Vietnam revamps decree on management of chemicals subject to Chemical Weapons Convention

On March 27, 2024, Vietnamese government promulgated Decree No. 33/2024/ND-CP on the Management of Chemicals Governed by the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (hereinafter "the Decree"). The Decree regulates the production, trade, import/export, processing, and use of designated chemicals ("schedule chemicals"), DOCs (discrete organic chemicals), and DOC-PSFs (DOCs other than schedule chemicals that contain phosphorus [P], sulfur [S] and fluorine [F]), reporting of such activities, and national control over such chemicals. The Decree, which completely amends the current Decree No. 38/2014/ND-CP, will enter into force and replace the current Decree on May 19, 2024.

The main revisions made by the Decree include: clarification of the definition of schedule chemicals, addition/deletion of schedule chemicals that are subject to the Decree, amendment to provisions on production of chemicals regulated under the Chemical Weapons Convention, introduction of new provisions on exemptions from obtaining trade licenses and import/export permits based on concentration thresholds, introduction of a new provision on the processing and use of regulated chemicals, and unification of the deadlines for submission of various reports.

Clarification of the definition of schedule chemicals

Previously, the definition of "schedule chemical" as defined in the past version of the Decree (No. 38/2014/ND-CP) remained somewhat unclear. However, Article 4, Paragraph 4 of the Decree has clarified that mixtures containing any substance in the lists of Schedule 1, Schedule 2, and Schedule 3 chemicals (as stipulated in Annex I to the Decree) are also subject to the Decree.

[EnviX Comment]
It should be noted that chemicals for industrial use are also subject to the Decree if they contain substances regulated by the Decree (No. 33/2024/ND-CP).