Vietnamese Chemical Regulation

Vietnam REACH

What is Vietnam REACH?

The main chemical law in Vietnam is the Law on Chemicals 06/2007/QH12 issued in Nov. 2007. The Chemical Law provides regulations on chemical handling, safety in chemical handling, right and obligations of organizations and individuals engaged in chemical handling, and state management of chemical handling. The main authority in charge of chemical management is the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT). The chemical law in Vietnam is supported by various decrees. The Decree No. 113/2017/ND-CP Specifying and providing guidelines for implementation of certain articles of the law on chemicals in which updated on 2017 provides detailed regulations on chemical lists on licenses, classification, plans/measures for chemical incident, safety training, declaration, etc. The Circular 32/2017/TT-BCT provides forms and guidelines of labeling, MSDS, declaration, reports, license application, plans/measures, etc.

National Chemical Inventory (NCI)

Vietnam began to compile the national chemical inventory (NCI) in 2012. Substances that are not listed on the inventory will be considered as new substances and require registration before they can be used, imported, or produced in Vietnam. So far, there are 5 times where companies can nominate substances to the inventory. The inventory contains about 40,000 substances. The new deadline for substance submission is April 15th, 2021. The final draft of the inventory is expected to be released by the end of this year.

Nominating Substance to the NCI

Nominating Substances to the NCI requires the following information:

Chemical Name (IUPAC)
CAS No.
Safety Data Sheet (SDS) – as per Vietnamese Decree No. 113/2017/ND-CP and Circular no. 04/2012/TT-BCT in Vietnamese language
Document that showing the chemicals are being used in Vietnam (such as purchase contract, invoices, etc)

The Vietnamese authority will evaluate the substances and decide if they should be included in the inventory.

Steps for Nominating Substances to the NCI

Identify substances that export to Vietnam and check if it is listed in the NCI
Prepare information (CAS No.) and documents for substance nomination to the NCI
Check if the SDS is updated and prepare SDS in Vietnamese
Consult with regulatory compliance companies to fulfill your responsibilities as manufacturers and suppliers and ensure the access to the Vietnamese market