STATE INSPECTION OF QUALITY OF GOODS CIRCULATING ON MARKET

This Circular provides for the contents, order, and implementation of the state inspection of the quality of goods circulating on the market.

1. Regulated entities

This Circular applies to product and goods quality inspection authorities of ministries managing professions and fields, provinces, and agencies, organizations, and individuals engaging in activities concerning the quality of products and goods.

2. Inspected subjects

a) Goods circulating on the Vietnamese market.

b) National defense and security goods are not subject to inspection as prescribed by this Circular.

For the purpose of this Circular, the following terms shall be construed as follows:

1. Goods circulating on the market are goods transported, displayed, discounted, marketed, and stored during the trading of goods (including e-commerce goods), excluding goods that are being transported from border checkpoints to goods warehouses of importers, stored at goods warehouses of importers, and pending for customs clearance.

2. Witnesses are persons invited by Inspection Teams to witness the inspection and formulation of administrative violation records according to this Circular.

3. Goods batches

a) Regarding bulk goods and one-off goods: a batch of goods is the collection of a type of goods of the same model with a determined quantity and the same label contents produced or imported by an organization or individual at a location that is distributed and consumed on the market.

b) Regarding goods that may be mixed during the process of storing, preserving, and selling, leading to changes in quality: a batch of goods is the collection of a type of goods with a determined quantity, stored, preserved, and sold in the same storage or preservation unit or location.

4. Central inspection authorities are professional authorities of ministries managing professions and fields assigned to implement tasks of state management of the quality of products and goods; local inspection authorities are professional authorities of People's Committees of provinces and centrally affiliated cities assigned to implement tasks of state management of the quality of local products and goods.

5. Other terms related to the quality of products and goods and technical standards and regulations in this Circular shall be applied according to Article 3 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality and Article 3 of the Law on Technical Standards and Regulations.

1. Information on and warnings about goods circulating on the market not conforming with the conditions prescribed in Article 38 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality.

2. Feedback in any form from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals regarding signs of violations against regulations on the quality of products and goods and goods labels.

3. Results of surveys or inspections of the quality of goods circulating on the market indicate that such goods have labels contrary to regulations or signs of quality not conforming with the applied disclosure standards or corresponding technical regulations.

4. Management requirements or requests from competent agencies, organizations, and individuals regarding the quality of delivered products and goods.

5. Annual inspection plans approved by competent authorities.

1. Inspections under annual plans approved by competent authorities

a) Development of an inspection plan:

Annually, the inspection authority shall, based on the management requirements and developments in the quality of goods and products, assess compliance with the law on product and goods quality and shall, based on the previous inspection results, the budget, and directive of the superior management authority, develop an inspection plan according to Clause 2 Article 47 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality.

b) Regarding facilities approved in the annual inspection plan, according to actual situations or requests from the management authority, if the inspection authority does not carry out the inspection at a specific facility subject to inspection, it shall send an official dispatch to such a facility to request for reports on compliance with laws concerning products and goods currently in business of the facility. If there are signs of violations of standards, measurement, quality, and goods labels through reports of the facility subject to inspection, the inspection authority shall conduct an irregular inspection according to this Circular.

2. Irregular inspections of the quality of goods circulating on the market

The grounds to carry out an irregular inspection of the quality of goods circulating on the market shall comply with Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 Article 4 of this Circular.

1. Inspection of goods information

a) Inspection of goods labels and mandatory enclosed documents as per regulation;

b) Inspection of applied disclosure standards and conformity marks as per regulation;

c) Inspection of codes and bar codes and traceability of the origin of products and goods as per regulation;

2. Inspection of goods quality

a) Inspection of the compatibility of goods compared to technical regulations, applied disclosure standards, goods labels, and enclosed documents;

b) Inspection of other contents related to the quality of goods;

3. During the inspection, if goods have signs of not ensuring their quality, the Head of the Inspection Team shall decide to collect samples according to this Circular.

4. Regarding e-commerce goods, aside from the inspection as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, the Inspection Team shall compare the consistency of the information of actual goods subject to the inspection with the information on websites.

1. An Inspection Team shall carry out an inspection according to the following steps:

a) Disclose an inspection decision before carrying out the inspection. The inspection decision shall be formulated following Form No. 1. QD/DKT of the Appendix enclosed herewith;

b) Inspect the contents prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular;

c) Formulate an inspection record following Form No. 3. BB/DKT of the Appendix enclosed herewith. The inspection record shall bear the signatures of the seller and the Head of the Inspection Team. If the seller does not sign the record, the record shall bear the signature of the representative of the authority of the commune, ward, or commune-level town (hereinafter referred to as “commune-level authority”) or the signature of at least one witness confirming that the seller does not sign the record.

If the record does not bear the signature of the representative of the commune-level authority or the witness, the Inspection Team shall specify the reason in the record and submit a written report to the inspection authority. The record shall still have legal value if it bears the signatures of the Head and members of the Inspection Team.

If the Inspection Team collects goods samples, comply with Article 8 of this Circular;

d) Handle and provide suggestions according to Article 10 of this Circular;

dd) Submit a report on the inspection results to the inspection authority.

2. A quality inspector shall carry out an independent or irregular inspection according to the following steps:

a) Disclose an inspection decision promulgated by a competent person and present the quality inspector card before carrying out the inspection. The inspection decision shall be formulated following Form No. 2. QD/KSV of the Appendix enclosed herewith;

b) Inspect the contents prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular;

c) Formulate an inspection record following Form No. 4. BB/KSV of the Appendix enclosed herewith. The inspection record shall bear the signatures of the seller and the quality inspector. If the seller does not sign the record, the record shall bear the signature of the representative of the commune-level authority or the signature of at least one witness confirming that the seller does not sign the record.

If the record does not bear the signature of the representative of the commune-level authority or the witness, the quality inspector shall specify the reason in the record and submit a written report to the inspection authority. The record shall still have legal value if it bears the signature of the quality inspector;

d) Handle and provide suggestions according to Article 10 of this Circular;

dd) Submit a report on the inspection results to the inspection authority.

3. In case of an inspection of the quality of e-commerce goods, the authority taking charge of the inspection shall identify or confirm the name and address of the seller before carrying out the inspection.

The inspection order shall comply with Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

1. Goods sampling

During an inspection, if the related goods have signs of not ensuring their quality, the Head of the Inspection Team shall:

- Collect goods samples and formulate a record following Form No. 5. BBLM of the Appendix enclosed herewith;

- Request the seller to provide receipts, invoices, and documents related to the goods whose samples have been collected to use as the grounds to determine the consumed quantity of violating goods if such goods violate quality regulations.

- Determine the quantity of the goods batch together with the representative of the facility subject to the inspection at the latest goods import before and during the goods sampling.

Goods samples are collected randomly to represent the goods batch subject to the inspection. The quantity of sample units shall be sufficient to ensure the testing of inspection criteria according to the prescribed management requirements and testing methods. The Inspection Team shall send one sample unit for testing, and the facility subject to the inspection may choose to store or not store no more than three sample units used as the grounds for comparison with the sample unit sent for testing.

If the quantity of goods is insufficient for the goods sampling for inspection or the goods batch cannot be determined, the Inspection Team shall conduct a goods sampling for quality survey according to Clause 2 Article 9 of this Circular.

2. Order of goods sampling

a) Formulation of a goods sampling record following Form No. 5. BBLM of the Appendix enclosed herewith;

b) Collected goods samples shall be sealed following Form No. 8. TNPM of the Appendix enclosed herewith, and the seal stamp shall bear the signatures of the sampling person and the seller.

If the seller does not sign the sampling record or the seal stamp, the sampling record or the seal stamp shall bear the signature of the representative of the commune-level authority or the signature of at least one witness confirming that the seller does not sign the sampling record or the seal stamp; if the sampling record or the seal stamp does not bear the signature of the representative of the commune-level authority or the witness, reasons shall be specified in the record. The sampling record or seal stamp shall still have legal value if it bears the signatures of the Head and members of the Inspection Team.

3. Goods sample testing

Goods samples shall be tested at a designated testing organization under laws.

If the goods do not have any separate instruction on the time to send the samples for testing, within 5 working days from the date of goods sampling, the Inspection Team shall send the goods samples to the designated testing organization under laws for testing.

Before being sent to the testing organization, goods samples shall be encrypted, and an encryption record shall be made following Form No. 6. BB/MHM of the Appendix enclosed herewith. During the transport, requirements for safety and integrity shall be complied with. The handover of goods samples to the testing organization shall be made into a record following Form No. 7. BB/GNM of the Appendix enclosed herewith.

The quality testing results of goods at the designated testing organization under laws shall be the legal grounds for the inspection authority to carry out further handling as per regulation.

4. Sample storage and handling

If the facility subject to the inspection stores the samples collected by the Inspection Team, it shall ensure conformity with current legislative documents on sample storage, not affecting the initial nature of the stored samples.

After testing results for the sample units sent for testing are available, the inspection authority shall notify the facility subject to the inspection of the testing results following Form No. 10. TB/KQTN of the Appendix enclosed herewith for stored sample handling.

- Regarding qualified and unexpired goods samples, the facility subject to the inspection may continue to sell or use such goods;

- Regarding goods samples violating quality regulations, the facility subject to the inspection may change their use purposes or recycle or destroy such goods according to laws;

- Regarding expired goods samples, the facility subject to the inspection shall destroy such goods according to laws.

5. Goods sampling and sample testing costs

Sampling and sample testing costs shall comply with Article 41 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality and Joint Circular No. 28/2010/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN dated March 3, 2010 of the Minister of Finance of Vietnam and the Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam. The Inspection Team and inspection authority shall not pay for any cost of storage of sample units at the facility subject to the inspection.

1. If the inspection authority collects goods samples to survey and monitor the quality of goods on the market, stored samples are unnecessary.

2. During an inspection, if goods have signs of not ensuring the quality but are insufficient for sampling for inspection or the quantity of goods batches cannot be determined, the Inspection Team shall collect samples to survey the quality of goods. Reasons for changes to the sampling purpose shall be specified in the inspection record. If the testing results of survey samples are unconformable with the applied disclosure standards or corresponding technical regulations, the inspection authority shall carry out an inspection at the facility of the manufacturer or importer of the goods or send notifications to the authority managing the concerned profession or field or local authority for inspection of the mentioned facility according to laws.

3. Costs of goods sampling for surveys shall be paid by the inspection authority.

1. If violations of product and goods quality are not subject to fines, the Inspection Team shall specify them in the inspection record and request the seller to carry out remedial measures. After rectifying the violations, the seller shall submit a written report with enclosed rectification evidence to the inspection authority for written confirmation in case the seller meets the rectification requirements. After the reporting deadline prescribed in the inspection record, if the seller fails to carry out remedial measures, the inspection authority shall disclose the name and address of the sale location, goods name, and violations on mass media.

2. During the inspection, if any administrative violation is discovered, the quality inspector, Inspection Team, or inspection authority shall:

a) Formulate an administrative violation record following Form No. 01 in the Appendix enclosed with Decree No. 118/2021/ND-CP dated December 23, 2021 of the Government of Vietnam.

Seal the goods and formulate a goods-sealing record following Form No. 26 in the Appendix enclosed with Decree No. 118/2021/ND-CP while requesting the seller to suspend the sale of violating goods.

b) Submit a report to the inspection authority on the inspection results. The inspection authority shall suspend the circulation of violating goods following Form No. 11. TB/TDLT of the Appendix enclosed herewith within 2 working days after discovering violations.

c) Formulate and complete the documentation on the imposition of fines for administrative violations for the competent person to decide on such fines as prescribed by laws following Form No. 02 of the Appendix enclosed with Decree No. 118/2021/ND-CP. In case the violations exceed its jurisdiction, the inspection authority shall transfer the documentation and suggestion to a person or state authority competent to impose the fines.

d) Regarding sealed goods, after the seller has paid the fines, complied with additional sanction measures, and paid for the sample purchase costs and goods testing goods, the inspection authority shall open the seal and formulate an unsealing record following Form No. 27 of the Appendix enclosed with Decree No. 118/2021/ND-CP for the seller to carry out remedial measures according to the decision on the imposition of fines for administrative violations. After the rectification, the seller shall submit a written report with enclosed rectification evidence to the inspection authority.

The inspection authority shall, based on the report and the enclosed documentation of the seller, notify the seller that the goods may continue to be circulated on the market following Form No. 12. TB/TTLT of the Appendix enclosed herewith if it considers that the rectification is qualified.

dd) In case the seller recycles the goods according to the decision on the imposition of fines for administrative violations, the seller shall submit a written report to the inspection authority for it to carry out the goods sampling for re-testing of failed criteria after the goods have been recycled.

If the re-testing results conform with laws, the inspection authority shall notify the seller that the goods may continue to be circulated on the market following Form No. 12. TB/TTLT of the Appendix enclosed herewith.

e) In case of destroying violating goods according to the decision on the imposition of fines for administrative violations, the seller shall comply with the law on the destruction of violating goods.

3. Depending on the severity, impact scope, and consequence of the goods batch unconformable with quality regulations, the inspection authority shall disclose such a batch on mass media according to Article 18 of Decree No. 118/2021/ND-CP.

4. After detecting violations from goods circulating on the market, the inspection authority shall carry out an inspection at the facility of the manufacturer or importer of such goods or submit a report to a competent authority to request an inspection at such a facility according to laws.

5. The documentation on the imposition of fines for administrative procedures transferred to a person competent to impose such fines includes: inspection decision, inspection record, administrative violation record, goods-sealing record, circulation suspension notification, evidence proving the violations, relevant documents provided and confirmed by the violating organization or individual, and official dispatch of the inspection authority requesting the competent person or authority to impose the fines according to laws.

The competent person or state authority shall impose fines for administrative violations according to laws and notify the inspection authority of the sanction results for monitoring and summary.

1. Inspection plan development

Inspection authorities shall, based on Clause 1 Article 5 of this Circular, develop annual inspection plans in conformity with current regulations on inspection cooperation in the field of quality standards.

2. Inspection result reports

a) Inspection authorities shall summarize reports on the situation and results of periodic inspections annually or irregularly according to Article 32 of Decree No. 132/2008/ND-CP dated December 31, 2008 of the Government of Vietnam, amended by Clause 14 Article 1 of Decree No. 74/2018/ND-CP dated May 15, 2018 of the Government of Vietnam. Reporting contents include: characteristics of the circulation of goods under their management; inspection results following Form No. 15a/KTCL or Form No. 15b/KTCL in the Appendix enclosed with Circular No. 13/2021/TT-BKHCN dated December 30, 2021 of the Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam; general assessment and review; suggestions.

b) Local inspection authorities shall summarize reports on the situation and results of inspections of the quality of goods circulating on the market under their management and send them to their governing bodies and Departments of Science and Technology. Before December 20 every year, Departments of Science and Technology shall summarize inspection results of local inspection authorities for reports to People’s Committees of provinces or centrally affiliated cities and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam (through the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality).

c) Before December 20 every year, central inspection authorities shall summarize reports on the situation and results of inspections of the quality of goods circulating on the market under their management and send them to their governing ministries and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam (through the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality).

1. Sellers shall comply with Article 16 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality. In case sellers engage in e-commerce operations, comply with Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP dated May 16, 2013 of the Government of Vietnam and Decree No. 85/2021/ND-CP dated September 25, 2021 of the Government of Vietnam.

2. Sellers shall store and handle samples in compliance with Clause 4 Article 8 of this Circular.

1. This Circular comes into force as of March 3, 2024.

2. The following Circulars shall expire from the date this Circular comes into force:

a) Circular No. 26/2012/TT-BKHCN dated December 12, 2012 of the Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam.

b) Circular No. 12/2017/TT-BKHCN dated September 28, 2017 of the Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam.

1. Regarding cases that are being handled before the effective date of this Circular, comply with Circular No. 26/2012/TT-BKHCN and Circular No. 12/2017/TT-BKHCN.

2. If any legal document cited in this Circular is amended, supplemented, or replaced, comply with its new edition.

1. Product and goods quality inspection authorities of ministries managing professions and fields, provinces, and agencies, organizations, and individuals engaging in activities concerning the quality of products and goods shall implement this Circular.

2. The General Director of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality shall guide and organize the implementation of this Circular. Difficulties arising during the implementation of this Circular shall be promptly reported to the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality for reports to the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam for considerations and decisions./.