Vietnam enacts Decree on POPs Control under the Environmental Protection Law 2020 
On January 10, 2022, the Vietnamese government established and enacted the Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP Detailing a Number of Articles of the Law on Environmental Protection (hereinafter the “the Decree”). Articles 38 to 42 of the Decree stipulate persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and raw materials, fuels, materials, products, goods and equipment containing POPs (hereinafter “POPs-containing products”) that are included in the regulatory scope. Specifically, these Articles stipulate detailed rules for the application for registration of specific exemption of POPs under the Stockholm Convention, and obligations of labeling, information disclosure, conformity assessment, and inspection for POPs and POPs-containing products.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) on the same day established the Circular No. 02/2022/TT-BTNMT on Implementation Rules for a Number of Articles of the Law on Environmental Protection (hereinafter “the Circular”). Articles 47 and 48 of the Circular set out detailed rules for conformity assessment of POPs as raw materials and related formats.
These Decree and Circular can be downloaded at:
Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP
https://monre.gov.vn/VanBan/Pages/ChiTietVanBanPhapQuy.aspx?pID=277
Circular No. 02/2022/TT-BTNMT
https://monre.gov.vn/VanBan/Pages/ChiTietVanBanPhapQuy.aspx?pID=276
Application for Specific Exemption of POPs
Business entities that import, produce, or use POPs included in Annex XVII of the Decree as direct raw materials for production must apply for specific exemption of POPs together with the following documents:
- Application form for specific exemption of POPs as specified in Annex XVIII of the Decree
- Application report form for specific exemption of POPs as specified in Annex XIX of the Decree
- The latest environmental monitoring results as required by laws and regulations
Upon receipt of the above application, the MONRE will issue a Notice of Approval of Specific POPs Exemption. From January 1, 2023, this Notice will be used as a basis document for Customs to consider and permit the clearance of POPs.
The POPs listed in Annex XVII of the Decree are as follows:
| No. | Name of substance | Corresponding Annex of Stockholm Convention | Sector |
| 1 | Hexabromodiphenyl ether, Heptabromodiphenyl ether (HBDE) | A | Industry |
| 2 | Tetrabromodiphenyl ether, pentabromodiphenyl ether (BDE) | A | Industry |
| 3 | Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (PFOSF) | B | Industry
Agriculture |
| 4 | Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) | A | Industry |
| 5 | Polychlorinated naphthalene (PCN) | A and C | Agriculture |
| 6 | Decabromodiphenyl ether (DBDE) | A | Industry |
| 7 | Short-chain chlorinated paraffin (SCCP) | A | Industry |
| 8 | Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its salts and PFOA-related compounds | A | Industry |
Labeling of and Information Disclosure on POPs-containing products
Business entities who import, produce, or sell POPs-containing products shall implement the labeling and information disclosure specified in Article 39, Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Decree. The labels of such products must include names and contained amounts of POPs as stipulated in the Environmental Technical Standards on the Permissible Content of POPs in Raw Materials, Fuels, Materials, Products, Goods, and Equipment (*not yet promulgated), as well as other information as stipulated in the Decree on Goods Labeling (for details, see Decree 43/2017/ND-CP and Decree 111/2021/ND-CP). On the other hand, in case of products that do not have packaging, the concerned business entities must notify it to the MONRE and disclose information on such products on their official websites.
Conformity Assessment and Inspection of POPs-containing products
Importers and manufacturers of POPs-containing products must submit a letter to the MONRE together with the results of conformity assessment of POPs-containing products prior to placing them onto the market (or after customs clearance in the case of imported products). The details of the conformity assessment and inspection of POPs-containing products are stipulated in Article 48 of Circular 02/2022/TT-BTNMT, as follows:
- Compliance with environmental protection requirements for the management of POPs and POPs-containing products will be inspected.
- Conformity assessment results, labeling, and information disclosure and attached documents will be reviewed.
Sampling of products containing POPs will be conducted to verify compliance with environmental technical standards.
NOTE:
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