, enterprises should also check partial expiry, subsequent amendments/replacements, and sector-specific requirements for alcohol, chemicals, gas, minerals, motor vehicles, food, tobacco, distribution and logistics-related operations.

Operational recommendation: before locking commercial documents or before ETA, enterprises should review the original decree, current amended/consolidated documents, product files, model information, labels, licenses and market-circulation conditions.

TERMINOLOGY NOTES

Business investment conditions: legal conditions that enterprises must satisfy before or during conditional business activities.
Food safety: requirements on facilities, product declaration, testing, labeling and market circulation for food products.
MSDS/SDS: chemical safety data sheet describing composition, risks, storage, transportation and emergency handling.
DEM/DET: demurrage/detention charges caused by delayed clearance or document issues.

FAQ

When does Decree 17/2020/ND-CP take effect?

The general effective date is 22 March 2020. Motor-vehicle and alcohol provisions take effect from 05 February 2020.

Is the Decree still effective?

The National Legal Document Database indicates it is partially expired. Businesses must check current amendments for each sector before applying.

Does it change HS codes, duties or C/O treatment?

It is not a tariff schedule. Still, licensing and business-condition requirements may affect goods-policy checks during customs clearance.

What should alcohol importers below 5.5% ABV review?

They should review import conditions, international border-gate requirements and district-level registration before business operations.

Are chemicals affected?

Yes, if chemicals fall under CWC schedules, DOC/DOC-PSF or other controlled chemical categories.

Do labels or product declarations need review?

Depending on the product group, alcohol, food, chemicals, gas and tobacco may trigger label, declaration, license or certificate requirements.

What if goods are already in transit?

Review effective dates, transition clauses and the timing of declaration/business operation; do not apply a single conclusion to all shipments.

Which sources should be checked?

Use the Government legal document portal, the National Legal Document Database, the Ministry of Industry and Trade website, and current consolidated or amended texts.

OPERATIONAL SUPPORT FROM TGIMEX

For a multi-sector amendment such as Decree 17/2020/ND-CP, effective-date reading is not enough. The legal rule must be converted into a shipment-level checklist.

Legal review

Check the original text, effect status, amended/repealed documents, affected product groups and policy triggers by real dossier.

Document control

Cross-check Invoice, Packing List, B/L/AWB, contract, catalogue, MSDS, labels, C/O, licenses and specialized dossiers.

Operational coordination

Build a pre-ETA timeline, identify risk gates, coordinate customs declaration, specialized permits, international transport, port/warehouse and delivery.

Post-clearance compliance

Maintain shipment dossiers and prepare documents for post-clearance audit, market surveillance or specialized inspections.

Operational recommendation: review the legal text, product group, licenses and document set before booking confirmation or ETA to reduce storage, channeling, document supplementation and delivery-delay risks.

ELECTRICAL – ELECTRONICS – IT EQUIPMENT

F&B

MACHINERY

HOUSEHOLD GOODS

COSMETICS – PERSONAL CARE

ELECTRICAL – ELECTRONICS – IT EQUIPMENT

F&B – FOOD & BEVERAGE