Circular No. 26/2018/TT-BLDTBXH on the management of product quality that may cause safety hazards under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs.

CIRCULAR

REGULATIONS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF PRODUCT AND COMMODITY QUALITY THAT HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO CAUSE SAFETY VIOLATIONS UNDER THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MINISTRY OF LABOR - INVALIDS AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS FOR STATE ADMINISTRATION

Camendpursuant to the Law on Product and Commodity Quality dated November 21, 2007;

Camendpursuant to the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations dated June 29, 2006;

Decree No. 1 x

Pursuant to DecreeNo. 1Decree No. 32/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2008 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Product and Commodity Quality;of the Government stipulating functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Home AffairsQuality of productsrime Minister cand commodities;

Camendpursuant to Decree No. 74/2018/NĐ-CP dated May 15, 2018 of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of Decree3. Amend Clause 3 Article 2 as follows:No. 32/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2008 detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Product and Commodity Quality; 1pursuant to Decree No. 78/2018/NĐ-CP dated May 16, 2018 of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of Decreen ln phrime Minister cand commodities;

CamendNo. 127/2007, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 109/2025/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 193/2025/NĐ-CP NĐ-CP dated August 1, 2007 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations;/Decree No. 54/2018/NĐ-CP dated September

Decree No. 12018 of the Government amending, supplementing, and abolishing some provisions on investment and business conditions in the field under the state administration of the Ministry of Science and Technology and some provisions on specialized inspection; 11 Decree No. 4/2017/NĐ-CP dated February 17, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs;

Decree No. 1labor safety;

"a) State agencies, organizations, and individuals owning power plants operating within the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam connected to the national power grid, except strategic multi-purpose hydropower plants, small renewable energy power plants applying the avoided cost tariff, power plants and units providing ancillary services, independently invested energy storage systems, and power plants applying the electricity purchase price mechanism as stipulated in relevant authorized documents;" AThe Minister of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs issues this Circular regulating the management of product and commodity quality that have the potential to cause safety violations under

the responsibility for state administrationto of the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, trThis Circular regulates the activities of managing product and commodity quality that have the potential to cause safety violations (hereinafter referred to collectively as products and commodities group 2) under the responsibility for state administration of the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs.Deputy ministers of ministerial-level agencies,1. Organizations certified, designated, or recognized by the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs with a Certificate of Conformity in accordance with the provisions of the law;

Chapter 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

2. Organizations and individuals producing, trading, importing, and using products and commodities group 2 under the responsibility for state administration of the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs. The list of products and commodities that have the potential to cause safety violations under the responsibility for state administration of the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs is specified in Circular No. 22/2018/TT-BLDTBXH dated December 6, 2018 of the Minister of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs;

Article 2. Applicability

3. State administrative agencies responsible for the quality of products and commodities group 2 under the responsibility for state administration of the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs and other related organizations and individuals.

Article 3. State Inspection of Product and Commodity Quality

1. Activities of state inspection of product and commodity quality during production, importation, circulation on the market for products and commodities group 2 under the responsibility for state administration of the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs shall be carried out in accordance with the Law on Product and Commodity Quality; guiding decrees for the implementation of the Law on Product and Commodity Quality; guidelines of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the provisions of this Circular.

2. The Department of Labor Safety and Provincial Departments of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs under centrally governed cities are the agencies inspecting the quality of products and commodities group 2 under the responsibility for state administration of the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs.

1. The State quality control activities for products and goods in production, import, circulation on the market concerning product and good group 2 under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Product Quality Law; guiding Decrees of the Product Quality Law; guidelines of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the provisions of this Circular.

2. The Occupational Safety and Health Inspection Agency and the Departments of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of provinces and centrally governed cities are the agencies responsible for inspecting the quality of products and goods group 2 under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

Article 4. Activities for conformity assessment of products and goods

1. Organizations conducting conformity assessment of products and goods group 2 under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs management shall be organizations designated, recognized, or registered to conduct conformity assessment activities according to Decree No. 107/2016/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2016 of the Government on conditions for operating conformity assessment services.

2. Methods of conformity assessment

a) The conformity assessment of products and goods group 2 under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs management shall be carried out according to methods 5, 7, and 8 as stipulated in Article 5 of Circular No. 28/2012/TT-BKHCN dated December 12, 2012 of the Minister of Science and Technology on publicizing compliance with technical regulations and conformity assessment methods with standards and technical regulations.

b) For national technical regulations on occupational safety for products and goods under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs management before the effective date of this Circular, if there is no provision for method 5 conformity certification, it shall be implemented according to the provisions at Point a Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 5. Publicizing conformity

1. Products and goods group 2 under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs management must be publicized for conformity according to corresponding national technical regulations.

4. Organizations and individuals importing products and goods group 2 shall publicize conformity through state quality control activities for imported products and goods.

1. In cases where publicizing conformity uses the results of conformity assessment from foreign organizations, such foreign organizations must be recognized according to the law or specified in national technical regulations.

2. For tests that cannot be conducted in testing laboratories in Vietnam, conformity assessment organizations that have been designated and granted certificates may consider recognizing and using test results from laboratories abroad.

3. The recognition and use of test results from laboratories abroad shall be carried out according to the provisions of the law on standards and technical regulations.

4. In cases where recognition and use of test results from laboratories abroad must be applied, conformity assessment organizations must monitor and be responsible for their certification and inspection results. If necessary, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health shall organize inspections of the recognition and use of test results by conformity assessment organizations.

Chapter 2

STATE CONTROL ON QUALITY OF PRODUCTS AND GOODS IN PRODUCTION

QUALITY CONTROL OF PRODUCTS AND GOODS IN PRODUCTION

Article 7. Basis for quality control agencies to consider and conduct product quality inspections during production

1. Information and warnings about exported goods that do not comply with the conditions prescribed in Article 32 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality.

2. Results from surveys or quality inspections of goods circulating on the market by inspection agencies that discover goods not meeting applicable standards or technical regulations.

3. Authentic information from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals reflecting on the quality of products and goods.

4. In accordance with the annual inspection plan approved by competent authorities.

Article 8. Principles of Inspection

1. Strictly enforce legal provisions regarding product and goods quality; prevent and severely handle violations concerning product and goods quality from production facilities; protect the rights and legitimate interests of organizations and individuals engaged in production and business operations and consumers.

2. Ensure transparency, objectivity, and compliance with legal provisions on product and goods quality and international agreements to which Vietnam is a party.

3. Conduct inspections based on national technical standards, announced standards, labeling regulations, and state management measures concerning product quality during production.

4. Conduct inspections according to the approved annual inspection plan or conduct surprise inspections if there are grounds as stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of Article 7 of this Circular.

5. Quality inspections of products and goods shall be carried out in the form of inspection teams established by the quality control agency.

Article 9. Content of Product Quality Inspections During Production

1. Inspect the implementation of requirements set forth in relevant national technical standards concerning production process conditions and state management measures on product quality during production, including:

a) Inspect conformity certification and declaration files (for products and goods requiring conformity certification and declaration); standard declaration files (for products and goods declared to meet standards); quality management system certification files (for products applying quality management systems); inspect the implementation of standard declarations according to Article 23 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality.

b) Inspect labeling, warning information (for products and goods with prescribed warning information display); conformity marks (for products and goods requiring conformity certification and declaration), standard conformity marks (for products and goods certified to meet standards) and accompanying documents of products to be inspected.

c) If the corresponding technical standards have provisions related to production process conditions, inspect the implementation of these provisions during product production.

d) Inspect the implementation of other state management measures on product quality during production as prescribed by competent authorities.

2. Inspect the implementation and results of production process suitability assessments.

Inspect production process control work at production facilities related to product formation and maintaining quality assurance, including:

a) Inspect product technical files (design documents, product technical standards).

b) Inspect the entire or part of the production process (from input through intermediate stages until product formation including packaging, storage, and transportation processes).

c) Inspect raw material quality (according to announced standards, corresponding technical regulations, prohibited raw materials, expired raw materials).

d) Inspect the implementation of requirements for technological equipment and measurement, inspection, and testing equipment.

e) Inspect workers' and technical staff's skill records.

g) Other necessary technical contents.

When necessary, inspection agencies may use experts to perform evaluations according to the requirements of corresponding technical standards. Evaluating experts must be independent, objective, and legally responsible for their evaluation results.

3. Sample testing to check product compliance with announced standards and corresponding technical regulations.

During inspections at production facilities, when signs of non-compliance with quality standards are found, samples of products are taken for testing. The sample collection for quality inspection is conducted as follows:

a) Samples are collected according to sampling methods specified in corresponding standards and technical regulations. In the absence of sampling method provisions, samples are collected randomly to ensure they represent the batch; Each sample is divided into two units, one unit sent for testing and one unit retained by the inspection agency; Retained samples will be disposed of by the inspection agency three months after the end of the inspection, handling, and without complaints.

b) Based on the testing method for the product, the inspection team collects sufficient samples to test all indicators according to announced standards, corresponding technical regulations, and inspection requirements.

c) After collecting samples, they must be sealed (using Seal Form No. 01 Appendix II issued together with this Circular), and a record (using Record Form No. 02 Appendix II issued together with this Circular) signed by the sampler and the representative of the sampled entity. If the representative of the sampled entity does not sign the record and seal the sample, the inspection team notes in the record: "representative of the entity did not sign the sample collection record and seal," the record remains legally valid with signatures of the sampler and the Head of the Inspection Team.

d) Sample Testing

Within a maximum period of seven working days from the date of sample collection, the inspection team must send the product samples to the designated testing organization for testing.

Article 10. Sampling and testing costs

The sampling and testing costs shall be implemented in accordance with Circular Joint Circular No. 28/2010/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN dated March 3, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology guiding the management and use of funds for state quality control activities on products and goods.

Article 11. Procedure and formalities for inspection

The inspection team conducts inspections according to the following procedures and formalities:

1. Present the inspection decision before conducting the inspection;

2. Conduct the inspection according to the contents stipulated in Article 9 of this Circular;

3. Prepare the inspection record; once completed, the record must have the signature of the representative of the inspected entity and the inspection team. In case the representative of the inspected entity does not sign the record, the inspection team shall clearly note in the record "the representative of the inspected entity did not sign the accompanying record due to the following reasons," and the record signed by the head of the inspection team and other members of the team still has legal validity. If it is necessary to take samples of goods, the inspection team shall take samples in accordance with Clause 3 of Article 9 of this Circular;

4. Report the inspection results to the inspection authority and recommend that the inspection authority notify the inspected production facility of the test results of non-compliant product samples (in Form 03 Appendix II attached to this Circular) within five working days from the date of receiving the sample test results;

5. In case of discovering violations, the inspection team and the inspection authority shall handle the violations in accordance with Article 12 of this Circular.

Article 12. Handling Violations During Inspection

1. During the inspection of product quality during production, if it is found that the production facility is not complying with labeling requirements, published standards applicable to the product, corresponding technical regulations, and related production conditions, the following actions shall be taken:

a) The inspection team prepares a record, requiring the production facility to implement corrective measures within the time frame specified in the record. During the period of implementing these corrective measures, the production facility may not release non-compliant products into circulation on the market.

The production facility may only release products into circulation after fully complying with the requirements of the inspection team and reporting the corrective actions in writing to the inspection authority;

b) In cases where the production facility continues to violate despite the request of the inspection team, depending on the nature, degree of violation, extent, and scale of impact, the product quality inspection authority shall publicly announce on mass media (newspapers, radio, television) at the local or central level the name, address of the production facility, the name of the non-compliant product, and the degree of non-compliance of the product (in Form 04 Appendix II, issued together with this Circular) within seven working days from the date of concluding the continued violation by the production facility;

c) After the public announcement on mass media, if the production facility continues to violate, the product quality inspection authority shall prepare an administrative violation record, transfer the file in accordance with Clause 3 of this Article, and recommend the competent state authority to handle the matter in accordance with the law within five working days from the date of the public announcement on mass media;

2. During the inspection of product quality during production, if the test results or evidence confirm that the product does not meet the published standards applicable to the product, corresponding technical regulations, and poses a threat to human safety, animal, plant, property, or the environment, the following actions shall be taken:

a) The head of the inspection team prepares an administrative violation record, seals the non-compliant product batch at the place of production or warehouse (sealing label according to Form 05 Appendix II issued together with this Circular, sealing record according to Form 06 Appendix II issued together with this Circular); The product quality inspection authority issues a notice temporarily suspending the production and circulation of non-compliant products (according to Form 07 Appendix II issued together with this Circular), requiring the production facility to recall non-compliant products already released into the market, publicly announce on mass media, and simultaneously transfer the file in accordance with Clause 3 of this Article and recommend the competent state authority to handle the matter in accordance with the law;

b) The production facility may only resume production after completing the corrective measures, complying with the handling procedures, and reporting in writing to the inspection authority for re-inspection and issuance of a notice allowing the resumption of production and circulation (according to Form 08 Appendix II attached to this Circular).

3. The file transferred to the competent state authority for handling violations includes: Inspection decision, inspection record, notification of test results of samples or evidence confirming non-compliance of the product, administrative violation record, sealing record, temporary suspension notice of production, and a letter from the inspection authority requesting the competent authority to proceed with the handling procedures in accordance with the law.

The competent state authority responsible for handling violations shall examine and handle the matter in accordance with the law and inform the inspection authority of the handling results for monitoring and summarizing.

Chapter 3

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 13. Responsibilities of the Occupational Safety and Health Inspection Department

The Occupational Safety and Health Inspection Department is the agency assisting the Minister in performing state management functions regarding product quality and goods at the central level, responsible for:

2. Receiving and processing registration files for quality inspection of imported products and goods according to the items assigned as stipulated in Circular No. 22/2018/TT-BLDTBXH dated December 6, 2018 of the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs on the List of Products and Goods with Potential to Cause Safety Hazards under the State Management Responsibility of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs. Establishing a record to monitor the situation of national quality inspection registration for imported products and goods according to Model 01 in Appendix III issued together with this Circular;

3. Cooperating with provincial Departments of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and Customs Authorities to handle products and goods that do not meet quality requirements;

4. Annually and urgently compiling reports to the Ministry on the situation and results of national quality inspections of products and goods, the situation of receiving conformity declaration registration files;

5. Implementing inspections, audits, and handling violations of laws in activities of standard declaration, conformity declaration, and conformity assessment of organizations and individuals producing, trading, importing, and conformity assessment organizations for products and goods group 2 under the state management authority of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs as prescribed by law;

6. Based on the implementation of product quality inspections in the market and during production, the inspection agency builds a budget plan for quality inspection costs of products in production for the following year, summarized in the overall quality inspection plan of products and goods, reporting to the competent authority for decision-making.

Article 14. Responsibilities of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs

Provincial Departments of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs are agencies implementing state management functions regarding product quality and goods at the local level, responsible for:

1. Receiving and processing registration files for quality inspection of imported products and goods according to the items assigned as stipulated in Circular No. 22/2018/TT-BLDTBXH dated December 6, 2018 of the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs on the List of Products and Goods with Potential to Cause Safety Hazards under the State Management Responsibility of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs. Establishing a record to monitor the situation of national quality inspection registration for imported products and goods according to Model 01 in Appendix III issued together with this Circular;

2. Cooperating with the Occupational Safety and Health Inspection Department and Customs Authorities to handle products and goods that do not meet quality requirements;

3. Implementing inspections, audits, and handling violations of laws in activities of standard declaration, conformity declaration, and conformity assessment of organizations and individuals producing, trading, importing, and conformity assessment organizations for products and goods group 2 under the state management authority of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs as prescribed by law;

4. Annually and urgently compiling reports to the Occupational Safety and Health Inspection Department on the situation and results of national quality inspections of products and goods according to Model 02 in Appendix III issued together with this Circular.

Chapter 4

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 15. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from February 20, 2019, replacing Circular No. 35/2012/TT-BLDTBXH dated December 27, 2012 of the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs on procedures for designating organizations to certify conformity declarations and announce conformity declarations for products and goods under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and Circular No. 03/2010/TT-BLDTBXH dated January 19, 2010 of the Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs promulgating the list of products and goods group 2 and guiding the procedures, formalities, and contents of quality inspection of products and goods in production.

Article 16. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Occupational Safety and Health Inspection Department, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, provincial Departments of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and related agencies, organizations, and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.

2. In cases where legal normative documents cited in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced by other legal normative documents, then the corresponding articles, clauses, and points shall be applied in the amended, supplemented, or replacing documents.

3. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, agencies, organizations, and individuals should report to the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs for research and resolution./.