Circular No. 36/2018/TT-BNNPTNT Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of Circular No. 26/2016/TT-BNNPTNT on Animal Quarantine and Aquatic Animal Products

 

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 26/2016/TT-BNNPTNT dated June 30, 2016 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on animal quarantine and aquatic animal products

Pursuant to Decree No. 15/2017/NĐ-CP dated February 17, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

Pursuant to the Law on Animal Health No. 79/2015/QH13 dated June 19, 2015;

1. The List of veterinary drugs permitted for circulation in Vietnam (Annex I).

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development issues this Circular to amend and supplement certain provisions of Circular No. 26/2016/TT-BNNPTNT dated June 30, 2016 on animal quarantine and aquatic animal products.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 26/2016/TT-BNNPTNT dated June 30, 2016 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on animal quarantine and aquatic animal products (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 26/2016/TT-BNNPTNT)

1. Supplement Clause 5, Clause 6, Clause 7, and Clause 8 of Article 2 as follows:

“5. Export and import goods are aquatic animal products of the same type, with the same name, brand, production facility, packaging material.

6. Export and import consignment of aquatic animal products is the entire aquatic animal product of one shipment for import or export (with the same waybill number). A consignment may consist of only one item or multiple items.

7. High-risk aquatic animal products are aquatic animal products in raw, fresh, chilled, or frozen form.

8. Low-risk aquatic animal products are aquatic animal products that have been processed industrially or manually for immediate consumption.”

2. Clause 3 of Article 4 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“3. Declaration documents for the import quarantine of aquatic animal products used as raw materials for processing and manufacturing food for export; directly imported aquatic animal products from foreign fishing vessels, indirectly imported aquatic animal products from foreign fishing vessels transshipped at intermediate ports of other countries for processing and manufacturing food for export; aquatic animal products as samples; exported aquatic animal products recalled or returned:

a) Declaration form for quarantine according to Model 03 TS Appendix V issued together with this Circular;

b) Certified copy of the enterprise’s Certificate of Quarantine from the exporting country, except for directly imported aquatic animal products from foreign fishing vessels, indirectly imported aquatic animal products from foreign fishing vessels transshipped at intermediate ports of other countries to Vietnam, and samples weighing less than 50 kg. In case of sending a certified copy or not providing the Certificate of Quarantine from the exporting country at the time of submission, the original Certificate of Quarantine from the exporting country must be provided when inspecting the goods;

c) Certified copy of the enterprise’s permit as stipulated in point c of Clause 2 of this Article;

d) Certified copy of the enterprise’s transport document for imported aquatic animal products used as raw materials for processing and manufacturing food for export (except for directly imported aquatic animal products from foreign fishing vessels);

đ) Certified copy of the enterprise’s relevant documents related to the export consignment (Food Safety Certificate if available, recall notice of the enterprise, customs declaration, list of goods) for exported aquatic animal products recalled or returned;

e) Certified copy of the enterprise’s Captain’s Statement or Seller’s Confirmation. The contents of these documents include the following information: Fishing vessel name, registration number, flag state, fishing method, fishing time, fishing area for directly imported aquatic animal products from foreign fishing vessels;

g) For indirectly imported aquatic animal products from foreign fishing vessels transshipped at intermediate ports of other countries to Vietnam, in addition to the documents specified in points a, c, d, and e of this clause, the enterprise supplements a certified copy of the confirmation document issued by the competent authority of the country where the intermediate port is located (certified by the enterprise). The content of the confirmation document includes the following information: Name, registration number, flag state of the fishing vessel and transport vessel; type of aquatic product, quantity, loading/unloading time, loading/unloading location, product storage conditions, aquatic products remain in their original condition without undergoing any other processes except for loading/unloading activities.”

3. Supplement point c of Clause 6 of Article 4 as follows:

“c) Certified copy of the enterprise’s transport document.”

4. Supplement point c of Clause 7 of Article 4 as follows:

“c) Certified copy of the enterprise’s transport document.”

5. Supplement Clause 6 of Article 11 as follows:

“6. The consignor is responsible for the quarantine of exported goods and does not need to submit a Certificate of Quarantine to the customs authority for the export consignment to clear customs.”

6. Amend and supplement Clause 1, Clause 2, Clause 4, and Clause 5 of Article 13 as follows:

“1. Quarantine registration

a) Before importing animals or aquatic animal products, the consignor submits one set of quarantine registration documents as prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 4 of this Circular to the Department of Animal Health through one of the following methods: via the National Single Window Portal or through public postal services or email, fax, then submitting the original documents or submitting directly;

b) The Department of Animal Health implements as prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 46 of the Law on Animal Health; sends an agreement letter and quarantine guidance to the consignor and the animal quarantine agency at the border gate via email (in case the consignor registers quarantine through public postal services or email, fax, or direct submission) or on the National Single Window Portal (in case of registration through the National Single Window Portal).

2. Quarantine declaration

a) After receiving the agreement letter and quarantine guidance from the Department of Animal Health, before the goods arrive at the border gate for import, the consignor submits one set of quarantine declaration documents as prescribed in Clause 6 of Article 4 of this Circular to the animal quarantine agency at the border gate through one of the following methods: via the National Single Window Portal or through public postal services or email, fax, then submitting the original documents or submitting directly;

b) The animal quarantine agency at the border gate implements as prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 46 of the Law on Animal Health;

c) When receiving the declaration for animal quarantine and aquatic animal products import inspection, the animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall check and compare information on illegal, unreported, and non-compliant fishing vessels (IUU) published on the European Union Authority's website (https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/illegal_fishing/info), the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations' websites, or notifications from other countries' authorities. In cases where imported consignments come from IUU vessels, the animal quarantine agency at the border gate will not conduct the quarantine process and immediately report to the Animal Health Department to coordinate with relevant agencies for handling.

4. Content of Quarantine

a) The animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall carry out quarantine according to the provisions set forth in Article 47 of the Law on Animal Health;

b) For aquatic animals used as breeding stock: samples shall be taken for testing diseases as prescribed in Appendix IV issued together with this Circular;

c) For commercial aquatic animals: samples shall only be taken for disease testing if signs of disease as specified in Appendix III issued together with this Circular are detected;

d) For aquatic animal products: the actual documents and goods at the import port or at the consolidation site shall be inspected. If requirements are met, the animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall take samples for testing according to the criteria specified in Appendix IV issued together with this Circular and issue the Certificate of Transport for Imported Animals and Aquatic Animal Products (Form 09TS) for the consignor to transport the goods to storage facilities as requested by the consignor (the consignor’s storage facility must meet veterinary hygiene conditions). The consignor shall be responsible for transporting and storing the goods and shall not sell them until the quarantine results are available.

In cases where aquatic animal products cannot be sampled at the border gate or at the consolidation site, the quarantine agency at the border gate shall conduct sampling for quarantine at the storage facility.

Frozen aquatic animal products must be kept at the import border gate until the test results meet the requirements.

đ) Quarantine isolation period: not exceeding ten days for breeding aquatic animals, and not more than three days for commercial aquatic animals from the date of quarantine isolation; in cases where the period exceeds the above time frame, the animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall notify the consignor in writing and specify the reasons.

5. Issuance of the Quarantine Certificate

a) For consignments of aquatic animal products that require sample testing: within five working days from the start of quarantine, the animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall issue the Quarantine Certificate for Imported Animals and Aquatic Animal Products for products meeting the requirements, allowing the consignor to complete customs formalities. If the period exceeds five working days, the animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall notify the consignor in writing and specify the reasons;

b) For consignments of aquatic animal products that do not require sample testing: within one working day, the animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall issue the Quarantine Certificate for Imported Animals and Aquatic Animal Products after checking the documents and finding them satisfactory, allowing the consignor to complete customs formalities;

c) For breeding aquatic animals: immediately upon receiving satisfactory disease test results and confirming healthy breeding aquatic animals, the animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall issue the Quarantine Certificate for Imported Animals and Aquatic Animal Products for the consignor to complete customs formalities;

d) For commercial aquatic animals: after being placed in quarantine isolation for at least one day, the animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall issue the Quarantine Certificate for Imported Animals and Aquatic Animal Products for healthy animals; if sample testing is required, it shall be carried out according to point c of this clause to allow the consignor to complete customs formalities;

đ) The animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall notify the destination animal quarantine agency via email or fax the following information: certificate number, issuance date, quantity of goods immediately after issuing the Quarantine Certificate.

7. Supplement Article 13a as follows:

"Article 13a. On-site Quarantine of Exported and Imported Aquatic Animal Products

1. Aquatic animal products that have completed import quarantine procedures, without further processing or repackaging when exported or imported on-site, do not need to undergo quarantine.

2. Domestic-origin aquatic animal products sold to export processing enterprises only need to comply with transportation quarantine regulations outside the provincial administrative area, without needing on-site export or import quarantine."

8. Article 14 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 14. Quarantine of Imported Aquatic Animal Products Used as Raw Materials for Processing and Manufacturing Exported Food Products; Imported Aquatic Animal Products Directly from Foreign Fishing Vessels, Indirectly from Foreign Fishing Vessels Transferred at Other Countries’ Transfer Ports for Processing and Manufacturing Exported Food Products; Sampled Aquatic Animal Products; Exported Aquatic Animal Products Recalled or Returned

1. The consignor shall submit one set of documents as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular to the animal quarantine agency at the import location. Documents can be submitted through the National Single Window Portal, postal service, email, or fax, followed by submission of original documents or direct submission.

a) Within one working day from the date of receipt of valid documents, the animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall confirm the Declaration Form for Quarantine for the consignor to proceed with customs formalities and notify the consignor of the time and place for quarantine;

b) The animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall implement according to Point c, Clause 2 of Article 13 of this Circular.

2. The animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall carry out quarantine as follows:

a) Inspect storage conditions, packaging standards, labeling, and external appearance of the products;

b) In cases of suspicion or discovery of goods failing to meet veterinary hygiene requirements, samples shall be taken for testing hygiene indicators.

c) The consignee may store imported aquatic animal products intended for processing and manufacturing export food in their own storage facilities (the storage facilities of the consignee must meet veterinary hygiene conditions) to carry out quarantine inspections as prescribed. The consignee shall be responsible for transporting and storing the goods and shall not put them on the market before receiving the quarantine results.

In case violations are detected, for subsequent importations, the consignee must keep the goods at the import border area to carry out quarantine inspections. If the inspection results of three consecutive imports meet the requirements, the goods can then be moved back to the storage facility for quarantine inspections.

3. Issuing a Certificate of Quarantine

a) Within two working days from the start of the quarantine, the border quarantine agency shall issue a Certificate of Quarantine for imported aquatic animals and animal products that meet the veterinary hygiene requirements (Form 10TS, without applying the content "Valid until").

b) In cases where samples need to be taken for testing: within five working days from the start of the quarantine, the border quarantine agency shall issue a Certificate of Import Quarantine for imported aquatic animals and animal products that meet the veterinary hygiene requirements.

c) For imported aquatic animal products from foreign fishing vessels, within sixty days from the date of issuance of the Import Quarantine Certificate, if the consignee reports modified or additional quarantine declarations according to product classification and export markets, the border quarantine agency that issued the initial Import Quarantine Certificate shall issue a new Import Quarantine Certificate to replace the previously issued one.

Any modified or additional declarations regarding product classification and export markets must accurately reflect the origin and quantity of the goods covered by the initial Import Quarantine Certificate. The consignee shall be responsible for the contents of these declarations.

4. Inspection and supervision of imported aquatic animal products used as raw materials for processing and manufacturing export food; imported aquatic animal products directly from foreign fishing vessels, indirectly from foreign fishing vessels transshipped at intermediate ports of other countries for use as raw materials for processing and manufacturing export food, recalled or returned:

a) Collect samples for monitoring according to the provisions set forth in Appendix IV attached hereto;

b) Notification of violations: Implemented according to Clause 6, Article 13 of this Circular.

9. Article 15 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 15. Quarantine of Animals and Aquatic Animal Products Temporarily Imported for Re-export, Transferred Customs Ports, or Transit Through Vietnam's Territory

1. Before temporarily importing for re-export, transferring customs ports, or transiting through Vietnam's territory, the consignee shall submit one set of registration documents for quarantine in accordance with Clause 4, Article 4 of this Circular to the Department of Animal Health via one of the following methods: through the National Single Window Portal or through postal services or email, fax, followed by sending the original documents or submitting them directly.

2. The Department of Animal Health shall implement in accordance with Clause 2, Article 49 of the Law on Animal Health; send guidance documents for quarantine to the consignee and the border quarantine agency via email (for cases where the consignee registers quarantine through postal services or email, fax, or submits directly) or on the National Single Window Portal (for cases registered through the National Single Window Portal).

3. After the Department of Animal Health issues guidance documents for quarantine, before the goods arrive at the border, the consignee shall submit one set of declaration documents for quarantine in accordance with Clause 7, Article 4 of this Circular to the border quarantine agency via one of the following methods: through the National Single Window Portal or through postal services or email, fax, followed by sending the original documents or submitting them directly. The border quarantine agency shall implement in accordance with Clause 3, Article 49 of the Law on Animal Health and conduct quarantine in accordance with Article 50 of the Law on Animal Health.

4. The border quarantine agency shall implement in accordance with Point c, Clause 2, Article 13 of this Circular.

10. Article 17 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 17. Quarantine of Animals and Aquatic Animal Products Entering and Leaving Bonded Warehouses

1. Before entering or leaving bonded warehouses, the consignee shall submit one set of registration documents for quarantine in accordance with Clause 4, Article 4 of this Circular to the Department of Animal Health via one of the following methods: through the National Single Window Portal or through postal services or email, fax, followed by sending the original documents or submitting them directly.

2. The Department of Animal Health shall implement in accordance with Clause 2, Article 49 of the Law on Animal Health; send guidance documents for quarantine to the consignee and the border quarantine agency via email (for cases where the consignee registers quarantine through postal services or email, fax, or submits directly) or on the National Single Window Portal (for cases registered through the National Single Window Portal).

3. After the Department of Animal Health issues guidance documents for quarantine, before the goods arrive at the border, the consignee shall submit one set of declaration documents for quarantine in accordance with Clause 7, Article 4 of this Circular to the border quarantine agency via one of the following methods: through the National Single Window Portal or through postal services or email, fax, followed by sending the original documents or submitting them directly. The border quarantine agency shall implement in accordance with Clause 3, Article 49 of the Law on Animal Health and conduct quarantine in accordance with Clauses 5 and 7 of this Article.

4. The border quarantine agency shall implement in accordance with Point c, Clause 2, Article 13 of this Circular.

5. The border quarantine agency shall conduct quarantine of animals and aquatic animal products entering bonded warehouses as follows:

a) Issue a Transportation Permit for the consignee to transport animals and aquatic animal products from the import border to the bonded warehouse;

b) At the bonded warehouse, the border quarantine agency shall cooperate with the customs authority to inspect the actual condition of the consignment and confirm it so that the consignee can enter the goods into the bonded warehouse.

6. Prior to exporting goods from the bonded warehouse, the consignor must submit a declaration for quarantine inspection to the animal quarantine agency at the border gate in accordance with the following provisions:

a) For aquatic animal products exported for sale to domestic production facilities as raw materials for processing and manufacturing food for export, the declaration for quarantine shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular;

b) For animals and aquatic animal products imported for domestic consumption, the declaration shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Clause 6, Article 4 of this Circular.

7. The animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall carry out quarantine inspections on animals and aquatic animal products being exported from the bonded warehouse as follows:

a) Conduct quarantine inspections in accordance with the provisions of Clauses 2, 3, and 4 of Article 14 of this Circular for aquatic animal products used as raw materials for processing and manufacturing food for export at domestic seafood processing facilities;

b) Conduct quarantine inspections in accordance with the provisions of Clauses 4, 5, and 6 of Article 13 of this Circular for animals and aquatic animal products for domestic consumption;

c) Conduct quarantine inspections in accordance with Article 50 of the Law on Animal Health for animals and aquatic animal products stored in bonded warehouses for re-export, with a Certificate of Quarantine issued according to Form 12TS;

d) In cases where the shipment is partially exported from the bonded warehouse, the animal quarantine agency at the border gate will deduct the quantity of goods from the original Certificate of Quarantine issued by the exporting country, retain a copy in the quarantine file. The original Certificate of Quarantine from the exporting country will be collected and retained in the final export file of the shipment (in the case of import for domestic consumption or as raw material for export production) or returned to the consignor (in the case of re-exported goods).

11. Supplement Point d of Clause 1, Article 22 as follows:

“d) Notify the General Department of Fisheries and relevant agencies when detecting fishing vessels or transport vessels carrying aquatic products violating IUU regulations during the quarantine process to take appropriate measures to prevent and stop such violations.”

12. Amend Item 2 of Part B of Appendix I as follows:

“2. Processed aquatic animal products that have been cooked, sealed in airtight packaging, labeled in accordance with regulations, and intended for immediate consumption.”

13. Supplement Tilapia Lake virus disease to Item 1 of Part A of Appendix IV as follows:

“A. Aquatic Animals

I. Diseases in Aquatic Animals

14. Amend and supplement Point 1 of Item 1 of Part B and Item II of Part B of Appendix IV as follows:

“B. Aquatic Animal Products

I. Aquatic animal products used for food

1. Inspection criteria

1.1. Harmful microorganisms:

1.2. Sensory and physicochemical criteria as prescribed.

1.3. Sampling frequency for testing and examination.

a) For high-risk aquatic animal products (in semi-processed, fresh, frozen, or chilled form): samples from three consecutive batches shall be tested and examined, and the results shall be processed as follows:

a1) If the test results of three consecutive batches meet the requirements, then every five subsequent batches, only one randomly selected batch shall be tested and examined; if one violation is detected, samples from three consecutive batches shall be tested and examined, and the results shall be processed as stipulated in this item;

a2) If the test results of one to two batches do not meet the requirements, continue to sample three consecutive batches for testing and examination;

a3) If the test results of three consecutive batches do not meet the requirements, propose a temporary suspension of imports of the non-compliant aquatic animal products;

b) For low-risk aquatic animal products (already processed):

Every five batches, one randomly selected batch shall be tested and examined; if one violation is detected, samples from three consecutive batches shall be tested and examined, and the results shall be processed as stipulated in points a1, a2, and a3 of this item;

c) Batches requiring sampling: if a batch has one item, three samples shall be taken; if a batch has two or more items, five samples shall be taken;

d) Batches not requiring sampling, the animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall only check the documentation. If the documentation meets the requirements, the animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall issue an Import Certificate of Quarantine (the consignor shall bear full responsibility for the imported goods);

đ) Sampling frequency shall be applied to the total number of batches imported from January 1st to December 31st of the same year.

1.4. When the test results of a sampled batch do not meet the requirements, the animal quarantine agency at the border gate shall immediately report to the Animal Health Department to notify the violation and take appropriate measures as prescribed.

II. Aquatic animal products not used for food: inspect according to the current standards and technical regulations; the method and frequency of sampling for inspection shall be carried out in accordance with Point 1.3 of Item I of Part B of this Appendix.

15. Amend and supplement some contents of Appendix V as follows:

a) Amend Point 10 of Item 1 to read “Certificate of Quarantine for Imported Animals and Animal Products - Form 10TS”;

b) Replace the phrase "ID/CCCD/Passport No." with "ID No./Passport No./Personal Identification Number" in Forms 01TS and 03TS;

c) Replace the phrase “IMPORT QUARANTINE CERTIFICATE FOR ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS NOT USED AS FOOD” with “IMPORT QUARANTINE CERTIFICATE FOR ANIMALS AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS”; replace the phrase “Quarantine location: from date../20.. to date../20.." with "Destination:" in Form 10TS;

d) Repeal Clause 11 of Part 1 and Form 11TS.

16. Replace the phrase "Animal Health Agency Region" with the phrase "Regional Animal Health Service" in Articles 11, Article 22, and Model 22TS of Appendix V.

Article 2. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from February 10, 2019.

2. Repeal Article 5 of Circular No. 02/2018/TT-BNNPTNT dated January 31, 2018, issued by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to amend and supplement Circulars No. 50/2015/TT-BNNPTNT, No. 25/2013/TT-BNNPTNT, No. 02/2006/TT-BTS, No. 62/2008/TT-BNN, and No. 26/2016/TT-BNNPTNT.

3. In cases where the software applied on the National Single Window Portal has not been connected when this Circular takes effect, the consignor shall submit the dossier to the Animal Health Department through public postal services or email, fax, and then submit the original dossier or deliver it directly and receive the result via email.

Article 3. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Director of the Animal Health Department, the General Director of the Fisheries General Department, and the Heads of units, organizations, and individuals concerned are responsible for implementing this Circular.

2. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, it is recommended that agencies, organizations, and individuals report them to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for review, amendment, and supplementation./.