Circular No. 06/2008/TT-BCT guiding the management of the quality of industrial explosives

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for managing the quality of industrial explosives

Pursuant to Decree No. 189/2007/ND-CP dated December 27, 2007, issued by the Government, detailing the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to the Law on Construction number 50/2014/QH13 amended and supplemented by Law number 03/2016/QH14, Law number 35/2018/QH14, Law number 40/2019/QH14 and Law number 62/2020/QH14;

Based on Decree No. 179/2004/NĐ-CP dated October 21, 2004, issued by the Government, stipulating state management over product quality;

Based on Decision No. 50/2006/QĐ-TTg dated March 7, 2006, issued by the Prime Minister, stipulating state management over product quality,

The Ministry of Industry and Trade guides the procedures and formalities for announcing products meeting standards, state inspection, and managing the quality of industrial explosives as follows:

This technical regulation sets out technical requirements, testing methods, sampling procedures; management requirements; responsibilities of organizations and individuals producing, trading, and importing cigarettes.

Thông tư này quy định chi tiết khoản 4 Điều 38 Luật Thủy sản số 18/2017/QH14 đã được sửa đổi, bổ sung tại điểm c khoản 21 Điều 14 Luật số 146/2025/QH15.

This Circular stipulates the management of the quality of industrial explosives including: responsibilities for announcing industrial explosive products meeting standards, ensuring quality; state inspection of quality and management of the quality of industrial explosives within the territory of Vietnam.

Thông tư này áp dụng đối với tổ chức, cá nhân có liên quan đến hoạt động kinh doanh đối tượng thủy sản nuôi chủ lực trên lãnh thổ Việt Nam.

The objects to which this Circular applies are enterprises engaged in trading industrial explosives within the territory of Vietnam; units providing testing services for the quality of industrial explosives.

The provisions of this Circular shall not apply to imported industrial explosives used for oil exploration and exploitation.

3. Principles for managing the quality of industrial explosive products

a) Industrial explosives are products that must be certified as compliant, including:

- Industrial explosives with Vietnamese Technical Regulations (QCVN) must be certified as compliant according to the QCVN;

- In cases where industrial explosives have Vietnamese Standards (TCVN) but have not been converted into QCVN, the TCVN should be applied to certify compliance similarly to applying QCVN;

- For industrial explosives without QCVN, the regulations to certify compliance are the basic standard, other standards after being evaluated and approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to serve as temporary standards for certification.

b) Procedures for evaluating and approving the use of basic standards, other standards as temporary standards for certification of compliance for industrial explosives as stipulated in Clause 5, Section II of this Circular.

Enterprises dealing in industrial explosives must complete certification of compliance before bringing products to market.

c) Imported industrial explosives are products subject to state inspection of quality according to Decision No. 50/2006/QĐ-TTg dated March 7, 2006, issued by the Prime Minister.

Enterprises importing industrial explosives for supply to the domestic market bear responsibility for inspecting the quality of industrial explosives to ensure registered quality levels and bear warranty responsibility for customers.

II. ANNOUNCEMENT AND CERTIFICATION OF INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSIVES PRODUCTS MEETING STANDARDS

COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS

1. Announcement of industrial explosives products meeting QCVN

Enterprises producing or importing industrial explosives products with QCVN or TCVN (not yet converted to QCVN) must announce products meeting standards according to the principle at Clause 3, Section I.

2. Announcement of industrial explosives products meeting basic standards, other standards

Enterprises producing or importing industrial explosives products without QCVN may announce products meeting basic standards, other standards in Vietnam (outside TCVN) based on the proposal of the Ministry of Industry and Trade for evaluation and approval of the use of such standards as temporary standards for enterprise announcements.

3. Procedures and formalities for certification of industrial explosives products meeting standards

Industrial explosives products must be certified as compliant following these steps:

a) Inspection and assessment of the conformity of industrial explosives products through typical sample certification methods and quality assurance condition assessment:

- Enterprises producing or importing industrial explosives must conduct testing and assessing products meeting standards at designated testing units as specified in Appendix 1 of this Circular;

- The Ministry of Industry and Trade organizes inspections of quality assurance conditions for products.

b) Enterprises producing or importing industrial explosives announce products meeting standards in writing and submit related documents to the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

c) The Ministry of Industry and Trade issues a document accepting the announcement.

4. Content and procedures for announcement of compliance with standards

a) Enterprises producing or importing industrial explosives must prepare an announcement compliance dossier including:

- A Compliance Announcement (according to the model specified in Appendix 2 of this Circular);

- A Test Certificate for industrial explosives products meeting standards conducted by the designated testing unit for domestically produced industrial explosives or a Test Certificate for the latest imported batch for imported industrial explosives;

- Relevant standards directly related to the product (Vietnamese Standards and other standards); other technical regulations;

- An Inspection Report on quality assurance conditions carried out by the Ministry of Industry and Trade according to the requirements set forth in TCVN 6174:1997 and the conditions regarding quality management systems stipulated in Section III of this Circular for domestically produced industrial explosives or a Decision allowing the use of industrial explosives products in Vietnam for imported industrial explosives;

- A general description of the product (features, functions);

- A user guide for industrial explosives products;

If an enterprise has ten (10) years of production of industrial explosives ensuring quality and has been inspected for quality assurance conditions for other products under similar production conditions, the Ministry of Industry and Trade may consider exempting or reducing on-site inspections of quality assurance conditions for the product.

b) Submitting the announcement dossier to the Ministry of Industry and Trade

If the testing units designated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade are unable to perform testing and assessment of one or more announced criteria, the producing or importing enterprise may conduct the tests themselves or hire a suitable testing unit to perform these criteria and include the test results in the dossier submitted to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

5. Procedures for accepting announcements

The Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Trade is the authority responsible for managing and receiving declarations of conformity with technical standards for industrial explosive materials.

a) For industrial explosive materials that are already included in the List of Industrial Explosive Materials permitted for production and use in Vietnam, the technical requirements specified in the Decision on including industrial explosive materials in the List of Permitted Production and Use in Vietnam shall be considered as temporary standards serving as the basis for declarations of conformity.

Within five working days from the date of receipt of the declaration of conformity dossier submitted by the enterprise, the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Trade will send a document acknowledging receipt of the declaration of conformity to the enterprise.

The form of the confirmation letter for receiving the declaration of conformity is stipulated in Appendix 3 of this Circular;

b) For industrial explosive materials being produced or imported into Vietnam for the first time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will establish a Scientific and Technological Council to review. The declaration of conformity with technical standards will be carried out concurrently with the product registration procedure for new industrial explosive materials. The procedure for registering new industrial explosive materials is regulated in TCVN 6174:1997;

c) During the process of evaluating and testing new industrial explosive materials, the Scientific and Technological Council of the Ministry of Industry and Trade will simultaneously assess the declared conformity standards of the products:

- If the product declares conformity with TCVN (which has not yet been converted into QCVN), the assessment aims to determine the compliance of the product with the standard;

- If the product declares conformity with other standards, the Scientific and Technological Council will examine the technical specifications of the product to ensure compliance with state regulations, technical and safety requirements when using the product, and recommend the Ministry of Industry and Trade to accept it as a temporary standard applicable to the product.

The content of the assessment is detailed in Appendix 4 of this Circular.

The Decision on including new products in the List of Industrial Explosive Materials permitted for production and use in Vietnam shall be issued by the Minister of Industry and Trade, and shall clearly specify the technical standards that the industrial explosive material must comply with.

đ) The evaluation dossier for new industrial explosive materials shall replace the quality declaration dossier for products conforming to standards.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will issue a confirmation of declaration of conformity standards for products to enterprises at the same time as issuing the Decision on including new industrial explosive materials in the list of permitted production and use in Vietnam.

6. Using the Conformity Mark

a) After declaring conformity and receiving the acknowledgment letter from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, industrial explosive materials must have the conformity mark printed, affixed, or attached to the product or packaging before the product is circulated in the market.

The conformity mark must be printed in the user manual for industrial explosive materials;

b) The form and size of the Declaration of Conformity Mark are prescribed in Appendix 1 of Decision No. 24/2007/QĐ-BKHCN dated September 28, 2007, of the Minister of Science and Technology;

c) Depending on the size of the goods or packaging, the conformity mark may be enlarged or reduced but must maintain the prescribed ratio. The overall size must not be less than 01cm x 01cm. The color of the conformity mark is chosen by the enterprise but must be clear, easily recognizable, and durable.

7. Inspection and Supervision of Industrial Explosive Materials after Certification of Conformity

a) In addition to sending typical samples for initial testing at designated laboratories to evaluate conformity with standards for the purpose of declaration, enterprises producing industrial explosive materials are responsible for submitting samples or requesting testing units to take samples periodically based on production volume or batches for testing at designated laboratories.

The sampling cycle according to the production volume is stipulated in Appendix 5 of this Circular.

Testing criteria are specified in QCVN or TCVN (which have not yet been converted into QCVN) and other corresponding standards for the product;

b) Enterprises importing industrial explosive materials must fulfill the national inspection obligation regarding the quality of each imported batch;

c) The results of the quality testing of industrial explosive materials must be retained by the enterprise as the basis for inspecting and supervising the quality of industrial explosive materials after declaration for a minimum period equal to twice the warranty period of the product;

d) On-site inspections include checking the quality management system of the product, reviewing documentation, quality control equipment for raw materials, semi-finished products, and finished products according to each production shift, testing the quality of product samples, and inspecting storage conditions to ensure product quality, distribution systems, and warranty systems ensuring product quality must be carried out in accordance with all relevant legal provisions.

III. REQUIREMENTS FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE

Article 4. Professional Qualifications in Production, Trading, and Use of Industrial Explosives

1. Responsibilities of Enterprises in Ensuring Quality of Industrial Explosive Materials

a) Enterprises shall not declare industrial explosive materials as conforming to standards if they do not fully meet the requirements of the standards, which have not yet been converted into technical regulations or temporary standards;

b) During the production or circulation of industrial explosive materials, if enterprises fail to ensure production conditions consistent with the declared content or if industrial explosive materials are found to no longer comply with standards, which have not yet been converted into technical regulations or temporary standards, enterprises producing or importing industrial explosive materials must promptly report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and take the following measures:

- Temporarily halt production, warehouse release, and recall industrial explosive materials that are non-compliant and circulating in the market;

- Implement corrective actions for non-conformities;

c) After correcting non-conformities, enterprises producing or importing industrial explosive materials must report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade before resuming product circulation.

d) After the conformity declaration is published, organizations and individuals producing or importing industrial explosives shall continuously maintain the product's compliance with corresponding regulations, maintain quality control, testing, and periodic supervision at their enterprises, and fully bear responsibility before management agencies and consumers for this compliance;

đ) Ensure that the products produced can be controlled through a system of symbols and codes marked on the explosive material product labels;

e) The enterprise is responsible for retaining the declaration records as a basis for inspection and supervision by state management agencies;

g) The enterprise must re-declare the product standards whenever there is any change in content compared to the previously declared conformity standard;

2. Requirements for Quality Management System

a) Enterprises dealing in industrial explosives must apply the ISO 9001:2000 quality management system;

b) By no later than January 1, 2010, enterprises not yet applying the ISO 9001:2000 quality management system must implement this system;

3. Requirements for Testing Equipment and Quality Inspection for Explosive Material Production Units

a) Production facilities for industrial explosives must have equipment to inspect finished and semi-finished product quality to ensure that all products leaving the factory meet the declared quality standards, including at least the following testing equipment to determine the following criteria:

- Equipment for measuring detonation velocity, according to TCVN 6422:1998;

- Equipment for determining the blasting capacity of explosives, according to TCVN 6421:1998 or TCVN 6423:1998;

- Tools and equipment for determining the distance of blast transmission, according to TCVN 6425:1998;

- Equipment and tools for determining the density and moisture content of explosives (for ammonium nitrate explosives);

- Instruments for measuring tensile strength, elongation, detonation speed, burning rate, and differential time measurement devices (for explosive accessory manufacturing units);

b) For other product quality criteria, if the facility does not have all the necessary testing equipment, it may hire designated testing units to perform tests according to the declared standards;

c) All equipment must be calibrated as required, maintained regularly, and documented in tracking records;

4. Requirements for Raw Material Standards

a) Enterprises must apply existing Vietnamese standards or establish their own standards based on existing Vietnamese standards for raw materials used in explosive production and regularly check technical specifications of raw materials;

b) Raw material standards and regular quality inspection results of raw materials by production batches must be recorded and retained at the unit for a minimum period equal to twice the warranty period of the main product made from those raw materials;

5. Requirements for Test Method Records and Test Results

a) Units and departments responsible for inspecting the quality of explosive materials and raw materials must establish and retain records about test methods and inspection results during production;

b) Test results of product quality inspections by shift or batch must be recorded in ledgers or tracking files. Test result records of product quality inspections must be retained for a minimum period equal to twice the warranty period of the product;

6. Requirements for Customer Quality Assurance Systems

a) Enterprises supplying industrial explosives in quantities exceeding 5,000 tons/year within a radius equivalent to 150 km must have supply warehouses and service locations for handling customer complaints regarding the quality of industrial explosives in that area;

b) Service personnel must be thoroughly familiar with the technical features and combustion characteristics of supplied explosive products, ensuring proper guidance on correct usage and having the skills to monitor and evaluate the quality of industrial explosives;

c) If the product does not meet quality standards within the warranty period, the production or supply unit has the responsibility to recall and process the industrial explosive product, compensate customers for losses according to agreements or legal provisions;

d) If the product does not meet quality standards after the warranty period, the production or supply unit has the responsibility to cooperate with customers to recall and process the industrial explosive material;

IV. REQUIREMENTS FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE IN

INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSIVE TESTING LABORATORIES

1. Legal Basis Requirements

Designated explosive material testing units are laboratories registered with functions and licenses related to industrial explosives as stipulated in Circular No. 02/2005/TT-BCN dated March 29, 2005 of the Ministry of Industry (now the Ministry of Industry and Trade), and designated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade according to the procedures specified in Decision No. 02/2006/QĐ-BKHCN dated January 10, 2006 of the Ministry of Science and Technology guiding conditions and procedures for designating organizations to conduct product and commodity quality inspections;

2. Ensuring Material and Technical Conditions

Designated explosive material testing units must apply and obtain certification for compliance with TCVN/ISO/IEC 17025 standards;

They must have complete testing equipment to ensure the ability to inspect basic parameters of industrial explosive quality standards;

3. Special reports: In cases where special reports are required for state management purposes regarding public debt, the requesting agency must propose in writing, specifying the reporting period, criteria, specific data, and information, and the deadline for submitting the report.

Each year, designated testing units must submit reports on explosive material testing activities in accordance with standards and other tests to the Ministry of Industry and Trade before March 15 of the following year;

V. STATE INSPECTION OF QUALITY

Article 4. Professional Qualifications in Production, Trading, and Use of Industrial Explosives

1. State Inspection of Imported Industrial Explosive Quality

a) Before imported industrial explosive goods reach the customs checkpoint, the importing enterprise must register for product quality inspection with the designated explosive material testing unit of the Ministry of Industry and Trade using the form attached as Appendix 6 of this Circular;

b) The Customs Authority shall conduct inspections on the specifications and labels of industrial explosives products corresponding to the declarations made by enterprises and technical documents submitted along with the goods;

Depending on the requirements for inspecting the quality of imported industrial explosives, the Customs Authority may take random samples, seal them, and hand them over to the importing enterprise to test at registered testing units, allowing the enterprise to transfer the goods to convenient storage locations;

c) After bringing imported industrial explosives products to convenient storage locations, the importing enterprise shall be responsible for taking samples and sending them for testing of quality indicators according to the published standards of the product at registered testing units;

In cases where samples of industrial explosives have been taken and sealed by the Customs Authority, the importing enterprise does not need to take additional samples for testing but is responsible for preserving and transferring the original sample to the registered testing unit for testing;

d) The testing unit for industrial explosives shall be responsible for checking the compliance of quality indicator test samples, sending the test results to the importing enterprise, the customs office at the port of entry, and relevant agencies as prescribed in Appendix 7 of this Circular;

đ) Enterprises are only permitted to put imported industrial explosives products into business and use when the inspection results of product quality indicators comply with published standards;

2. Inspection and supervision of the quality of domestically produced industrial explosives;

a) Periodically or irregularly, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall proactively or in coordination with related ministries and sectors conduct inspections on typical samples of industrial explosives products;

b) Samples of industrial explosives used for product quality inspections are randomly taken from the warehouses of production units or main suppliers within the product's shelf life. These samples are sealed and sent to the designated testing unit for industrial explosives by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The number of test samples depends on the testing requirements specified by the designated testing unit;

c) Except in cases of complaints or suspicious quality indicators of the product, the process of taking random samples and inspecting industrial explosives products shall not exceed once a year;

d) The results of inspections on product quality indicators of industrial explosives are sent to the Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Industry and Trade one copy and to the producing enterprise of industrial explosives one copy;

VI. REPORTING ON THE QUALITY OF INDUSTRIAL EXPLOSIVES AND HANDLING VIOLATIONS;

Reporting Responsibilities;

1. Each year in March, enterprises producing and importing industrial explosives shall compile management reports on product quality and report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The report contents include:

- Inspection results as stipulated in Clause 10, Section II of this Circular;

- Quantity of industrial explosives produced, raw material and finished product quality conditions;

- Quality incidents and customer complaints (if any);

- Measures taken to handle substandard products;

Organizations and individuals violating regulations on conformity declaration of quality standards and ensuring product quality shall be subject to handling according to the law depending on the nature and severity of the violation;

2. Disciplinary Actions

VII. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS;

The Department of Science and Technology under the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall undertake the following tasks:

1. Organization of Implementation

a) Assist the Ministry in performing state management functions regarding the quality of industrial explosives products;

b) Annually develop and submit to the Minister of Industry and Trade for publication the supplementary list of industrial explosives products permitted for production and use in Vietnam;

c) Lead and coordinate with related units to develop and propose to the Minister of Industry and Trade to issue Vietnamese technical standards on quality indicators and testing methods for industrial explosives products;

d) Organize the acceptance of conformity declarations for industrial explosives products, issue certificates of conformity declaration for product quality to enterprises making such declarations;

đ) Organize inspections and supervision of product quality assurance at enterprises producing and importing industrial explosives; lead and coordinate with relevant agencies to carry out inspections, audits, and handle violations concerning conformity declarations as prescribed in this Circular and other current regulations;

e) Coordinate with competent authorities to resolve complaints and disputes related to product quality declarations and quality standards;

g) Inspect and supervise the activities of testing units designated to check the quality of industrial explosives products;

This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette;

2. Effective Date

During implementation, if there are difficulties or new issues arising, organizations and individuals are advised to reflect these to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Department of Science and Technology) for timely resolution./.

During implementation, if there are any obstacles or new issues arise, organizations and individuals are requested to report them to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Science and Technology Department) for timely resolution./.