Circular No. 03/2018/TT-BGTVT provides detailed regulations on the inspection of technical safety quality and environmental protection for imported automobiles under the scope of Decree No. 116/2017/NĐ-CP.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on quality safety technical inspection and environmental protection

for imported automobiles subject to Decree No. 116/2017/ND-CP

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On the basis of Decree No. 86/2012/NĐ-CP dated October 19, 2012, issued by the Government detailing and guiding implementation of certain provisions of the Metrology Law;

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

Pursuant to the Law Benvironmental protection dated June 23, 2014;

Pursuant to Decree No. 132/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2008 of the Government detailing a number of provisions of the Law on Product Quality;

Pursuant to Decree No. 187/2013/ND-CP dated November 20, 2013 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Trade regarding international goods trading activities and agency buying, selling, processing, and transiting goods with foreign countries;

On the basis of Decree No. 69/2018/NĐ-CP dated May 15, 2018, issued by the Government detailing certain provisions of the Foreign Trade Management Law;

Pursuant to Decree No. 12/2017/NĐ-CP dated February 10, 2017, issued by the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

Considering the proposal of the Director of the Science and Technology Department and the Director of the Vietnam Vehicle Inspection Agency;

The Minister of Transport issues this Circular regulating quality safety technical inspection and environmental protection for imported automobiles subject to Decree No. 116/2017/ND-CP.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Clause 4 of Article 6Scope of application

1. This Circular regulates quality safety technical inspection and environmental protection for imported automobiles subject to Decree No. 116/2017/ND-CP dated October 17, 2017 of the Government stipulating conditions for automobile production, assembly, importation, and warranty and maintenance service operation (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 116/2017/ND-CP).

2. This Circular does not apply to automobiles imported according to point b, Clause 2, Article 2 of Decree No. 116/2017/ND-CP.

Article 2.Applicability

This Circular applies to enterprises importing automobiles into Vietnam and agencies, organizations, and individuals related to automobile management, inspection, and testing.

Article 3. Definitions

In this Circular, the following terms shall be understood as follows:

1. Foreign competent authority is an agency or organization recognized by foreign laws and approved, acknowledged, or certified to have the function of issuing: certificate of automobile type approval; documentation on the results of evaluating the quality assurance conditions of foreign automobile manufacturing and assembling enterprises for the factory producing the imported automobile types; certificate of registration for circulation or other equivalent legal documents.

2. Motor vehicles of the same type refers to automobiles with identical characteristics determined based on the principle set out in Appendix II attached hereto.

3. Exhaust emission test report is a document issued by a specialized testing facility in Vietnam for automobile samples or automobile engine samples as prescribed.

4. Safety test report is a document issued by a specialized testing facility in Vietnam for automobile samples as prescribed.

5.Factory Quality Inspection Certificate is a document provided by the foreign automobile manufacturer for each individual automobile including the following information: chassis number (VIN); engine number; basic technical specifications at Appendix V attached hereto; type of vehicle released according to the certificate of automobile type approval.

6.Electronic Registration Procedure is the declaration, acceptance, and processing of inspection declaration information, exchange of inspection procedure information among relevant parties through the electronic data processing system for inspection procedures.

7 Electronic Registration Data Processing System is the information system managed by the Inspection Authority to implement electronic inspection procedures.

8. Electronic Registration Information System is the information system serving import enterprises in declaring and receiving information and feedback from the inspection authority during the implementation of electronic inspection procedures.

9. Electronic inspection registration form is an electronic document comprising a set of information declaration indicators of the import enterprise.

10. Electronic transaction incident is a situation where the electronic data processing system for inspection procedures and the electronic inspection declaration system cannot conduct electronic transactions with each other due to objective reasons.

11. Quality certificate are documents specified from Appendix V to Appendix VII attached hereto.

12. Certificate of imported automobile type approval is a certificate regarding the quality safety technical and environmental protection of automobile types or includes a certificate regarding the quality safety technical of automobile types and a certificate regarding the environmental protection of automobile types or automobile engine types.

13.  Documentation on the results of quality assurance condition evaluation is the result of evaluating the quality assurance conditions of foreign automobile manufacturing and assembling enterprises for the factory producing the imported automobile types under the ISO 9001 system, the TS 16949 system, the UNECE, EC, EEC COP certification system, or equivalent documents issued by foreign competent authorities.

14. Inspection authority is the Vietnam Vehicle Registration Agency, responsible for organizing the implementation of automobile import quality safety technical inspection and environmental protection certification according to this Circular.

Chapter II

REGULATIONS ON QUALITY SAFETY TECHNICAL INSPECTION
AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Article 4.Registration dossier for inspection (paper or electronic version)

1. The registration dossier for inspection of second-hand imported passenger cars includes:

a) A copy of the application for inspection of technical safety and environmental protection quality of imported passenger cars according to the model prescribed in Appendix I issued together with this Circular;

b) A copy of the Certificate of Registration for Circulation still valid before export issued by the competent authority abroad or equivalent legal documents;

c) A copy of the commercial invoice;

d) A copy of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) decoding sheet provided by the vehicle manufacturer (for initial type certification);

đ) An original copy of the Import Motor Vehicle Information Sheet according to the model prescribed in Appendix III issued together with this Circular;

e) A copy of the document introducing the features and technical specifications of the vehicle provided by the manufacturer;

g) A copy of the import goods declaration for paper-based dossiers; the number, date, month, and year of the Declaration for electronic dossiers.

2. The registration dossier for inspection of unused imported passenger cars includes:

a) A copy of the application for inspection of technical safety and environmental protection quality of imported passenger cars according to the model prescribed in Appendix I issued together with this Circular;

b) A copy of the Certificate of Quality Type of Imported Passenger Cars issued by the competent authority abroad;

c) A copy of the Certificate of Type Approval for spare parts such as tires, rear-view mirrors, front headlights, and glass issued by the competent authority;

d) An original copy of the Factory Quality Inspection Report issued by the foreign automobile manufacturing and assembly enterprise for each car;

đ) A copy of the document on the results of the assessment of quality assurance conditions issued by the foreign automobile manufacturing and assembly enterprise for the factory producing the imported passenger car types still valid, issued by the competent authority abroad;

e) A copy of the commercial invoice;

g) A copy of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) decoding sheet provided by the vehicle manufacturer (for initial type certification);

h) An original copy of the Import Motor Vehicle Information Sheet according to the model prescribed in Appendix III issued together with this Circular;

i) A copy of the document introducing the features and technical specifications of the vehicle provided by the manufacturer;

k) A copy of the import goods declaration for paper-based dossiers; the number, date, month, and year of the Declaration for electronic dossiers;

l) A copy of the Emission Test Report;

m) A copy of the Safety Test Report.

Article 5.Content of inspection and testing of imported passenger cars

1. For imported second-hand passenger cars, they must be inspected for technical safety and environmental protection quality for each vehicle according to the regulations, specifically as follows:

a) Regarding the dossier: check the consistency of the content of the inspection registration dossier.

b) Regarding the actual condition: carry out inspections for vehicles registered for circulation in countries belonging to the EU, G7, or countries with emission standards equivalent to or higher than the current Vietnamese emission standards. The content of the inspection of technical safety and environmental protection quality for each vehicle is specified in Appendix IV issued together with this Circular.

2. For unused imported passenger cars, they must be inspected by the quality management agency according to the regulations for each batch of imported vehicles. Representative samples of passenger cars for each type in the batch of imported vehicles must be tested and inspected for emissions and technical safety quality according to the regulations, specifically as follows:

a) Regarding the dossier: check the consistency of the contents of the Factory Quality Inspection Reports; check the consistency of the Factory Quality Inspection Reports with the Type Quality Certificates within the same type of imported passenger cars in the batch declared by the enterprise.

b) Regarding the actual condition: inspect the chassis and engine numbers of each vehicle in the batch of imported vehicles according to the inspection registration dossier; check the consistency of the actual vehicles of the same type in the batch of imported vehicles; randomly select representative samples of passenger cars for each type in the batch of imported vehicles to compare the actual technical parameters of the vehicles with the content of the inspection registration dossier.

c) The inspection agency randomly selects one sample vehicle or two sample vehicles (in cases where the enterprise requests using one sample for safety testing and another for emission testing) representing each type in the batch of imported vehicles that have been inspected for the importing enterprise to bring to testing facilities. The sampling process must be documented in a record according to the model prescribed in Appendix VIII issued together with this Circular to be presented by the importing enterprise when working with testing facilities.

d) Emission testing: carried out according to the National Technical Regulation QCVN 86: 2015/BGTVT "National Technical Regulation on Emission Standards Level 4 for New Motor Vehicles" (excluding evaporative tests).

đ) Technical safety quality testing: carried out according to the National Technical Regulation: QCVN 09:2015/BGTVT "National Technical Regulation on Safety Technical Quality and Environmental Protection for Motor Vehicles";QCVN 10:2015/BGTVT "National Technical Regulation on Quality of Technical Safety and Environmental Protection for City Passenger Cars"; QCVN 82:2014/BGTVT "National Technical Regulation on City Buses for People with Disabilities to Access and Use"; and current laws (excluding testing of parts such as rearview mirrors, glass, headlights, tires, alloy wheels, fire-resistant materials, and fire-resistant structure).

Article 6.Procedures and Methods for Implementation

1. Submission of Registration Inspection Files

a) The importing enterprise shall prepare one set of registration inspection files in accordance with Article 4 of this Circular and submit to the inspection authority either directly or through electronic registration procedures. At the time of registering for inspection, the importing enterprise must provide at least the following documents: from point a to point e of Clause 1, Article 4 for used vehicles; and documents from point a to point i of Clause 2, Article 4 for new vehicles. A copy of the import goods declaration must be submitted when requesting an actual inspection, while other documents in the file must be supplemented before the inspection authority issues a quality certificate.

b) For the Quality Assurance Test Report, the enterprise shall submit a copy online and provide the original to the inspection authority prior to the actual vehicle inspection.

2. Receiving the registration file for inspection

The inspection authority shall accept and review the contents of the registration inspection files submitted by the importing enterprise within a maximum of one working day. If the registration inspection files are complete as required, the inspection authority shall confirm on the Vehicle Quality Safety Technical and Environmental Protection Inspection Registration Form. If the registration inspection files are incomplete, the inspection authority shall request the importing enterprise to supplement them.

3. Vehicle Inspection

a) The importing enterprise shall present the automobile for the inspection authority to conduct the inspection at the registered location and time.

b) The vehicle inspection content shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 1, Article 5 or from point a to point c of Clause 2, Article 5 of this Circular.

c) Within ten days from the date of registering for actual vehicle inspection, if the importing enterprise cannot present the vehicle according to the registration file for inspection, the inspection authority will temporarily suspend the certification procedures for that file. To continue the inspection process, the enterprise must re-register from the beginning.

4. Testing Representative Automobile Samples

For new automobiles, the importing enterprise shall deliver representative samples of each model type in the imported batch, which have been sampled by the inspection authority, to the testing facility for exhaust emissions and safety technical quality testing as prescribed. The test results serve as the basis for the inspection authority to issue a quality certificate.

5. Issuance of Quality Certificate

Within a period not exceeding four working days from the end of the inspection and receipt of all relevant documents for certification purposes, the inspection authority shall issue a quality certificate (in paper or electronic form) as follows:

a) Issue a Quality Certificate of Safety Technical Standards and Environmental Protection for each vehicle in the entire imported batch in accordance with the model specified in Appendix V attached to this Circular. For the sample automobile sent for testing, the Quality Certificate of Safety Technical Standards and Environmental Protection for Imported Motor Vehicles shall include the note "This vehicle was tested in Vietnam."

b) Issue a Notification of Non-Conformity with Safety Technical Standards and Environmental Protection for Imported Motor Vehicles in accordance with the model specified in Appendix VI attached to this Circular, and simultaneously send it to the customs authority for handling in accordance with regulations for: motor vehicles of the same model type in the imported batch where at least one of the two test results on exhaust emissions and safety technical quality does not meet the requirements; used motor vehicles with actual inspection results that do not meet the requirements or are not registered for circulation in EU, G7 countries, or countries with equivalent or higher emission standards than the current Vietnamese standards.

c) Issue a Notification of Prohibited Importation of Motor Vehicles under the List of Prohibited Imports as specified in Appendix VII attached to this Circular, and simultaneously send it to the customs authority for handling in accordance with regulations.

Article 7.Handling during inspection

1. In cases where used automobiles have undergone changes from abroad in some technical specifications or structure compared to the initial production model of the manufacturer, the importing enterprise must present relevant documents from foreign vehicle management authorities regarding the changed vehicles. The total weight of imported automobiles in this case shall not exceed the value stated in the documents of the foreign vehicle management authority.

2. In cases where imported automobiles suffer damage during transportation from abroad to Vietnam, the importing enterprise is permitted to repair certain components such as: bodywork, driver's cabin, cargo box with scratched paint; non-functioning batteries.

3. For cases where automobiles show signs of having had their chassis number or VIN number (in cases without a chassis number) or engine number erased, altered, or sealed, the inspection agency will request a specialized appraisal at an appraisal agency as the basis for issuing a quality certificate. The cost of the appraisal will be borne by the inspection agency according to regulations.

4. During the inspection and certification process, if it is discovered that the imported automobile falls under the list of prohibited imports as stipulated in Decree No. 187/2013/NĐ-CP, the inspection agency will record evidence that the vehicle belongs to the list of prohibited import goods for that particular vehicle, while simultaneously issuing a notification that the motor vehicle falls under the list of prohibited imports as specified in Appendix VII issued together with this Circular. Inspection, classification, and sampling of other vehicles in the batch will continue according to regulations.

Chapter III

PROVISIONS ON RECALL OF AUTOMOBILES

Article 8.Provisions on recall of defective automobiles

1. Automobiles subject to recall include:

a) Vehicles recalled according to the manufacturer's announcement;

b) Automobiles recalled upon request of the inspection agency. Such requests for recall by the inspection agency are based on specific evidence and results of verifying information reflecting the quality and safety technical standards and environmental protection of imported automobiles.

2. Responsibilities of the importing enterprise

In cases where automobiles already on the market have technical defects requiring recall, the importing enterprise must perform the following tasks:

a) Within no more than five working days from the date of receiving the recall notice from the manufacturer or the inspection agency, the importing enterprise must notify in writing to sales agents to refrain from selling on the market automobiles subject to recall until they have been repaired.

b) Within no more than ten days from the date of receiving the recall notice from the manufacturer or the inspection agency, the importing enterprise must submit a written report to the inspection agency containing the following contents: cause of the technical defect; measures taken to rectify the defect; quantity of automobiles subject to recall; appropriate recall plan;

c) Adhere strictly to the recall plan, and at the same time, the enterprise must promptly and fully publish information about the recall plan and the list of automobiles subject to recall on its website and those of sales agents;

d) Submit a written report to the inspection agency on a quarterly basis and immediately after the completion of the recall period as planned;

đ) For automobiles subject to recall that have not yet received a quality certificate, the importing enterprise must present evidence proving that the actual repairs to correct the defect according to the manufacturer's requirements have been completed, serving as the basis for conducting the procedures for inspecting and certifying the quality of imported automobiles.

3. Responsibilities of the Inspection Agency

a) Notify the importing enterprise in writing of the acceptance of the recall plan.

b) Require the importing enterprise to implement the recall.

c) Publish information about recalled automobiles on the website of the inspection agency.

d) Monitor and inspect the implementation of the recall by the enterprise according to the plan.

đ) Temporarily suspend quality certification procedures for enterprises importing automobiles that fail to fulfill responsibilities as stipulated from point a to point d of Clause 2 of this Article.

e) The inspection agency will consider suspending quality certification procedures for automobiles of the same manufacturer if the importing enterprise provides evidence that the manufacturer has failed to cooperate in implementing the recall plan.

Chapter IV

PROVISIONS ON ISSUANCE OF QUALITY CERTIFICATES

Article 9. Principles for Issuance of Quality Certificates

1. For paper-based applications, the parts of the quality certificate issued include: retention copy, usage copy for customs clearance procedures, usage copy for pre-registration fees and vehicle registration.

2. For electronic applications: issue a paper copy of the quality certificate when relevant agencies have not yet implemented electronic data connection and use with the inspection agency.

3. The quality certificate issued for imported automobiles (paper or electronic version) can be used for purposes including: customs clearance procedures; pre-registration fees; vehicle registration; initial circulation inspection or to resolve other procedures as required by competent authorities.

Article 10.Regulations on Reissuing Quality Certificates

1. Quality certificates shall be reissued in cases of loss or damage.

2. An importing enterprise shall submit one set of documents for reissuing quality certificates directly or through postal services or other appropriate means to the inspection agency. The documents include:

a) A request for reissuing a quality certificate;

b) The original quality certificate (in case of damage).

3. Method of reissuance due to loss

a) In case the documents comply with the regulations, the inspection agency shall notify the importing enterprise and relevant agencies such as customs, tax, and police in writing; if the documents are incomplete, the inspection agency shall guide the importing enterprise to complete the documents.

b) After 30 days from the date of issuance of the notification mentioned in point a of this clause, if there is no feedback from related agencies, the inspection agency will issue a copy of the quality certificate (paper or electronic version); in case of non-reissuance, the inspection agency shall provide a written response stating the reasons.

4. Procedure for reissuance due to damage: if the documents comply with the regulations, the inspection agency shall issue a copy of the quality certificate within four working days (paper or electronic version); in case of non-reissuance, the inspection agency shall provide a written response stating the reasons.

Chapter V

RESPONSIBILITIES OF AUTHORITIES AND ORGANIZATIONS

Article 11.Responsibilities of Importing Enterprises

1. Shall be responsible for the truthfulness, accuracy, validity, and legality of the documents provided to the inspection authority.

2. Ensure that imported vehicles remain in their original condition for inspection by the inspection agency.

3. Cooperate with the inspection agency and testing facilities during the inspection and testing process for technical safety and environmental protection.

4. In case of electronic transaction incidents on the electronic registration inspection system, the importing enterprise must notify the management agency to cooperate in resolving the issue.

5. Pay fees and charges as prescribed by law.

Article 12.Responsibilities of Inspection Agencies

1. Uniformly issue and manage quality certificates and bear responsibility for inspection results, certification, ensuring consistency between vehicles in the batch and the tested vehicle models and engines.

2. In case of electronic transaction incidents on the electronic data processing system, the inspection agency shall notify on its official website no later than four hours from the time of incident during office hours or four hours from the start of the next working day for incidents occurring during statutory holidays.

3. Collect fees and charges related to inspection and issuance of quality certificates as prescribed by law.

4. Store electronic and digitized paper records for five years for completed import vehicle inspection files.

5. Summarize the results of technical safety and environmental protection inspections of imported vehicles and report to the Ministry of Transport.

Article 13.Responsibilities of Testing Facilities

1. Testing facilities are responsible for conducting emission tests and technical safety quality tests on vehicles according to current regulations at the request of importing enterprises.

2. Organize and guide importing enterprises to prepare vehicle and engine samples for testing in accordance with regulations.

Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 14.Effectiveness

This Circular shall take effect from March 1, 2018.

Article 15. Transitional Provisions

1. Imported motor vehicles with a declaration date for imported goods under the Law on Customs or arrival at Vietnamese ports or border gates before January 1, 2018 shall be inspected and issued a certificate of imported motor vehicle quality in accordance with Circular No. 31/2011/TT-BGTVT dated April 15, 2011 of the Minister of Transport on the inspection of safety technical quality and environmental protection of imported motor vehicles (Circular No. 31/2011/TT-BGTVT) and Circular No. 55/2014/TT-BGTVT dated October 20, 2014 of the Minister of Transport amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 31/2011/TT-BGTVT dated April 15, 2011 of the Minister of Transport on the inspection of safety technical quality and environmental protection of imported motor vehicles (Circular No. 55/2014/TT-BGTVT).