Vietnam Releases Draft Decree Detailing the Chemicals Law: Part 1 
On September 5, 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam published a draft titled “Decree Detailing the Management of Certain Articles of the Chemicals Law and Guidelines on Hazardous Chemicals in Products and Goods,” and initiated a public consultation. The Law on Chemicals No. 69/2025/QH15 was passed by the National Assembly on June 14, 2025, and will take effect on January 1, 2026. The draft decree provides detailed provisions on the management of regulated chemicals, new chemical substances, protection of confidential chemical information, and hazardous chemicals in products and goods.
Legal Basis
The draft decree is designed to implement the following provisions of the 2025 Law on Chemicals:
- Article 2(5)
- Article 10(5)
- Article 11(5)
- Article 12(7)
- Article 14(7)
- Article 15(5)
- Article 18(2)
- Article 19(2)
- Article 20(3)
- Article 21(2)
- Article 22(4)
- Article 26(4)
- Article 28(4)
- Article 29(9)
- Article 31(7)
- Article 32(3)
Structure of the Draft Decree
The draft decree comprises five chapters and thirty-two articles:
| Chapter | Title | Articles | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | General Provisions | 1–3 | Scope of application, subjects, and definitions |
| II | Management of Chemical Activities | 4–22 | Conditions and procedures for manufacturing, trading, import/export |
| III | Chemical Information | 23–27 | Registration and management of new substances, confidentiality |
| IV | Hazardous Chemicals in Products and Goods | 28–30 | Listing, management, and disclosure |
| V | Implementation Provisions | 31–32 | Transitional measures and enforcement |
Focus of Part 1
This article (Part 1) focuses on the draft provisions governing regulated chemicals, including:
- Definition of toxic substances
- Conditions for manufacturing and trading conditional and specially managed chemicals
- Procedures for applying for certificates and permits
- Declaration of imported chemicals
Definition of Toxic Substances
The 2025 Chemicals Law replaces the term “toxic chemicals” used in the 2007 law with “toxic substances.” The draft decree defines toxic substances as chemicals possessing any of the following hazardous properties, based on the United Nations Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS):
- Acute toxicity: Category 1
- Serious eye damage/irritation: Category 1
- Skin corrosion/irritation: Category 1A
- Carcinogenicity: Category 1A
- Germ cell mutagenicity: Category 1A
- Reproductive toxicity: Category 1A
- Environmental hazard: Category 1
Management of Conditional and Specially Managed Chemicals
The draft decree outlines management requirements for various activities involving conditional and specially managed chemicals:
Manufacturing
| Requirement | Conditional Chemicals | Specially Managed Chemicals |
|---|---|---|
| Facilities | Must meet general safety conditions under Article 4 | Same as conditional chemicals |
| Responsible Personnel | Must hold a university degree in chemistry | Same as conditional chemicals |
| Additional Requirements | — | Must maintain tracking records and implement spill prevention measures |
Article 4 of the draft decree stipulates conditions related to fire/explosion prevention, environmental protection, occupational safety and health, internal regulations, hazard signage, accident prevention and response plans, equipment and materials for emergency response, and production tools and technologies.
Trading
| Requirement | Conditional Chemicals | Specially Managed Chemicals |
|---|---|---|
| Storage | Must lease certified warehouses or use compliant facilities per Article 4 | Same as conditional chemicals |
| Responsible Personnel | Must hold a vocational school degree in chemistry | Must hold a junior college degree in chemistry |
| Additional Requirements | — | Must maintain tracking records and implement spill prevention measures |
“Trading” refers to the purchase, sale, exchange, lease, export, or import of chemicals for commercial supply.
Storage
Both categories must be stored according to their properties. Chemicals that may react with each other or have differing safety/fire/explosion requirements must not be stored in the same area.
Import/Export
| Requirement | Conditional Chemicals | Specially Managed Chemicals |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation | Manufacturing/trading certificates required for customs clearance | Import/export permits required for customs clearance |
| Disclosure | Intended use must be published in the chemical database | Same as conditional chemicals |
| Post-transaction | — | Must publish transaction data in the chemical database within 30 days |
Use
Only applies to specially managed chemicals: Businesses must publish the type and intended use in the chemical database at least 30 days before first use or when changing a previously disclosed use.
Procedures for Certificates and Permits
Certificates are required for conditional chemicals, while permits are required for specially managed chemicals. The procedures are as follows:
| Item | Conditional Chemicals | Specially Managed Chemicals |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation | Article 9 outlines procedures for issuance, reissuance, and amendment of certificates (no major changes from current regulations) | Article 14 outlines procedures for issuance, reissuance, and amendment of permits (no major changes from current regulations) |
| Competent Authority | Provincial-level People’s Committees where the business is headquartered or operates | · Group 1: Ministry of Industry and Trade (includes industrial precursors Group IVA and designated chemicals Group 2)
· Group 2: Provincial-level People’s Committees (includes industrial precursors Group IVB, designated chemicals Group 3, and chemicals under the Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions) |
Exemptions
- No certificate or permit required if the chemical concentration in a mixture is below 0.1 percent
- For specially managed chemicals:
- Group 1: Exempt if concentration is below 1 percent
- Group 2: Exempt if concentration is below 5 percent
- Internal repackaging or compounding for in-house production is exempt
Declaration of Imported Chemicals
The 2025 Chemicals Law eliminates the list of chemicals subject to import declaration (formerly Annex V under Decree 113/2017/ND-CP). The draft decree instead requires pre-clearance declaration for chemicals classified under Chapters 28 and 29 of Vietnam’s Harmonized Tariff Schedule, as defined by Circular No. 31/2022/TT-BTC issued by the Ministry of Finance on June 8, 2022.
Importers of such chemicals must submit declarations via the National Single Window prior to customs clearance.
Exemptions
Same as current regulations:
- Import of specially managed chemicals
- Import of prohibited chemicals
- Import under 10 kg per invoice for testing/evaluation of new substances
- Mixtures with concentrations below 0.1 percent
- Hazardous chemicals already published in the chemical database
The original draft decree is available at:
http://cuchoachat.gov.vn/tin-tuc-su-kien/gop-y-du-thao-ho-so-nghi-dinh-quy-dinh-chi-tiet-mot-so-dieu-cua-luat-hoa-chat.html
