View Procedure

Procedure Name

Applying for reduced inspection or documentary inspection only for imported articles

Description

Category	License
Responsible agency	Vietnam Food Administration – Ministry of Health Address: 138A Giang Vo – Ba Dinh - Hanoi Phone: 04.38464489; 04.38463702 Email: vfa@vfa.gov.vn
Base on legal documents	Law on Food Safety No. 55/2010/QH12 Circular 52/2015/TT-BYT on State inspection of food safety.
Processing time	Within 10 working days from the date of reception of adequate and valid dossier
Fee	0 VND

Required documents

Serial	Document Title	Comments
1	Written request of the goods owner or the inspection agency	01 original copy
2	Documents proving the shipment of the same category and origin, which has undergone 5 inspections previously, is eligible for import; or the article has been stamped certifying the conformity with prescribed standards; or the article of the same category and origin, which has a stable quality over 2 consecutive inspections, is eligible for import.	01 original copy
3	Certificates of Fulfillment of Food Safety Conditions certified by the system of management of food safety consistent with Vietnam standards or foreign/international standards applicable in Vietnam	01 original copy
4	Certificates of Fulfillment of Food Safety Conditions certified by competent agencies of countries being signatories of the international agreement on mutual recognition of food safety inspection and quality to which Vietnam is a signatory	01 original copy

Requirements and conditions in following administrative procedures:

Standard inspection (Clause Article 5 of Circular No.52/2015/TT-BYT: is the inspection of the application and representative sample by which food labels, packages and special preservation (if any) are organoleptically examined, applying to the following cases:
1	Article of low risk or article stamp certifying the conformity with prescribed standards (GMP, HACCP)
2	Article of the same category and origin, which has a stable quality over 2 consecutive inspections, or article certified in writting by the Ministry of Health as eligible for reduced inspection
3	Article of the same category and origin, that has undergone sample testing and is eligible for import
4	Article of the same category and origin, and the shipment has been inspected before importing or enclosed with a sheet of analysis results issued by a third party in the country of origin.
5	In the list of goods certified to carry the standard-meeting stamps of the exporting country or of a regional common markets as recognized and announced by the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality in each period
6	Goods certified to carry the standard-meeting stamps of the exporting country or of a regional common markets as certified in witting by the Ministry of Health and the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality
Reduced inspection (Clause 3 Article 5 of Circular No. 522015/TT-BYT)
1	Imported articles carrying Certificates of Fulfillment of Food Safety Conditions certified by competent agencies of countries being signatories of the international agreement on mutual recognition of food safety inspection and quality to which Vietnam is a signatory
2	Imported articles carrying Certificates of Fulfillment of Food Safety Conditions certified by the system of management of food safety consistent with Vietnam standards or foreign/international standards applicable in Vietnam
3	Shipments of the same category and origin, which has undergone 5 inspections previously, and eligible for import
4	The Vietnam Food Administration shall certify in writing as "products under documentary inspection only" if the good owner meeting one of the three conditions specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article submits a written request or based on the written request of the inspection agency.
5	Shipments under documentary inspection only can be inspected irregularly against any signs of violation of the law of Vietnam in terms of quality, hygiene, food safety

Process steps:

Step 1	The goods owner or the State inspection agency shall submit the dossier to the Vietnam Food Administration - Ministry of Health
Step 2	The Vietnam Food Administration shall receive and examine the dossier. If the dossier is not complete or valid, the Administration shall issue a written request for dossier supplementation.
Step 3	The Vietnam Food Administration shall decide on the type of inspection for imported shipments: reduced inspection or documentary inspection only.
Step 4	Return the results to the goods owner

Process map:

01 original copy