New circular imposes environmental reporting obligation on certain businesses in Vietnam 
On November 30, 2020, Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) issued Circular No. 42/2020/TT-BCT on Declaration, Management and Use of Environment Database in Industry and Trade Sectors (hereinafter “the Circular”). The Circular came into force from April 1, 2021 and replaced the previous version of the Circular No. 22/2013/TT-BCT on Declaration, Management and Use of Environment Databases in Industry and Trade Sectors. The previous Circular No. 22/2013/TT-BCT had played an important role in state management, and in particular collection of information and data regarding environmental protection and strategic environmental evaluation in industry and trade sectors. However, as the state’s environmental regulations had greatly changed with time, the enforcement of Circular No. 22/2013/TT-BCT had become unsuitable for the latest situation, resulting in this amendment.
The Circular can be downloaded at:
http://congbao.chinhphu.vn/noi-dung-van-ban-so-42-2020-tt-bct-32771?cbid=33885
The major amendment from the previous version is the changes in the scope of the regulation. Previously, MOIT related agencies were regulated but in the current version business entities with large environmental impacts as listed in Annex I of the Circular. The regulated entities are as shown below:
|
No. |
Sector |
Size / Production capacity |
| 1 | Coal thermal power | All |
| 2 | Hydroelectric power | 20 MW or greater |
| 3 | Petroleum extraction | All |
| 4 | Petroleum refinement | All |
| 5 | Chemicals and detergent manufacturing | 10,000 tonnes/year or greater |
| 6 | Chemical fertilizer manufacturing | 10,000 tonnes/year or greater |
| 7 | Battery manufacturing | 300,000 Kwh/year; or greater or 600 tonnes/year or greater |
| 8 | Paper pulp manufacturing | 50,000 tonnes/year or greater |
| 9 | Paper manufacturing involving scrap paper | 50,000 tonnes/year or greater |
| 10 | Beer and soft drink manufacturing | 30 million liters/year or greater |
| 11 | Alcohol and spirit manufacturing | 2 million liters/year or greater |
| 12 | Weaving with dyeing | 100 million m2 of fabric/year or more |
| 13 | Leather tanning | 10,000 tonnes/year or greater |
| 14 | Rubber-based product manufacturing | 100,000 tonnes/year or greater |
| 15 | Cast iron, steel manufacturing and metallurgy | 300,000 tonnes/year or greater |
| 16 | Mineral extraction (except for minerals for construction materials) | Entities having obtained permission for mineral extraction from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment |
The main responsibilities of the regulated facilities are:
- To apply for creation of an account of the environment database (moitruongcongthuong.vn) to the Director General of Industrial Safety Techniques and Environment Agency under MOIT. The application must be made using the format stipulated in Annex III of the Circular.
- After receiving the account, to make annual declaration on environmental information using a dedicated system. The deadline is March 31 of the following year of the year to be declared.
