Product proclamation in Ho Chi Minh City

Currently, with the mechanism to minimize administrative procedures, create clear corridors and the most favorable conditions for enterprises while still ensuring the health of people and consumers. To carry out this activity many decrees related to administrative procedures have contributed to creating favorable conditions for production and business institutions to quickly and fully carry out publish dossiers for its products. In the following article, Viet An Law will provide information related to proclaiming products in Ho Chi Minh City according to current legal regulations.

Legal basis

• Law on Food Safety 2010, as amended and supplemented 2018;
• Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP, as detailing several articles of the Law on Food Safety, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 155/2018/ND-CP, Decree No. 85/2019/ND-CP;
• Decision No. 06/2017/QD-UBND promulgating regulations on the organization and operation of the Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Management Board.

Which business institutions are allowed to proclaim their products?

• Organizations and individuals producing and trading food shall proclaim pre-packaged processed foods, food additives, food processing aids, food containers, and packaging materials in direct approach with food (hereinafter referred to as products).
• Products and raw materials produced and imported that are only used to produce or outwork export goods or serve the internal production of organizations or individuals and are not consumed in the domestic market are exempt from carrying out procedures to proclaim the

Specific procedures for the product proclamation in Ho Chi Minh City

According to Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP, the receiving and processing of the product proclamation dossier of business institutions are carried out by state management agencies and designated by the People’s Committee of Provinces and cities according to the management classification, including the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Industry and Trade.

However, currently, according to Decision No. 06/2017/QD-UBND of Ho Chi Minh City, the procedure for the proclamation of products here is not implemented in the direction in which the authority of management will announce it as before. Instead, all products will be announced at the Food Safety Management Board of Ho Chi Minh City (18 Cach Mang Thang 8 Street, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City). Specifically:

• The Food Safety Management Board in Ho Chi Minh City was established under Decision No. 2349/QD-TTg, which is a pilot model that gathers Food Safety management forces from 3 departments: Department of Health, Department of Industry and Trade, Department of Agriculture, and Rural Development, with the task of acting as a unified focal point to consult the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City in performing state management functions on Food Safety, building plans and implementing Food Safety guaranteed activities for the community.
• The Food Safety Management Board is regulated to organize the issuance, suspension, and revocation of all types of certificates, confirmations, and receipts in the field of food safety for organizations and individuals according to regulations of the law and according to the decentralization of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has decentralized to the Department of Health, the Department of Industry and Trade, and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Thus, currently, the proclamation of products in Ho Chi Minh City is only carried out and directed by an agency – the Food Safety Management Board. This brings many advantages for business institutions that qualify for proclaiming in terms of procedure. However, the activities of the Food Safety Management Board are only taking place in a pilot form under Decision No. 2349/QD-TTg in Ho Chi Minh City.

Procedures for the product proclamation in Ho Chi Minh City

Step 1: Test the product

• Organizations and individuals trading shall carry out the product testing within 12 months of submitting the dossier. The product testing criteria for each specific product type.
• In case the enterprise has not tested the product, Viet An Law supports the construction of proclaimed targets and tests the product for free on behalf of the enterprise.

Step 2: Organizations and individuals proclaim products on mass media or their electronic information pages or publicly list them at the headquarters of organizations and individuals and publish them on the Updated Data Information System about Food Safety.

• In case there is noUpdated Data Information System about Food Safety, organizations, and individuals shall submit 01 dossier by post or directly to the Food Safety Management Board to keep the dossier and post organizations’ names, individuals, and names of products proclaimed on the receiving agency’s website.
• In case an organization or individual has 02 or more production institutions producing the same product, the organization or individual will only submit the dossier to the Food Safety Management Board.

Step 3: Immediately after proclaiming the product, organizations, and individuals have the right to produce and business the product and take full responsibility for the safety of that product.

Some notes when proclaiming products

• Documents in the proclamation dossier must be presented in Vietnamese; In case there are documents in a foreign language, they must be translated into Vietnamese and notarized. Documents must be valid at the time of proclamation.
• In case an organization or individual has 02 (two) or more production institutions producing the same product, the organization or individual will only submit the dossier to a state management agency in the local where the production institution of organizations and individuals is located. Once you have selected a state management agency to submit your dossier, subsequent proclamations must be submitted to the previously selected agency.
• In case the product has a change in product’s name, origin, composition, the organization or individual must proclaim the product. In cases of other changes, organizations and individuals shall notify in writing the content of the change to the competent state management agency and may produce and trade products immediately after sending the notice.

Some questions related to the product proclamation in Ho Chi Minh City

Where can I see information on the proclaimed institution?

You can visit http://bqlattp.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/ to access the information page of the Food Safety Management Board in Ho Chi Minh City.

Then select List of proclaimed products by enterprises to look up.

Why is the product proclamation procedure in Ho Chi Minh City carried out by only one agency?

Due to the need to ensure in terms of the management. The establishment of the Food Safety Management Board was carried out according to the State’s project on piloting a mechanism to unify the management focal point, overcome inadequacies in the coordination mechanism, and enhance efficiency to ensure food safety in the area.

What are the penalties for failing to notify, post, and put up the product proclamation according to the law?

According to Clause 1, Article 20 of Decree No. 115/2018/ND-CP, the above behavior will be fined from 15.000.000 VND to 20.000.000 VND.

Clients who need consulting or support on product proclamation procedures in Ho Chi Minh City, please contact Viet An Law’s establishment service for the best support!

Disclaimer: This article was last updated in November 2023. Laws may have changed since then. Please contact Viet An Law to confirm the information in this article is current and for any legal assistance.