Decree No. 132/2008/ND-CP dated December 31, 2008 of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on product and goods quality

DECREE

DETAILING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF THE LAW ON PRODUCT AND GOODS QUALITY

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the November 21, 2007 Law on Product and Goods Quality;

At the proposal of the Minister of Science and Technology,

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Decree details the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Product and Goods Quality regarding the control of product and goods quality; examination of product and goods quality; national quality awards; and responsibilities for state control of product and goods quality.

Article 2. Subjects of application

This Decree applies to organizations and individuals producing or trading in goods and products and organizations and individuals conducting activities related to products and goods quality in Vietnam.

Article 3. Identification and promulgation of a list of products and goods capable of causing unsafety

1. The identification of products and goods to be listed as products and goods capable of causing unsafety (group-2 products and goods) shall be based on:

a/ Products' and goods' capability of causing unsafety;

b/ State management requirements and capacity in each period.

2. Products' and goods' capability of causing unsafety shall be determined based on one or all of the following factors:

a/ Chemical, physical or biological nature;

b/ Structure and operation principles;

c/ Process of transportation, storage, preservation and use.

3. Pursuant to Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, line ministries shall promulgate lists of group-2 products and goods under their management as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 32 of this Decree after consulting the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Chapter 2

CONTROL OF PRODUCT AND GOODS QUALITY

Section 1. CONTROL OF QUALITY OF PRODUCTS IN PRODUCTION

Article 4. Conditions for ensuring quality of products in production before they are marketed

1. Producers shall abide by requirements on product quality control in production specified in Article 28 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality before putting products on the market and, at the same time shall:

a/ Ensure that products are safe to humans, animals, plants, property and the environment;

b/ Determine and display information warning about products' capability of causing unsafety.

2. For group-2 products, producers shall make regulation-conformity announcement according to relevant technical regulations. The announcement of technical regulation conformity must comply with the law on standards and technical regulations.

For group-2 products with particular requirements on the production process, line ministries shall promulgate national standards for the production process or specify requirements on the production process in the national technical standards applicable to these products. Producers shall apply national technical regulations related to the conditions on the production process and must have their products certified as regulation-conformable by a designated certification organization.

3. For group-2 products which have new properties accompanied with the latent capability of causing unsafety under proper transportation, storage, preservation and use conditions, which, however, have not yet been specified in relevant technical regulations or products which appear for the first time in Vietnam and possess the latent capability of causing unsafety, producers shall prove that these products are safe to humans, animals, plants, property and the environment in accordance with regulations of line ministries. These products may be marketed only after line ministries' permission is obtained.

Article 5. State examination of product quality in production

1. The state examination of product quality in production (below referred to as examination of product quality in production) shall be conducted by product and goods quality examination agencies.

2. Grounds for product and goods quality examination agencies to examine product quality in production:

a/ Exported goods fail to satisfy the conditions prescribed in Article 32 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality, causing harms to national interests and reputation;

b/ Goods circulated on the market fail to conform to announced applicable standards or relevant technical regulations. The nonconformity is systematic and repeated.

3. Examination contents:

a/ Examining the application of requirements under relevant technical regulations related to conditions on the production process and measures for state control of product quality in production;

b/ Examining the evaluation of conformity and conformity evaluation results, goods labeling, display of standard- or regulation-conformity marks and documents accompanying products subject to examination;

c/ Testing samples to check the conformity of products to announced applicable standards or relevant technical regulations.

The examination under this Point shall be conducted by a designated conformity evaluation organization when signs of failure to ensure quality are detected after carrying out the examination under Points a and b of this Clause.

4. In the process of examination under Clause 3 of this Article, examination agencies may invite conformity evaluation experts or organizations to conduct the evaluation and testing according to announced applicable standards or relevant technical regulations. Conformity evaluation experts and organizations must work in an independent and objective manner and take responsibility before law for their evaluation and testing results.

Article 6. Handling of violations in the process of examination of product quality in production

1. When a producer fails to comply with requirements prescribed in Article 28 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality, the examination team shall handle the producer according to Article 30 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality and, at the same time, notify the producer of unconformable contents and set a time limit for remedying them. The producer shall take remedies as required by the examination team and may only put the product on the market when unconformable contents have been remedied. Before putting this remedied product on the market, the producer shall notify in writing the examination agency thereof.

2. For cases subject to announcement on the mass media as prescribed at Point c, Clause 1, and Clause 2, Article 30 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality, the examination agency shall, depending on the nature and severity of the violation and the degree and scope of its impact, decide to make announcement on local or central radio or television stations or other mass media.

3. When detecting a violation subject to administrative handling, the examination agency shall transfer the dossier to and propose a competent agency to carry out procedures for administratively handling such violation according to the law on the handling of administrative violations. The agency competent to handle administrative violations shall notify the handling and handling results to the examination agency for monitoring.

Section 2. CONTROL OF IMPORTED GOODS QUALITY

Article 7. Conditions for ensuring the quality of imported goods before goods are marketed

1. Importers shall abide by requirements on control of goods quality prescribed in Article 34 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality before circulating goods on the market and, at the same time shall:

a/ Ensure that their goods are safe to humans, animals, plants, property and the environment;

b/ Determine and display information warning about goods' capability of causing unsafety.

2. For group-2 goods, importers shall announce regulation conformity and must have their goods certified as regulation-conformable in accordance with relevant technical regulations.

The certification of regulation conformity shall be conducted in accordance with the law on standards and technical regulations. The announcement of regulation conformity shall be conducted based on one of the following grounds:

a/ The results of self-evaluation by the producer or importer;

b/ Evaluation by a conformity evaluation organization;

c/ Certification of regulation conformity according to relevant technical regulations;

d/ Results of verification at the border gate of exportation or the border gate of importation by a designated or accredited certification or evaluation organization as prescribed in Article 26 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality.

3. For group-2 goods subject to technical regulations related to conditions on the production process, the importer shall produce a certificate concerning the conditions on the production process, issued by a designed or accredited evaluation organization.

4. For group-2 products which have new properties with the latent capability of causing unsafety under proper transportation, storage, preservation and use conditions, which, however, have not yet been specified in relevant technical regulations or products which appear for the first time in Vietnam and possess the latent capability of causing unsafety, importers shall prove that these products are safe to humans, animals, plants, property and the environment in accordance with regulations of line ministries. These products may be marketed only after line ministries' permission is obtained.

5. Goods produced by enterprises in export-processing zones for the domestic market are subject to quality control like imports.

Article 8. State examination of quality of imported goods and handling of violations

1. State examination of imported goods quality (below referred to as examination of imported goods quality) shall be conducted by product and goods quality examination agencies, for group-2 goods and other goods showing signs or posing risks of causing unsafety.

2. The quality of imported goods shall be examined under Clause 2, Article 27, and according to the examination order and procedures prescribed in Article 35; violations detected in the examination process shall be handled under Article 36 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality.

If goods quality satisfies prescribed requirements, the examination agency shall issue a notice for the customs office and the importer to carry out customs clearance procedures. If goods quality fails to satisfy the prescribed requirements, the examination agency shall, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, propose a competent state agency to apply one or all of the following handling measures:

a/ To request the importer to re-export the goods;

b/ To request the importer to re-process or destroy the goods according to regulations. Goods, after being re-processed, must comply with regulations on management of imports;

c/ The product and goods quality examination agency shall consider the intensified examination at border gates or propose competent state agencies to decide to suspend or stop the import of these non-conformable goods.

3. Expenses and charges for the examination of imported goods quality comply with Article 37 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality.