[Updated] Vietnam to Update the HS Codes for Imported Supplemented Food, Food Additive and Food Packaging Subject to the State Food Safety Inspection

[Updated on September 23, 2024]

On September 19, 2024, the Ministry of Health issued the Circular No. 15/2024 /TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health: Promulgating the List of Imported Foods, Food Additives, and Food Packaging & Container that must Receive the State Food Safety Inspection at Ports within the Scope of MOH’s Management. 

In terms of the key amendments, this Update mainly:

• Revises the legal basis for deciding the HS code of supplemented food and mixed food additive to a new regulation, namely, Circular 31/2022/TT-BTC the List of Goods Exported to and Imported from Vietnam

• Updates the HS code for single food additives and food contact materials

The Circular will come into effect on November 2, 2024, replacing the Circular No. 28/2021/TT-BYT on the effective date. Read the full text here.

On March 7, 2024, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health (MOH) drafted a circular, updating the list of imported foods, food additives, and food packaging & container that must receive the state food safety inspection at ports within the scope of MOH’s management. Any opinions can be submitted prior to May 6, 2024.

Major revisions

Once this draft comes into effect, it will replace the current effective regulation Circular No. 28/2021/TT-BYT. Compared with the current version, this Draft mainly:

• Divides food additives into two types: single food additive and mixed food additive

• Adds the INS No. for food additives

• Updates the HS code as per Circular 31/2022/TT-BTC the List of Goods Exported and Imported from Vietnam

Table 1: Part of the revisions

ChemLinked Interpretation

In Vietnam, MOH manages products including functional food (including supplemented food, health supplement, etc.), food additive, food contact material (FCM), as well as other food products not managed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). Therefore, this Draft lists the products of four types: a) Single food additives; b) Mixed food additives (subject to product self-declaration); c); Food packaging materials; and d) Foods.

Moreover, in Vietnam, products are required to complete the product declaration through either of the two declaration ways before being circulated in the market, which are “Product Self-declaration” and “Registration of product conformity declaration”. As per Decree No. 15/2018 Detailing the Implementation of a Number of Articles of the Law on Food Safety, products with certificate of registered product declaration after completing the registration of product conformity declaration can be exempted from the state inspection of imported food safety. Therefore, this draft only covers products subject to self-declaration under MOH’s control. For example, health supplement subject to “Registration of product conformity declaration” is not included in this Draft although such product is supervised by MOH.

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Recommended reading:

• ChemLinked food-pedia: Food Regulation in Vietnam

• ChemLinked food-pedia: Vietnam Health Supplement Regulation