Circular No. 05/2018/TT-BYT promulgates the List of foods, food additives, food processing aids, and packaging tools and materials for foods classified with commodity codes according to the Vietnam Export-Import Goods Tariff Schedule.

CIRCULAR

ISSUING THE LIST OF FOODS, FOOD ADDITIVES, FOOD PROCESSING AIDS AND UTENSILS, MATERIALS FOR PACKAGING AND CONTAINING FOODS WITH DETERMINED HS CODES ACCORDING TO THE LIST OF EXPORT AND IMPORT GOODS IN VIETNAM

Pursuant to the Food Safety Law dated June 17, 2010; Pursuant to Decree No.

08/2015/NĐ-CP dated January 21, 2015 of the Government detailing and providing implementation measures for the Customs Law regarding customs procedures, inspection, supervision, and control; Pursuant to Decree No. 75/2017/NĐ-CP dated June 20, 2017 of the Government stipulating functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;Pursuant to Decree No. 15/2018/NĐ-CP dated February 2, 2018 of the Government detailing implementation of certain Articles of the Food Safety Law;

At the proposal of the Director of the National Institute of Food Control;The Minister of Health issues this Circular on issuing the List of foods, food additives, food processing aids and utensils, materials for packaging and containing foods with determined HS codes according to the List of export and import goods in Vietnam.

Article 1. Issuing the list

This Circular hereby promulgates the List of foods, food additives, food processing aids and utensils, materials for packaging and containing foods under the specialized management of the Ministry of Health (hereinafter referred to as the List) determined by HS codes according to the List of export and import goods in Vietnam issued together with Circular No. 65/2017/TT-BTC dated June 27, 2017.

Article 2. Principles for application1. The List is based on the List of export and import goods in Vietnam. The principles for using this List are as follows: a) In cases where only two-digit codes are listed, all eight-digit codes under that chapter shall be applicable.b) In cases where only four-digit codes are listed, all eight-digit codes under that group shall be applicable.c) In cases where only six-digit codes are listed, all eight-digit codes under that subheading shall be applicable.d) In cases where detailed listing is provided up to the eight-digit code level, only those specific eight-digit codes shall be applicable.

đ) Products and goods specified in this List and falling within the circumstances stipulated at points a, b, and c of Clause 1 of this Article must provide full information about imported goods (composition, structure, function, technical documentation if available, and commitment to responsibility for declared content and proper use upon importation when importing.2. Goods listed in the List but falling within any of the circumstances specified in Article 13 of Decree No. 15/2018/NĐ-CP dated February 2, 2018 of the Government detailing implementation of certain provisions of the Food Safety Law or not intended for use as food, food additives, food processing aids and utensils, materials for packaging and containing foods shall not be subject to state inspection on imported food safety.

3. In cases where goods have not been assigned an HS code or disputes arise regarding the HS code in this List promulgated by this Circular, the National Institute of Food Control (Ministry of Health) will coordinate with the General Department of Customs (Ministry of Finance) to review and reach consensus based on the principles stipulated in Clause 4 of Article 19 of Decree No. 08/2015/NĐ-CP dated January 21, 2015 of the Government detailing implementation measures for the Customs Law regarding customs procedures, inspection, supervision, and control to facilitate smooth clearance of goods, while proposing amendments and supplements to the List.

Article 2. Principles of Application1. The list is established based on the List of Export and Import Commodities of Vietnam. The principles for using this list are as follows:

a) In cases where only two-digit codes are listed, all eight-digit codes under the chapter with these two digits shall be applied.

b) In cases where only four-digit codes are listed, all eight-digit codes under the group with these four digits shall be applied.

c) In cases where only six-digit codes are listed, all eight-digit codes under the subheading with these six digits shall be applied.

d) In cases where detailed listing is provided up to an eight-digit code number, only those specific eight-digit codes shall be applied.

e) Products and goods specified in this list and falling within the circumstances prescribed in points a), b), and c) of Clause 1 of this Article must provide full information about imported goods (composition, structure, function, technical documentation if available) to customs authorities when importing, along with an undertaking to be responsible for the content declared and to use the imported goods for their intended purpose.

2. Goods listed in the list but falling within any of the circumstances prescribed in Article 13 of Decree No. 15/2018/NĐ-CP dated February 2, 2018, issued by the Government detailing implementation of certain provisions of the Food Safety Law or not intended for use as food, food additives, food processing aids and packaging materials, containers, and utensils for food shall not be subject to state inspection for imported food safety.

3. In cases where goods have not been assigned an HS code or disputes arise regarding the HS codes in this list issued with this Circular, the National Food Safety Authority (Ministry of Health) will coordinate with the General Customs Department (Ministry of Finance) to review and unify based on the principles stipulated in Clause 4 of Article 19 of Decree No. 08/2015/NĐ-CP dated January 21, 2015, issued by the Government detailing implementation measures for certain provisions of the Customs Law regarding customs procedures, inspection, supervision, and control to facilitate smooth clearance of goods, while also proposing amendments and supplements to the list.

In cases where goods have not been assigned an HS code or disputes arise regarding the HS codes in the List attached to this Circular, the Food Safety Administration (Ministry of Health) shall coordinate with the General Department of Customs (Ministry of Finance) to review and reach consensus based on the principles stipulated in Clause 4, Article 19 of Decree No. 08/2015/NĐ-CP dated January 21, 2015, issued by the Government detailing and providing measures for implementation of the Law on Customs regarding customs procedures, inspection, supervision, and control to facilitate the clearance of goods, while also proposing amendments and supplements to the List.

Article 3. Reference Provisions

In cases where legal regulatory documents and provisions cited in this Circular are amended, supplemented or replaced, the new legal regulatory documents shall apply.

Article 4. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from May 21, 2018.

2. Circular No. 40/2016/TT-BYT dated November 4, 2016 issued by the Minister of Health on the List of foods, food additives, food processing aids and packaging materials, containers for foods according to HS codes in the Export Tax Schedule, Import Tax Schedule under the specialized management of the Ministry of Health shall cease to be effective from the date this Circular takes effect.

3. The Food Safety Agency, heads of units under and affiliated with the Ministry of Health; Departments of Health of provinces and centrally governed cities and relevant agencies, organizations, individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.

During implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, it is recommended that agencies, organizations, and individuals report to the Food Safety Agency (Ministry of Health) for examination and resolution./.