Decree No. 48/2026/NĐ-CP Amending and supplementing certain Articles of Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP dated January 10, 2022, of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP dated January 6, 2025.

DECREE

Amending and supplementing certain Articles of Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP ndated January 10, 2022 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection amended and supplemented by Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP dated January 6, 2025 

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization No. 63/2025/QH15;

On the basis of the Law on Local Administration Organization No. 72/2025/QH15;

On the basis of the Law on Environmental Protection No. 72/2020/QH14 which has been amended and supplemented some clauses by Law No. 11/2022/QH15, Law No. 16/2023/QH15, Law No. 18/2023/QH15, Law No. 47/2024/QH15, Law No. 54/2024/QH15 and Law No. 146/2025/QH15;

On the basis of the Law on Public Investment No. 58/2024/QH15 amended and supplemented by Law No. 90/2025/QH15;

On the basis of the Law on Investment No. 61/2020/QH14 amended and supplemented by Law No. 03/2022/QH15, Law No. 57/2024/QH15 and Law No. 143/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Law on State Budget No. 89/2025/QH15;

At the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development;

The Government promulgates this Decree amending and supplementing certain Articles of Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP dated January 10, 2022 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection amended and supplemented by Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP dated January 6, 2025.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing Article 1

"Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree details Clause 4 of Article 9; Clause 5 of Article 13; Clause 4 of Article 14; Clause 4 of Article 15; Clause 3 of Article 20; Clause 4 of Article 21; Clause 4 of Article 23; Clause 2 of Article 24; Clause 3 of Article 25; Clause 7 of Article 28; Clause 2 of Article 31; Clause 7 of Article 33; Clause 4 of Article 35; Clause 7 of Article 37; Point a of Clause 1 of Article 39; Clause 4 of Article 41; Clause 6 of Article 44; Clause 5 of Article 46; Clause 8 of Article 49; Clause 6 of Article 51; Clause 1 and Clause 4 of Article 52; Clause 4 of Article 53; Clause 5 of Article 54; Clause 5 of Article 55; Clause 7 of Article 56; Clause 3 of Article 59; Clause 5 of Article 61; Clause 1 of Article 63; Clause 7 of Article 65; Clause 7 of Article 67; Point d of Clause 2 of Article 69; Clause 2 of Article 70; Clause 3 of Article 71; Clause 8 of Article 72; Clause 7 of Article 73; Clause 4 of Article 78; Clause 3 and Clause 4 of Article 79; Clause 3 of Article 80; Clause 3 of Article 84; Clause 1 of Article 86; Clause 1 of Article 105; Clause 4 of Article 110; Clause 7 of Article 111; Clause 7 of Article 112; Clause 4 of Article 114; Clause 3 of Article 115; Point a of Clause 2 of Article 116; Clause 7 of Article 121; Clause 4 of Article 131; Clause 4 of Article 132; Clause 4 of Article 135; Clause 5 of Article 137; Clause 5 of Article 138; Clause 2 of Article 140; Clause 5 of Article 141; Clause 4 of Article 142; Clause 3 of Article 143; Clause 5 of Article 144; Clause 4 of Article 145; Clause 2 of Article 146; Clause 7 of Article 148; Clause 5 of Article 149; Clause 5 of Article 150; Clause 3 of Article 151; Clause 4 of Article 158; Clause 6 of Article 160; Clause 4 of Article 167; Clause 6 of Article 171 of the Law on Environmental Protection amended and supplemented by the Law amending and supplementing certain provisions of 15 laws in the field of agriculture and environment.”

Article 2. Amending and supplementing Clause 1 of Article 18

“1. The provincial People's Committee shall develop, issue and implement plans for handling, remediation, and recovery of particularly serious contaminated land areas in accordance with Point b of Clause 3 of Article 19 of the Law on Environmental Protection; the implementation of these plans must be clearly stated in the annual environmental protection work report at the provincial level and submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for consolidation.”

Article 3. Amending and supplementing Point b of Clause 5 of Article 19

“b) For national natural heritage sites as provided for in Point b of Clause 4 of Article 21 of this Decree:

The agency or unit assigned by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee to establish a project to recognize national natural heritage sites within their management area shall submit it to the Provincial People's Committee. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall assign the competent authority to review and decide to recognize the natural heritage site;

The agency or unit assigned by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to establish a project to recognize national natural heritage sites located in two or more provinces or centrally governed cities or in sea areas where administrative management responsibility cannot be determined by the Provincial People's Committee shall submit it to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assign the competent authority to review and decide to recognize the natural heritage site.”.

Article 4. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 20

1. Amend and supplement point a clause 2 as follows:

“a) For natural heritage located within the territory of one province or centrally governed city: the dossier shall be submitted to the People's Committee of the province for consideration and sent to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to organize the review.

In case the natural heritage is managed by central ministries or sectors or located in the sea area where the administrative management responsibility of the People's Committee of the province has not been determined, the Management Board or organization entrusted with managing the natural heritage shall submit the dossier to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment for review after obtaining the consent letter from the People's Committee of the province whose boundary falls within the proposed natural heritage.”

2. Amend and supplement point d clause 2 as follows:

“d) The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall cooperate with the People's Committee of the province to complete the dossier after the Review Council meeting and submit it to the Minister of Agriculture and Environment for approval of the policy to nominate the international organization to recognize the international title for the natural heritage.”

3. Amend and supplement clause 3 as follows:

“3. After being approved by the Minister of Agriculture and Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall send the dossier or coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send the nomination dossier for recognition according to the regulations of the international organization.”

Article 5. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 25

1. Amend and supplement Point b of Clause 1 as follows:

“b) The scale of land area, water surface area of the project is classified into three types: large is from 300 hectares or more; medium is from 50 hectares to less than 300 hectares; small is less than 50 hectares;”

2. Amend and supplement some points of clause 4 as follows:

Amend and supplement point a as follows:

“a) Projects of production, business, service activities that have the risk of causing environmental pollution as stipulated in Appendix II issued together with this Decree, if their location is situated in: wards of cities as prescribed by laws on classification of cities, except projects connecting wastewater to centralized wastewater treatment systems of concentrated production, business, service areas, industrial clusters as prescribed without generating dust, exhaust gas discharged into the environment that must be treated;”

b) Amend and supplement Point c as follows:

“c) Projects using land, water surface area of nature conservation zones as prescribed by laws on biodiversity, forestry, fisheries, special-use forests, protective forests, natural forest land as prescribed by laws on forestry, aquatic resource protection zones as prescribed by laws on fisheries, important wetland areas, biosphere reserves, world natural heritages, and fall under one of the cases prescribed at point a, b, c, and d column (3) number 7a of Appendix III or point a, b, c, and d column (3) number 5a of Appendix IV issued together with this Decree (except investment construction projects approved by competent authorities only having one or several objectives: serving forest management and protection; natural conservation and biodiversity preservation; forest fire prevention and extinguishing; silviculture);”

c) Amend and supplement point đ as follows:

“đ) Projects requiring conversion of land use purpose, water surface area of nature conservation zones, world natural heritages, biosphere reserves, important wetland areas, special-use forests, protective forests, natural forest land, and fall under one of the cases prescribed at point a, b, c, and d column (3) number 7b of Appendix III or point a, b, c, and d column (3) number 5b of Appendix IV issued together with this Decree (except investment construction projects approved by competent authorities only having one or several objectives: serving forest management and protection; natural conservation and biodiversity preservation; forest fire prevention and extinguishing; silviculture);”

Article 6. Add Point l following Point k of Clause 4, Article 26.

"l) The project investor of special public investment projects as prescribed by laws on public investment shall only conduct consultation through posting on the electronic information website as provided for in Point a, Clause 3 of this Article."

Article 7. Amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 26a.

"1. Delegation of the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province to review environmental impact assessment reports and issue environmental permits (if applicable) for investment projects under the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to review environmental impact assessment reports as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 35 of the Environmental Protection Law below:

a) Public investment projects not within the decision-making or approval authority of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister, except for projects implementing waste recycling and solid waste treatment services;

b) Projects classified solely based on the criteria requiring a change in land use purpose, land with water bodies in natural conservation areas, natural heritage sites, biosphere reserves, important wetlands, special-use forests, protective forests, and natural forested land, and not within the decision-making or approval authority of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister;

c) Hydropower projects not within the decision-making or approval authority of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister;

d) Oil and natural gas extraction projects."

Article 8. Amend and supplement some Points and Clauses of Article 27.

1. Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 5 as follows:

"a) Increase the total volume of wastewater or total volume of dust and exhaust emissions discharged into the environment when the project goes into formal operation. The existing total volume of wastewater or total volume of dust and exhaust emissions discharged from the project is determined based on the maximum discharge flow rate and discharge method in the decision approving the results of the environmental impact assessment report or the environmental permit of the project;"

2. Amend and supplement some Points of Clause 6 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point b as follows:

"b) Increase the reserve quantity, production capacity, change or supplement mineral exploitation methods to the extent that requires adjustment of the mineral exploitation permit according to the laws on minerals; supplement the mineral exploitation area leading to the need to carry out procedures for issuing a mineral exploitation permit according to the laws on geology and minerals; change the content of rehabilitation and restoration of the environment leading to a reduction in the amount of deposit for rehabilitation and restoration of the environment calculated at the time of approval of the rehabilitation and restoration plan, except in cases where the reduction in the amount of deposit for rehabilitation and restoration of the environment is due to a decrease in the area or reserve quantity of mineral exploitation;"

b) Amend and supplement Point c as follows:

"c) Increase the scale of water resource exploitation and utilization, change or supplement the water source for surface water exploitation to the extent that requires issuance of a new water resource exploitation permit according to the laws on water resources;"

c) Amend and supplement Point e as follows:

"e) Not installing at least one processing stage of the waste treatment facility that has been approved or replacing the approved waste treatment technology with another technology in the following cases: Wastewater treatment systems with a capacity of 50 m³/day or more (except in cases where the project's wastewater is connected to the centralized wastewater collection and treatment system of industrial zones, business and service clusters, or the centralized wastewater treatment system of urban or residential areas) or exhaust gas treatment systems with a capacity of 20,000 m³/hour or more;"

3. Add Clause 12 following Clause 11 as follows:

"12. During the completion of the environmental impact assessment report according to the requirements of the notification of the results of the review process with conditions for revision and supplementation by the reviewing agency or person with reviewing authority, if the project investor makes adjustments to the project content as specified in Clause 2 of this Article, the review of the environmental impact assessment report shall be carried out according to the provisions of Article 34 of the Environmental Protection Law."

Article 9. Supplement Article Article 27a and Article 27b into detailed Article 27

1. Add Article 27a following Article 27 as follows:

"Article 27a. Preparation of environmental impact assessment reports for projects with phased investment or divided into component projects

1. In cases where the investment project is permitted by the competent authority to be divided into component projects, the environmental impact assessment report shall be prepared for each component project that meets the environmental criteria requiring an environmental impact assessment.

2. In cases where the investment project meets the environmental criteria requiring an environmental impact assessment and is subject to phased investment as prescribed by law, the project investor may choose to prepare an environmental impact assessment report for each phase of the phased investment or for the entire project.

If the project investor chooses to prepare an environmental impact assessment report for phased investment, the environmental impact assessment report for subsequent phases must incorporate and update the content of the environmental impact assessments already conducted for previous phases of the project. The Decision approving the results of the review of the environmental impact assessment report for subsequent phases will replace the Decision approving the results of the review of the environmental impact assessment report for previous phases that are still valid.

3. The environmental criteria for classifying investment projects as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article shall be determined based on the overall project."

2. Add Article 27b following Article 27a as follows:

"Article 27b. Review of environmental impact assessment reports and issuance of environmental permits for certain special projects

1. For investment projects located in two or more provincial administrative units or located in sea areas without clear administrative management responsibility of the Provincial People's Committees, and which fall under the authority of the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province to review environmental impact assessment reports as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 35 of the Environmental Protection Law and Clause 1, Article 26a of this Decree, the review authority shall be determined as follows:"

a) In the case where the investment project is located on the territory of two or more provincial administrative units and has been decided or approved by the National Assembly or the Prime Minister, and concurrently assigned to one Provincial People's Committee as the competent authority under the law on public-private partnership investment methods, or assigned to one Chairman of a Provincial People's Committee to decide on investment according to the law on public investment, or divided into component projects with each component project only implemented on the territory of one provincial administrative unit, the authority to review the environmental impact assessment report shall be the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee who has been granted such authority or the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee where the component project is being implemented;

b) In the case where the investment project is located on the territory of two or more provincial administrative units and does not fall under the provisions of point a of this clause, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee of one of the areas implementing the project shall organize the review of the environmental impact assessment report at the request of the investor;

c) In the case where the investment project is located in a sea area for which the administrative management responsibility of the Provincial People's Committee has not yet been determined, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee of one of the locations receiving waste from the project shall organize the review of the environmental impact assessment report at the request of the investor;

2. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee who has approved the results of the review of the environmental impact assessment report of the project specified in Article 1 of this Decree is the person authorized to issue an environmental permit for the project if the project falls within the category requiring an environmental permit;

3. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee organizing the review of the environmental impact assessment report and issuing the environmental permit shall be responsible for coordinating with the Chairman of the remaining Provincial People's Committees where the project implementation sites are located during the review of the environmental impact assessment report and issuance of the environmental permit for the project to resolve environmental issues in the region uniformly;

4. The issuance of an environmental permit for certain cases involving the division, merger, or integration of environmental files of the project or facility at the same location shall be regulated as follows:

a) In the case where the investment project and facility operate at the same location, have the same investor, they can be integrated into one environmental permit; documents equivalent to decisions approving the results of the review of the environmental impact assessment report or other environmental files approved by different state agencies shall serve as the basis for issuing an environmental permit for the integrated investment project or facility. The authority to issue an environmental permit in this case is the agency or person authorized to issue an environmental permit under Article 41 of the Environmental Protection Law (amended and supplemented in Clause 11 of Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of 15 laws in the field of agriculture and environment) for the integrated investment project or facility that meets the environmental criteria set forth in Article 25 of this Decree, except for cases falling under the decentralization of environmental permit issuance as stipulated in Article 26a of this Decree;

b) In the case where the investment project and facility operate at adjacent locations, have the same investor, and share a common wastewater or exhaust gas treatment system, they may be considered for integration into one environmental permit; documents equivalent to decisions approving the results of the review of the environmental impact assessment report or other environmental files approved by different state agencies shall serve as the basis for issuing an environmental permit for the integrated investment project or facility. The authority to issue an environmental permit in this case is the agency or person authorized to issue an environmental permit under Article 41 of the Environmental Protection Law (amended and supplemented in Clause 11 of Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of 15 laws in the field of agriculture and environment) for the integrated investment project or facility that meets the environmental criteria set forth in Article 25 of this Decree, except for cases falling under the decentralization of environmental permit issuance as stipulated in Article 26a of this Decree;

c) In the case where the investment project has already had its environmental impact assessment report reviewed and approved, and the investor wishes to divide the project, they must comply with the provisions of Clause 8 of Article 27 of this Decree before submitting the application for an environmental permit;

d) In the case where the investment project or facility has already obtained an environmental permit or component environmental permit as prescribed and subsequently divided into multiple projects or facilities, the project owner or facility operator shall inherit the contents of the previously issued environmental permit or component environmental permit within the validity period of the permit; within six months from the date of division as prescribed by law, the project owner or post-division facility operator must prepare the necessary documents to complete the procedures for issuing, adjusting, or reissuing the environmental permit but must ensure compliance with the required timeframe for obtaining an environmental permit as prescribed or implement environmental registration as prescribed."

Article 10. Amend and supplementthe name of the article and some points and clauses of Article 30 1. Amend the name of Article 30 as follows:

"Article 30. Adjustment, reissue, revocation of environmental permits".

2. Amend and supplement Clause 2 and Clause 3 as follows:

"2. The project investor or facility must adjust the environmental permit within the remaining validity period of the permit when falling under any of the following circumstances:

a) Changing the provisions set out in point a, Clause 2, Article 44 of the Law on Environmental Protection, except for the cases stipulated in Clause 4 and Clause 5 of this Article, excluding the case of reducing the scope of environmental permit or changing the volume and type of hazardous waste generated. In the case of reducing the scope of the environmental permit, the adjustment of the environmental permit shall be carried out upon request of the project investor or facility. In the case of changing the volume and type of hazardous waste generated, the project investor or facility shall have the responsibility to report such changes in the regular environmental protection report of the project or facility;

b) The investment project, facility, production area, business, service concentration area, industrial cluster increases in scale or production capacity, changes in production technology as provided for in Clause 3 and Clause 4 of Article 27 of this Decree, leading to changes in the scope of the permit, except for the case stipulated in point b, Clause 5 of this Article;

c) Adding the wastewater transfer and reception plan for treatment as provided for in Clause 4, Article 74 of this Decree; adding the wastewater reuse plan as provided for in Clause 6, Article 74 of this Decree;

d) Other changes as provided for in Clause 2, Article 27 of this Decree, except for the case stipulated in Clause 5 of this Article.

The adjustment of the environmental permit shall be carried out electronically through the full online public service system of the issuing authority or the authorized agency according to regulations. The project investor or facility subject to the adjustment of the environmental permit shall submit the application dossier before implementing the change and may only proceed with implementation after obtaining the adjusted environmental permit.

3. The project investor or facility may choose to submit the application dossier for the adjustment of the environmental permit as provided for in Clause 2 of this Article electronically through the full online public service system or directly or via postal service."

3. Amend and supplement point a, Clause 13 as follows:

"a) In the case where the environmental permit was issued beyond the authority, within the time limit for remedying the consequences of the violation, the project investor or facility shall carry out the procedures to apply for the issuance of the environmental permit in accordance with the regulations;"

4. Amend and supplement Clause 14 as follows:

"14. In the case where it is discovered that the environmental permit must be revoked as provided for in Clause 5, Article 44 of the Law on Environmental Protection but not falling under the case stipulated in Clause 13 of this Article, the revocation and issuance of the environmental permit shall be carried out as follows:

a) The state agency discovering the environmental permit that must be revoked shall send a written notice to the agency that issued the environmental permit to inform about the issuance beyond the authority or the content of the permit contravening the laws on environmental protection;

b) The state agency or person with authority who issued the environmental permit that must be revoked shall have the responsibility to review and verify again the procedure, process, and content of the environmental permit issuance after receiving the written notice as provided for in point a of this clause.

In the case where the environmental permit was issued beyond the authority as stipulated, the state agency or person with authority who issued the environmental permit shall guide the project investor or facility to prepare the application dossier for the issuance of the environmental permit to be submitted to the competent authority for issuance of a new environmental permit in accordance with the regulations. The agency that issued the environmental permit shall revoke the environmental permit after the investment project or facility has obtained a new environmental permit from the competent authority in accordance with the law.

In the case where the environmental permit contains content contravening the law, the agency that issued the environmental permit shall issue a new environmental permit for the investment project or facility, ensuring compliance with the law. The revocation of the environmental permit containing content contravening the law shall be carried out simultaneously with the issuance of a new environmental permit for the investment project or facility."

5. Amend and supplement Clause 16 as follows:

"16. The Minister of Agriculture and Environment shall provide detailed regulations on the dossier, procedures for the issuance of adjustments, reissuance, and revocation of environmental permits; issue relevant forms related to the process of adjusting, reissuing, and revoking environmental permits."

"16. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall provide detailed regulations on the dossier, procedures for issuing amendments, reissuing, and revoking environmental permits; issue relevant forms related to the process of amending, reissuing, and revoking environmental permits."

Article 11. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 31the name of the article and some points and clauses of Article 30 1. Add point k and point l after point i of Clause 1 as follows:

“k) Wastewater treatment works of the project or facility where the treated wastewater is connected to the centralized wastewater collection and treatment system of industrial zones, business centers, service areas, industrial clusters, urban areas, or concentrated residential areas;

l) Dust and gas emission treatment works with a capacity of less than 5,000 m

/hour.”³“6. The trial operation period for waste treatment works (including monitoring periods and reporting on trial operation results) shall be decided by the project investor but must ensure the frequency and duration of waste monitoring as prescribed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. The end date of the trial operation period shall not exceed six months from the start date of the trial operation and shall be recorded in the environmental permit. If an extension of the trial operation period is required, the project investor must notify in writing, specifying the reasons and the extended period, which shall not exceed six months; if the requirements are not met, the investor must improve or upgrade the waste treatment works and conduct trial operations according to regulations. For large-scale projects implemented in phases, the trial operation period may be extended at the discretion of the competent state agency or authority issuing the environmental permit.”

2. Amend and supplement Clause 6 as follows:

3. Amend and supplement point a of Clause 7 as follows:

“a) Coordinate with the provincial specialized agencies on environmental protection (in cases where the environmental permit is issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) or commune authorities (in cases where the environmental permit is issued by the People's Committee of the province) to inspect the trial operation process. In cases where the project requires automatic wastewater, dust, and gas emission monitoring, the project must organize continuous monitoring with cameras and data transmission to the provincial specialized agencies on environmental protection;”

4. Amend and supplement point c of Clause 8 as follows:

“c) In case of environmental accidents or pollution, the project investor must immediately stop the trial operation and promptly report to the People's Committee of the commune where the incident occurred, the competent state agency, or the authority issuing the environmental permit for guidance on resolution; if the issuing authority is the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, additional notification must be sent to the provincial specialized agencies on environmental protection for coordination in resolving environmental issues; the investor shall bear responsibility for remedying the environmental accident, compensating for damages, and being subject to legal violations;”

5. Amend and supplement some points of Clause 10 as follows:

“b) Dispatch officials and invite experts (if necessary) to inspect the trial operation process of the waste treatment works of the investment project; conduct measurements, collect, and analyze samples of pollutants discharged into the environment. If the pollutants discharged from the trial operation do not meet environmental technical standards, the investor must implement measures as stipulated in Clause 8 of this Article; continue to organize measurements, sample collection, and analysis during the re-trial operation conducted by the investor.

a) Amend and supplement Point b as follows:

Environmental monitoring by the issuing authority shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 10a of this Article.

After completing the inspection, the issuing authority shall notify the results of the trial operation inspection, indicating the compliance of the environmental permit and other related issues for the investor to continue implementing in accordance with the law;”

“d) Receive and handle the complaints of the project investor related to the trial operation of waste treatment works;”

b) Amend and supplement Point d as follows:

6. Add Clause 10a after Clause 10 as follows:

“10a. During the inspection of the trial operation of waste treatment works, the issuing authority or the Inspection Team (as provided for in point b of Clause 2 of Article 44 and Clause 4 of Article 46 of the Law on Environmental Protection) shall conduct at least one sampling (single sample). In cases where the project or facility has multiple similar dust and gas emission treatment works with identical characteristic pollutant parameters, technology, and equipment, select the largest-capacity work for monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of treatment for these similar works. Costs for sample collection and analysis shall be funded from the environmental public expenditure budget.”

7. Amend and supplement Clauses 11 and 12 as follows:

“11. The project investor or facility shall report the results of the trial operation of the waste treatment works specified in Clause 4 of Article 46 of the Law on Environmental Protection and other projects according to the form prescribed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

12. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall issue forms for documents related to the trial operation of waste treatment works.”

12. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall issue sample documents related to the trial operation of waste treatment works.

Article 12. Amending the name and some clauses of Article 32the name of the article and some points and clauses of Article 30 name and some clauses of Article 32

1. Amend the name of Article 32 as follows:

"Article 32. Subjects not required to register for environmental purposes."

2. Amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:

"1. Investment projects and facilities specified in points a and c, Clause 2, Article 49 of the Law on Environmental Protection, which have been amended and supplemented by Clause 14, Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of fifteen laws in the field of agriculture and environment."

3. Amend and supplement clause 3 as follows:

"3. The subjects specified in point d, Clause 2, Article 49 of the Law on Environmental Protection, which have been amended and supplemented by Clause 14, Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of fifteen laws in the field of agriculture and environment, are specifically provided for in Appendix XVI attached to this Decree."

Article 13. Amending and supplementing Article 3 of Circular No. 187/2016/TT-BTCthe name of the article and some points and clauses of Article 30 point c, Clause 5 Article 35

"c) The People's Committee of the commune shall establish and submit to the People's Committee of the province for consideration and approval plans to shift industries and trades that are not encouraged to develop in craft villages, relocate facilities and households out of craft villages, ensuring they are consistent with the actual situation at the local level."

Article 14. Amending and supplementing Article 3 of Circular No. 187/2016/TT-BTCthe name of the article and some points and clauses of Article 30 some clauses of Article 36

1. Amending and supplementing Clause 3 as follows:

"3. The period for reviewing the environmental remediation and restoration plan for cases stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article shall not exceed twenty days from the date of receipt of complete and valid documents. Within the time limit prescribed in this Clause, the reviewing authority shall be responsible for notifying the facility owner in writing about the review results. The time taken by the facility owner to amend and supplement the environmental remediation and restoration plan according to the requirements of the reviewing authority and the time taken to consider and issue the decision approving the plan as stipulated in Clause 6 of this Article shall not be counted within the review period."

2. Amend and supplement Clause 6 as follows:

"6. The result of the review of the environmental remediation and restoration plan shall be reflected in the decision approving the review result. Within ten days from the date of receipt of the amended and supplemented environmental remediation and restoration plan documents (if any), the reviewing authority shall be responsible for issuing the decision approving the review result; if it does not approve, it must reply in writing to the facility owner and specify the reasons. The amended and supplemented environmental remediation and restoration plan documents (if any) include:

a) One explanatory document regarding the review comments;

b) One copy of the amended and supplemented environmental remediation and restoration plan."

Article 15. Amending and supplementing Article 3 of Circular No. 187/2016/TT-BTCthe name of the article and some points and clauses of Article 30 some clauses of Article 37

1. Amend and supplement Clause 7 as follows:

"7. The refund of the deposit amount will be based on the progress made by organizations and individuals in completing the environmental remediation and restoration content. The competent authority responsible for closing down mines of mineral extraction projects shall inspect the completion of the environmental remediation and restoration plan during the mine closure phase. The completion of the environmental remediation and restoration plan is part of the content of the decision to close down the mineral mine, where such a decision is required under the law on geology and minerals."

2. Add Clause 8a after Clause 8 as follows:

"8a. In cases where there is no need to close down the mine due to the expiration of the validity of the mineral extraction permit or the organization or individual has requested the return of the mineral extraction permit but has not commenced mining activities, within ninety days from the date of expiration of the validity of the mineral extraction permit or the decision to revoke the mineral extraction permit, the entity receiving the deposit shall refund the deposit to the organization or individual."

Article 16. Amending and supplementing Article 3 of Circular No. 187/2016/TT-BTCthe name of the article and some points and clauses of Article 30 point d, Clause 3, Article 38

"d) Within thirty-five days from the date of receipt of complete and valid documents, based on the inspection results, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall notify the organization or individual of the approval of the registration for exemption from POP substances in accordance with the model provided for in Appendix XX attached to this Decree; if the registration for exemption from POP substances is not approved, it must reply in writing to the organization or individual and specify the reasons."

Article 17. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 43

1. Amend and supplement point b clause 2 as follows:

“b) Have an area for storing materials and equipment after demolition with a foundation height ensuring it will not be flooded. In cases where a storage area is used, there must be a system to collect and treat runoff rainwater to meet environmental technical standards;”

2. Amend and supplement point a clause 3 as follows:

“a) Collect fuel, oil, bilge water from ships, ballast water, other liquids, and materials that can cause fire or explosion;”

3. Amend and supplement point b clause 3 as follows:

“b) Remove asbestos and PCBs: Before cutting the ship into parts, asbestos and PCBs must be removed, collected, and transported away from the cutting site. After the parts of the ship are brought ashore, all remaining asbestos and PCBs must continue to be collected when they become more accessible. The asbestos removal and collection area must be enclosed to reduce the dispersion of asbestos fibers into the surrounding environment; unauthorized personnel are prohibited from entering. Asbestos must be moistened before and throughout the removal process. The asbestos removal area on shore must be located in a separate area with similar procedures;”

4. Amend and supplement point d clause 3 as follows:

“d) The area for storing waste containing PCBs (solid and liquid forms) must be isolated from other types of waste and ensure safety before being transferred for treatment according to regulations;”

Article 18. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 45

1. Amend and supplement point a clause 3 as follows:

“a) Waste storage warehouse:

Must have a system to collect and treat wastewater generated during waste storage to meet environmental technical standards for wastewater as prescribed.

Must have a foundation height ensuring it will not be flooded; the floor must be sealed, waterproof, and able to withstand the maximum weight of waste calculated.

Must have a non-flammable material cover for the entire waste storage area to protect against sun and rain;”

Article 8. Responsibilities for Implementation

“b) Waste storage area:

Must have a system to collect and treat runoff rainwater over the imported waste storage area and wastewater generated during waste storage to meet environmental technical standards for wastewater as prescribed.

The floor must be sealed, waterproof, and able to withstand the maximum weight of waste calculated.”

3. Add Clause 4a after Clause 4 as follows:

“4a. Only import waste as raw material for production projects or facilities of their own to produce products or goods. Importing waste solely for preliminary processing and reselling is not allowed. Production projects or facilities using imported waste as raw material may only import waste up to a maximum of 80% of their design capacity. Plastic waste imports are prohibited from January 1, 2033.”

Article 19. Add Clause 6 and Clause 7 after Clause 5 of Article 48

1. Add Clause 6 after Clause 5 as follows:

“6. Centralized wastewater treatment systems shared by concentrated production, business, and service areas, industrial clusters must meet the following requirements:

a) Sewerage pipes for collecting and conveying wastewater must be designed and installed in accordance with technical regulations, without leakage into the surrounding environment;

b) There must be flow meters measuring the volume of wastewater transferred for treatment;

c) The plan for sharing centralized wastewater treatment systems must be stated in the decision approving the environmental impact assessment report or environmental permit or environmental registration;

d) In cases where concentrated production, business, and service areas, industrial clusters have different investors, there must be an agreement or contract clearly stating the responsibilities of each party transferring and receiving wastewater for treatment; the receiving unit must ensure the capacity of the wastewater treatment system to handle all received wastewater; the transferring unit must have a plan and commitment to complete the construction of a centralized wastewater collection and treatment system to collect and treat all wastewater generated from secondary investment projects and facilities in case the receiving unit ceases operations or is unable to accept additional wastewater;

đ) Concentrated production, business, and service areas, industrial clusters subject to environmental registration that add industries or businesses attracting investment listed in Appendix II issued together with this Decree must re-register the environment according to regulations and notify the receiving unit to issue or reissue the environmental permit according to regulations.”

2. Add Clause 7 after Clause 6 as follows:

“7. Special cases provided for in Clause 1 of Article 52 of the Law on Environmental Protection, amended and supplemented at point a Clause 16 of Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of 15 laws in the field of agriculture and the environment, are not required to construct centralized wastewater collection and treatment systems when secondary projects and facilities have independent wastewater collection and treatment systems meeting the requirements before discharge into receiving waters and fall under one of the following circumstances:

a) Industrial clusters operating before January 1, 2022 with a fill rate exceeding 80%;

b) Investment projects constructing infrastructure for industrial clusters discharging wastewater into receiving waters with a total flow rate (including wastewater from secondary projects and facilities) less than 100 m³/day.”

Article 20. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 49

1. Amend and supplement Point b of Clause 1 as follows:

“b) Not to accept new projects or projects expanding existing facilities generating industrial wastewater within production, business, and service concentration areas, industrial clusters in the following cases: new projects belonging to the list of production, business, and service types with a risk of causing environmental pollution as specified in Appendix II issued together with this Decree but not included in the list of permitted industries for investment attraction in production, business, and service concentration areas, industrial clusters; production, business, and service concentration areas, industrial clusters that do not have or do not meet one of the requirements for environmental protection infrastructure as stipulated in Article 48 of this Decree, except for new investment projects or expansion projects of existing facilities that do not generate additional wastewater discharged into the environment or do not require investment to increase the capacity of wastewater treatment works of such facilities or the project proponent commits to connecting wastewater to the centralized wastewater collection and treatment system, projects exempted from connection according to environmental protection laws before the Environmental Protection Law comes into effect, additional industrial wastewater generated shall be connected to the centralized wastewater treatment system of production, business, and service concentration areas, industrial clusters in accordance with point a of this clause;”

2. Add Clause 1a after Clause 1 as follows:

“1a. The provisions at point a, point b, and point d of Clause 1 of this Article shall not apply in cases where industrial clusters are not required to have centralized wastewater collection and treatment systems as stipulated in Clause 7 of Article 48 of this Decree or in cases exempted from the requirement to have centralized wastewater collection, drainage, and treatment systems according to decisions of provincial People's Committees as stipulated in Clause 4a of Article 51 and point b of Clause 6 of Article 52 of the Environmental Protection Law amended and supplemented at point b of Clause 15 and point d of Clause 16 of Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of 15 laws in the agriculture and environment sector.”

3. Amend and supplement Clause 5 as follows:

“5. Provincial People's Committees shall be responsible for implementing the provisions at Clause 5 and Clause 4a of Article 51, point a of Clause 2 and Clause 6 of Article 52 of the Environmental Protection Law amended and supplemented at point b of Clause 15, point b, point d, and point đ of Clause 16 of Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of 15 laws in the agriculture and environment sector, and other responsibilities as follows:”

Article 21. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 63

1. Amend and supplement point d of Clause 1 as follows:

“d) Organize and implement solid waste management contents related to planning, strategies, programs, plans, and tasks within their authority; develop annual plans for the collection, transportation, and treatment of household solid waste and allocate appropriate funds for implementation in line with local socio-economic development plans;”

2. Add point e after point đ of Clause 1 as follows:

“e) Specify economic-technical norms on public hygiene and the collection, transportation, and treatment of household solid waste in the province as stipulated in Clause 4 of Article 59 and Clause 5 of Article 79 of the Environmental Protection Law (amended and supplemented correspondingly at Clause 19 and Clause 24 of Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of 15 laws in the agriculture and environment sector).”

3. Amend and supplement point c of Clause 3 as follows:

“c) Organize the implementation of activities related to the sorting of household solid waste as prescribed; collect, transport, and treat household solid waste, and maintain public hygiene in the area;”

4. Amend and supplement point d clause 3 as follows:

“d) Fulfill other responsibilities assigned by provincial People's Committees;”

5. Add point đ after point d of Clause 3 as follows:

“đ) Invest in building and organizing the operation of models for the collection, transportation, and treatment of household solid waste and public hygiene in the area.”

Article 22. Supplement Clause 1a following Clause 1 of Article 70.

"1a. Projects and facilities implementing hazardous waste treatment services must be consistent with environmental protection plans or plans containing hazardous waste treatment content, except for the following cases:

a) Projects and facilities co-processing hazardous waste;

b) Recycling projects and facilities for hazardous waste located within industrial parks or clusters that meet technical infrastructure requirements as prescribed and only implement recycling services for hazardous waste belonging to one or several of the following types: Electronic waste recycling; photovoltaic panel waste recycling; electric vehicle battery waste recycling; metal production and recycling, excluding lead-acid battery waste recycling or metal recovery from sludge; catalyst waste recycling; activated carbon waste recycling; hazardous waste recycling to fulfill the responsibility of organizations and individuals producing such waste at their own production facilities."

Article 23. Amend and supplement Article 73.

"Article 73. Requirements for linking and transferring hazardous waste not included in the environmental permit

1. Organizations and individuals who have been granted an environmental permit or component environmental permit containing content on implementing hazardous waste treatment services may link transportation and treatment of hazardous waste for types of hazardous waste not included in their environmental permit or component environmental permit to other facilities implementing hazardous waste treatment services with appropriate functions.

2. When two organizations or individuals holding environmental permits or component environmental permits as prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 70 of this Decree have a need to link, they must have a written agreement or a linking contract (referred to collectively as the linking contract).

3. The party receiving the transfer of hazardous waste for treatment under the linking contract prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article must directly treat the hazardous waste, shall not transfer the hazardous waste to a third party for treatment, and must ensure that the volume of linked hazardous waste does not exceed the permitted treatment volume at the system or equipment specified in the environmental permit or component environmental permit. In the case where the party receives hazardous waste from the source of generation under a linking contract for treating hazardous waste as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, it must be able to treat at least one type of hazardous waste received and must obtain written consent from the source of generation or have a tripartite contract regarding the linking of collection, transportation, and treatment of hazardous waste.

4. Organizations and individuals implementing linked transportation and treatment of hazardous waste as prescribed in this Article are responsible for reporting the type and volume of hazardous waste linked for transportation and treatment in the periodic environmental protection work report of the project or facility."

Article 24. Amend and supplement Point c Clause 4 and Clause 5 of Article 74.

1. Amend and supplement Point c Clause 4 as follows:

"c) Projects and facilities for production, business, and service located outside concentrated production, business, and service areas or industrial clusters that accept wastewater for treatment or reuse must meet the following requirements: Have a plan for accepting wastewater for treatment or reuse and clearly stated in the decision approving the results of the environmental impact assessment report or environmental permit; have a wastewater treatment system with suitable technology and capacity to treat accepted wastewater or have a production process suitable for reusing accepted wastewater; have a flow meter for treated wastewater; shall not transfer untreated wastewater received to a third party, except in the case of transferring liquid waste generated from transportation vehicles."

Article 4. Amending and supplementing Clause 1, Clause 2, and Clause 3 of Article 17 of Decree No. 81/2018/NĐ-CP which has been amended and supplemented by Clause 3 of Article 1 of Decree No. 128/2024/NĐ-CP

"5. Investment projects prescribed in Point a Clause 1 of Article 39 of the Environmental Protection Law, amended and supplemented at Point a Clause 9 of Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of fifteen laws in the field of agriculture and environment, must submit an application for an environmental permit when falling under one of the following circumstances:

a) Generating domestic wastewater discharged into the environment requiring treatment with a total flow rate of 50 m³/day or more;

b) Generating industrial wastewater discharged into the environment requiring treatment for projects belonging to the types with a risk of causing environmental pollution as prescribed in Appendix II issued together with this Decree. For livestock breeding and slaughtering projects, follow the provisions of Point c of this clause;

c) Generating industrial wastewater discharged into the environment requiring treatment for projects not belonging to the types with a risk of causing environmental pollution as prescribed in Appendix II issued together with this Decree with a total flow rate of 10 m³/day or more (excluding rainwater flowing through areas of common construction material mining, limestone);

d) Generating domestic wastewater and industrial wastewater discharged into the environment requiring treatment below the levels prescribed in Points a and c of this clause with a total flow rate of 50 m³/day or more;

e) Generating dust and exhaust gas discharged into the environment requiring treatment with a total flow rate of 5,000 m³/hour or more.

The levels of wastewater and exhaust gas generation prescribed in Points a, b, c, d, and e of this clause are determined based on the overall project, not applied separately to each investment phase of the project."

Article 25. Amend and supplement Clause 1 and Clause 4 of Article 92.

2. Amending and supplementing Clause 5 as follows:

“1. The certificate of eligibility for environmental monitoring service activities shall be issued to organizations that meet the requirements stipulated in Clauses 2, 3, and 4 of Article 91 of this Decree.”

2. Amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:

“4. The certificate of eligibility for environmental monitoring service activities has a validity period of sixty months from the date of issuance and may be reissued multiple times, each reissuance having a validity period not exceeding sixty months.”

Article 26. Amend and supplement Point c of Clause 3 of Article 93.

“c) Within thirty days from the date of receipt of the fee for assessing the conditions for environmental monitoring service activities, the issuing authority shall be responsible for assessing and issuing the certificate of eligibility for environmental monitoring service activities to the requesting organization (excluding the time required for rectification and supplementation of documents by the organization). The assessment of conditions for environmental monitoring service activities for issuing the certificate of eligibility for environmental monitoring service activities shall be conducted through the assessment board specified in Clause 4 of this Article based on: the results of evaluation and review of the application; the results of on-site inspection at the organization; and the outcome of the meeting of the assessment board for conditions for environmental monitoring service activities.”

In case the certificate of eligibility for environmental monitoring service activities is not issued, the issuing authority shall notify the requesting organization in writing and specify the reasons.

Article 27. Amend and supplement Point c of Clause 4 of Article 94.

“c) Within twenty days from the date of receipt of the fee for assessing the conditions for environmental monitoring service activities, the issuing authority shall be responsible for assessing and adjusting the content of the certificate of eligibility for environmental monitoring service activities for the requesting organization to adjust the content of the certificate (excluding the time required for rectification and supplementation of documents by the organization). The assessment of conditions for environmental monitoring service activities for adjusting the content of the certificate of eligibility for environmental monitoring service activities shall be conducted through the assessment board specified in Clause 5 of this Article based on: the results of evaluation and review of the application; the results of on-site inspection at the organization; and the outcome of the meeting of the assessment board for conditions for environmental monitoring service activities.”

In case the adjustment of the content of the certificate of eligibility for environmental monitoring service activities is not accepted, the issuing authority shall notify the organization in writing and specify the reasons.

Article 28. Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 1 of Article 97.

“a) Average discharge volume of wastewater from production, business, and service concentrated areas, industrial clusters, projects, and facilities belonging to types of production, business, and services with a risk of causing environmental pollution from two hundred meters³/day (twenty-four hours) up to less than five hundred meters³/day (twenty-four hours); large discharge volume of wastewater from five hundred meters³/day (twenty-four hours) and above;”

Article 29. Amend and supplement Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 147.

2. Amending and supplementing Clause 5 as follows:

“1. Within four days from the date of receipt of the registration application, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall be responsible for examining the completeness and validity of the application; in cases where the application is incomplete or invalid, it must notify the organization or individual applying for registration in writing to complete the application. Within twenty-six days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid application, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall organize the evaluation according to the procedure for certifying the Vietnam Eco-label as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.”

2. Amend and supplement Clause 2 as follows:

“2. The procedure for certifying the Vietnam Eco-label includes the following activities: establishment of the evaluation board; convening the evaluation board meeting; if necessary, organizing on-site surveys at the facility and soliciting expert opinions. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall issue a decision to certify the Vietnam Eco-label for products and services. In cases where the evaluation results of the product or service do not meet the Vietnam Eco-label criteria, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall notify the organization or individual in writing and specify the reasons for non-compliance.”

Article 30. Amend and supplement Point b Clause 1 Article 148

“b) Within ten days from the date of receipt of the document proposing to adjust the content of the decision on certifying the Vietnam Eco-label issued by organizations and individuals, if agreeing, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall issue a new decision on certifying the Vietnam Eco-label for products and services.”

Article 31. Amend and supplement Clause 2 Article 154

“2. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and equivalent agencies to develop and promulgate environmental criteria and procedures for confirming green credit projects and green bond issuances (hereinafter referred to as the green classification list).”

Article 32. Amend and supplement Article 162

Article 162. Environmental protection inspection activities

1. Environmental protection inspection activities shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on inspection, except for urgent environmental inspections which are not announced in advance when necessary, such inspections shall be conducted according to special provisions in the field of environmental protection as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Urgent environmental inspections shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on inspection; in cases where the decision to establish an inspection team is not announced in advance as provided for in Clause 2 Article 160 of the Law on Environmental Protection, amended and supplemented by Clause 34 Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of fifteen laws in the field of agriculture and environment, the following shall apply:

a) Not announcing in advance the decision to establish an inspection team when there is evidence that such announcement would lead the inspected entity to conceal or dispose of evidence related to violations of the law, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the inspection team's work, or at the request of the person issuing the inspection decision;

b) After presenting the inspection decision, the head of the inspection team has the right to immediately access areas where waste is generated, areas with facilities and equipment for collecting and treating wastewater and exhaust gas, discharge points, and other areas within the scope of the inspection decision to carry out inspection activities within their authority;

c) In cases where the inspected entity engages in non-cooperative behavior or obstructs urgent inspections, the head of the inspection team shall cooperate with the People's Public Security force or the People's Committee of the commune to use technical means and equipment provided for in regulations to access the scene to support inspection activities and record the incident in accordance with regulations;

d) The legal representative of the organization or individual has the responsibility to sign the incident report, working record, and environmental sample collection record; in cases where the legal representative is not present, the representative of the inspected organization or individual present at the scene shall have the responsibility to sign the records. If there is no representative of the inspected organization or individual or the representative does not sign the record, the representative of the People's Committee of the commune or the representative of the Public Security of the commune shall be requested to sign the record as a witness;

đ) After ensuring that the inspected entity does not dispose of evidence related to violations of the law, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the inspection team's work, within three days, the head of the inspection team shall organize the announcement of the inspection decision, except in cases where the legal representative of the inspected entity is not present as required. The procedure and formalities for announcing the inspection decision shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on inspection;

e) Organizations and individuals shall create necessary conditions for the inspection team to perform their duties after presenting the inspection decision; depending on the severity, they may be subject to penalties for obstructing urgent inspection activities;

g) Members of the inspection team, civil servants, officials, and related organizations and individuals shall not disclose information about the process of proposing, issuing urgent inspection decisions, developing and approving inspection plans, and preparing to announce inspection decisions to the inspected entity in cases stipulated in this clause.”

Article 33. Amending and supplementing Article 163

"Article 163. Specialized inspection activities for environmental protection

1. Specialized inspection activities for environmental protection shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of laws on inspection, examination, and special regulations in the field of environmental protection as stipulated in Clauses 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of this Article.

2. The responsibilities and forms of specialized inspection for environmental protection shall be prescribed as follows:

a) The competent authority prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 160 of the Law on Environmental Protection, amended and supplemented in Clause 34 of Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of 15 laws in the fields of agriculture and environment, shall have the responsibility to organize and direct the implementation of inspections to ensure compliance with environmental protection laws by organizations, households, and individuals.

b) Forms of specialized inspection for environmental protection include: planned inspections approved by the competent authority; inspections directed by the head of the state management agency, upon request or recommendation from authorized agencies or persons; and surprise inspections.

Surprise inspections conducted by state management agencies for environmental protection shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions at Point a, Clause 3, Article 160 of the Law on Environmental Protection, amended and supplemented in Clause 34 of Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of 15 laws in the fields of agriculture and environment. The decision to establish an inspection team shall not be announced in advance if there is evidence that such announcement would lead the inspected party to dispose of relevant documents or evidence related to violations of the law, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the inspection team's work, or upon the request of the decision maker.

The Environmental Crime Prevention Police force shall conduct surprise inspections when there is evidence as prescribed in Point b, Clause 3, Article 160 of the Law on Environmental Protection, amended and supplemented in Clause 34 of Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of 15 laws in the fields of agriculture and environment.

3. Plans for specialized or thematic inspections for environmental protection shall be integrated into the process of drafting and approving plans for environmental protection inspections (if any), ensuring they do not overlap with inspection plans of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, inspection plans of provincial People's Committees, and surprise inspections as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 162 of this Decree and Point b, Clause 2 of this Article.

4. The procedures and formalities for specialized inspections for environmental protection shall be prescribed as follows:

a) The Minister, Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 160 of the Law on Environmental Protection, amended and supplemented in Clause 34 of Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of 15 laws in the fields of agriculture and environment, or the heads of agencies or authorized persons under the law shall issue decisions on specialized inspections for environmental protection.

b) Decisions on specialized inspections for environmental protection must clearly record the following main contents: date of issuance of the inspection decision; basis for issuing the inspection decision; form of inspection; name, title of individual, organization, or household representative; inspection location; name, position of the Head and members of the inspection team; name, position of the decision maker; inspection content; inspection deadline. The format of the decision to establish an inspection team shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

When it is deemed necessary to evaluate the content related to expertise and technical matters as a basis for conclusions, the Head of the inspection team shall request the decision maker to decide on soliciting an organization with the appropriate functions to conduct appraisals, testing, monitoring, measuring, and analyzing environmental samples. Solicitation for appraisal must be in writing, specifying the requirements, content, time frame, and appraisal agency, or recorded directly in the inspection decision as prescribed in this clause. Appraisal, testing, monitoring, measuring, and environmental sample analysis organizations must bear legal responsibility for the accuracy, objectivity, and timeliness of their appraisal results.

c) Composition of the specialized inspection team for environmental protection:

The composition of the inspection team of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and provincial People's Committees includes: staff, civil servants, and officials from the agency issuing the inspection decision; experts when necessary, and other components decided by the authorized person establishing the inspection team; representatives of coordinating agencies where the inspection takes place; representatives of the Environmental Crime Prevention Police force; and representatives of relevant sectoral or field-specific agencies at the same level related to the inspection content and objects, except in cases of surprise inspections or when these agencies have documents stating they will not send representatives to join the inspection team. Relevant sectoral or field-specific agencies at the same level must send representatives to join the inspection team upon request from the competent state agency. If unable to send an officer within three days from receiving the request, they must provide a written response.

The composition of the inspection team of village-level People's Committees includes: staff, civil servants, and officials from the agency issuing the inspection decision; representatives of higher-level environmental protection specialist agencies; and other components decided by the Chairman of the village-level People's Committee.

The inspection team of the environmental crime prevention and control police force shall be established and organized by the head of the public security agency or the unit assigned the task of preventing and combating environmental crimes in accordance with this Decree and laws on environmental crime prevention and control. Such agencies may invite representatives from environmental protection specialist agencies at the same level to participate. Environmental protection specialist agencies have the responsibility to assign staff to cooperate and join the inspection team upon receiving requests from the environmental crime prevention and control police force regarding the implementation of inspections. If they fail to assign staff to participate, they must promptly provide a written response to the environmental crime prevention and control police force. The composition of the first session of the inspection team shall be decided by the Head of the Inspection Team.

Members of the inspection team who are not participating as required under this Clause must submit a written report to the Head of the Inspection Team.

d) Content of specialized environmental protection inspections:

Inspecting compliance with environmental protection laws according to the requirements of state management over environmental protection; inspecting activities related to signs of criminal activity or violations of laws related to environmental crimes; activities related to reports of criminal offenses, recommendations for prosecution, or information about violations of laws related to environmental crimes.

đ) Time limit for specialized environmental protection inspections:

For specialized inspections conducted by units under ministries or ministerial-level agencies, the inspection period shall not exceed 15 days. In complex cases or where travel is difficult, the deadline can be extended once, but not exceeding 7 days.

For specialized inspections conducted by environmental protection specialist agencies under provincial People's Committees, the inspection period shall not exceed 10 days. In complex cases or where travel is difficult, the deadline can be extended once, but not exceeding 5 days.

For specialized inspections conducted by environmental protection specialist agencies under district People's Committees, the inspection period shall not exceed 7 days. In complex cases or where travel is difficult, the deadline can be extended once, but not exceeding 3 days.

The time limit for specialized environmental protection inspections is calculated from the date of announcing the inspection decision to the date of completing the direct inspection at the inspected location. The inspection period does not include the time for analyzing, examining, and testing environmental samples (if any).

e) The inspection decision must be sent to the inspected entity in accordance with regulations, except in cases of unannounced inspections conducted without prior notice as stipulated in point a, Clause 3, Article 160 of the Law on Environmental Protection amended and supplemented by Clause 34, Article 1 of the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of 15 Laws in the Agriculture and Environment Sector, laws on environmental crime prevention and control, and other relevant laws.

g) In cases of unannounced inspections without prior notice, after presenting the inspection decision, the Head of the Inspection Team has the right to immediately access areas generating waste, areas with facilities and equipment for collecting and treating wastewater and exhaust gas, discharge points, and other areas within the scope of the inspection decision to carry out inspection activities within their authority. Organizations, households, and individuals subject to inspection must designate a representative to be present immediately to work with the Inspection Team and comply with the Team's requirements to ensure that the inspection is carried out in accordance with the prescribed content, requirements, procedures, and formalities in relevant legal documents and the inspection decision.

In cases where the inspected entity engages in non-cooperative or obstructive behavior during unannounced inspections, the Head of the Inspection Team shall cooperate with the People's Security Force or the People's Committee of the commune to use technical means and equipment provided according to regulations to access the scene to serve inspection activities and record the incident in accordance with regulations.

The legal representative of the organization, household, or individual being inspected is responsible for signing the incident record, working record, and environmental sample record. If the legal representative is absent, the representative present at the scene has the responsibility to sign the records. If there is no representative of the organization, household, or individual, or if the representative does not sign the records, the representative of the People's Committee of the commune or the representative of the commune police shall sign the records as a witness.

The inspection must be recorded in a protocol signed by the Head of the Inspection Team or the Deputy Head of the Inspection Team authorized, the legal representative of the inspected organization, and stamped (if applicable) in accordance with the law, and the representative of the inspected household or individual must sign and write their full name.

i) During the inspection process, based on the actual situation, the Head of the Inspection Team may propose the competent authority to issue an inspection decision within their authority or recommend the competent authority to organize a sudden inspection of the inspected organization, household, or individual in accordance with Clause 2, Article 162 of this Decree.

k) Before the time of unannounced inspections without prior notice, members of the inspection team, civil servants, officials, organizations, and individuals related to the inspection shall not inform or provide information about the process of proposing and issuing the unannounced inspection decision to the inspected entity.

5. Handling the results of environmental protection inspections:

a) During the inspection, if violations of environmental protection laws by organizations, households, or individuals are discovered, the person in charge of performing official duties shall be responsible for recording the administrative violation and transferring it to the competent authority for handling in accordance with the law on administrative violation handling.

b) The inspection results must be notified in writing by the Head of the Authority or the person authorized to decide on the inspection and must be sent to the organization, household, individual subject to inspection and relevant agencies and units. The maximum time limit for notifying the inspection results is 15 days from the date of completion of the inspection activities and receipt of environmental sample analysis results (if applicable) in cases not covered under point a of this clause, or 15 days from the date the authority authorized to impose administrative penalties decides on the handling of violations according to the laws on handling administrative violations in cases covered under point a of this clause.

c) Notifications of environmental protection inspection results must be sent to the specialized agency responsible for environmental protection at the same level, except for the inspection results regarding compliance with environmental protection laws for projects and facilities within the scope of state secrets related to national defense and security.

6. The Minister of National Defense and the Minister of Public Security shall stipulate certain specific aspects in the procedures and formalities for organizing environmental protection inspection teams for projects and facilities within the scope of state secrets related to national defense and security.

Article 34. Amend and supplement point d of Clause 14 of Article 168.

d) For operating facilities or investment projects that have commenced construction but have not yet been put into operation, which have environmental criteria equivalent to those requiring an environmental permit and do not need to prepare an environmental impact assessment report but lack an environmental component permit or an environmental permit, the project proponent or facility must prepare an application dossier for an environmental permit for the project or facility to be submitted to the competent state agency for issuance of the environmental permit in accordance with the regulations.

The format of the environmental permit application report shall be implemented according to the form prescribed by the Minister of Agriculture and Environment.

Article 35. Replace Appendices II, III, IV, XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, XXXIII..

Article 36. Replace and abolish some provisions of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP. dated January 10, 2022, of the Government detailing some provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection, and Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP dated January 6, 2025, of the Government amending and supplementing some provisions of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP dated January 10, 2022, of the Government detailing some provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection.

1. Abolish the following points, clauses, articles, words, and phrases:

a) Abolish point b of Clause 2 of Article 20; Article 28; Article 29; Clause 1, Clause 8, Clause 12, and Clause 15 of Article 30; point b of Clause 5 of Article 35; point c and point h of Clause 3 and Clause 4 of Article 43; point a and point d of Clause 8, point a and point c of Clause 9 of Article 45; Clause 4 of Article 49; Clause 2 of Article 63; Clause 3, Clause 4, and Clause 5 of Article 69; Clause 2 of Article 71; Clause 4 of Article 89; point h of Clause 4 and Clause 5 of Article 91; Clause 5 of Article 102; point đ of Clause 2 of Article 114; point e of Clause 14 of Article 168;

b) Abolish the phrase "Ministry of Planning and Investment" in Clause 2 of Article 156;

c) Abolish the phrases "Fax", "Tax Registration Certificate number...dated...month...year...at...", "Legal Representative's Name...Position..." in Appendix XVIII;

d) Abolish the phrase "(accompanied by waste treatment contract)" in Appendix XIX.

2. Abolish Appendices VIII, IX, X, XI, XIII, XIV, XV, XXI.

3. Replace the following words and phrases:

a) Replace the phrase "People's Committee of the district" with the phrase "People's Committee of the commune" in point a and point b of Clause 2 of Article 5; point a and point b of Clause 1 of Article 9; point a of Clause 5 of Article 19; point e of Clause 4 of Article 26;

b) Replace the phrase "districts" with the phrase "communes" in point e of Clause 4 of Article 26;

c) Replace the phrase "district" with the phrase "commune" in Clause 2 of Article 5; Clause 1 of Article 9; point e of Clause 4 of Article 26; Clause 9 of Article 31; Clause 3 of Article 108; Clause 2 of Article 109; Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 110; point a of Clause 1 of Article 111; point d of Clause 2 of Article 114;

d) Replace the word "district" with the word "commune" in Clause 2 of Article 110; point a of Clause 3 of Article 164;

đ) Replace the word "district" with the word "province" in Clause 2 of Article 33; point a of Clause 5 of Article 35; Clause 2 of Article 113;

e) Replace the phrase “Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment,” “Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development” with the phrase “Ministry of Agriculture and Environment” at Clause 1 Article 5; Clause 1 Article 7; Clause 8 Article 8; Clause 3 Article 10; Clause 4 Article 14; Point d Clause 2 Article 15; Point d Clause 2 and Clause 4 Article 16; Clause 5 and Clause 6 Article 17; Clause 3 Article 18; Point c Clause 4 and Clause 7 Article 19; Clause 4 Article 20; Clause 2, Point a (amended and supplemented at Clause 4 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP), Point c and Point d Clause 6, Point đ and Point e Clause 7 and Point a, Point c Clause 8 Article 21; Point b, Point c and Point d Clause 3 and Clause 4 Article 26a (supplemented at Clause 7 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP); Point b Clause 3 Article 26 (amended and supplemented at Clause 8 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP); Clause 5, Point b and Point đ Clause 7 Article 31 (amended and supplemented at Clause 13 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP); Point a Clause 8 and Clause 9 Article 36; Point a Clause 3 and Clause 12 (amended and supplemented at Point d Clause 16 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP) Article 37; Clause 1, Clause 2, Point a, Point b and Point c Clause 3, Clause 4 and Clause 5 Article 38; Clause 3 Article 39; Clause 1, Clause 4 and Clause 5 Article 40; Clause 2 and Point a Clause 3 Article 41; Clause 1 (amended and supplemented at Clause 17 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP) and Point a Clause 2 Article 42; Point c Clause 2 Article 44; Clause 10 and Clause 11 Article 45 (amended and supplemented at Point b Clause 18 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP); Clause 4 Article 51 (amended and supplemented at Point a Clause 21 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP); Clause 4 Article 52; Point b Clause 2 and Point b Clause 3 Article 54; Point đ Clause 2 Article 58; Clause 4 and Clause 6 Article 65; Clause 1 and Clause 3 Article 66; Clause 2 and Clause 3 Article 67; Point b Clause 1 and Clause 2 (amended and supplemented at Clause 29 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP) Article 69; Clause 5 Article 70; Point b Clause 1 (amended and supplemented at Point a Clause 30 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP) and Clause 4 (amended and supplemented at Point b Clause 30 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP) Article 71; Clause 4 and Clause 5 Article 72; Point a and Point b (amended and supplemented at Point b Clause 31 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP) Clause 3 Article 74; Clause 2 Article 75; Point c Clause 2, Point d Clause 5 and Clause 8 (amended and supplemented at Point c Clause 32 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP) Article 76; Point c Clause 4 (amended and supplemented at Point đ Clause 33 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP) Article 77; Clause 2 Article 78 (amended and supplemented at Clause 34 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP); Clause 6 (amended and supplemented at Point c Clause 35 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP) Article 79; Clause 1, Clause 2 and Clause 3 Article 80 (amended and supplemented at Clause 36 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP); Clause 2 and Point a Clause 3 Article 81 (amended and supplemented at Clause 37 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP); Clause 2 and Clause 3 Article 82 (amended and supplemented at Clause 38 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP); Clause 5 (amended and supplemented at Point c Clause 39 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP) Article 83; Clause 1 Article 84; Clause 1 and Clause 3 Article 85 (amended and supplemented at Clause 41 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP); Clause 2 Article 86; Clause 3 Article 87 (amended and supplemented at Clause 43 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP); Clause 1, Clause 2 and Clause 3 Article 88 (amended and supplemented at Clause 44 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP); Point d Clause 3 and Point đ Clause 4 Article 91; Clause 2 and Clause 3 Article 92; Clause 5 Article 93; Clause 6 Article 94; Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 95; Clause 1, Clause 6, Clause 7 and Clause 8 Article 96; Point d Clause 4, Point a Clause 6 and Point c Clause 7 Article 97; Point c Clause 5 (amended and supplemented at Clause 47 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP), Point a Clause 7 and Point c Clause 8 Article 98; Clause 6 Article 102; Clause 1 and Clause 4 Article 104; Clause 1 and Clause 6 Article 105; Clause 1 Article 107; Clause 2 and Clause 5 (amended and supplemented at Clause 48 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP) Article 111; Point c Clause 2 Article 114; Clause 3 Article 121; Clause 4 Article 125; Point c Clause 4 and Clause 7 Article 127; Clause 3 Article 133; Clause 1 and Point d Clause 2 Article 139; Clause 2 Article 141; Clause 5 Article 144; Clause 1 Article 145; Clause 3 Article 146; Clause 4 and Clause 6 Article 147; Point a Clause 1 and Clause 3 Article 148; Clause 1 Article 149; Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 150; Point c Clause 2 Article 160; Clause 2 and Point a Clause 3 Article 164; Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 166; Point a Clause 3 and Point a Clause 12 Article 167; Clause 10, Clause 18 and Clause 19 Article 168; Appendix XVIII; Appendix XX; Appendix XXIV; Appendix XXX; Appendix XXXII; Appendix XXXIV;

g) Replace the phrase “Civil Defense Command” with the phrase “Civil Protection Command” at Clause 2 Article 109; Clause 3 Article 110; Point a Clause 1 Article 111;

h) Replace the phrase “Ministry of Transport” with the phrase “Ministry of Construction” at Clause 7 Article 65; Clause 2 Article 75; Clause 8 Article 111; Point d Clause 2 Article 160;

i) Replace the phrase “Ministry of Planning and Investment” with the phrase “Ministry of Finance” at Point d Clause 3 Article 134; Clause 4 Article 136; Clause 3 Article 141; Clause 5 and Clause 6 Article 144; Clause 3 Article 156; Clause 4 Article 157; Point k Clause 2 Article 160; Appendix XXXIb (supplemented at Item 19 Appendix Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP);

k) Replace the phrase “Ministry of Information and Communications” with the phrase “Ministry of Science and Technology” at Clause 6 Article 105;

l) Replace the phrase “Department of Natural Resources and Environment” with the phrase “Department of Agriculture and Environment” at Clause 10, Clause 18 and Clause 19 Article 168;

m) Replace the phrase “The environmental permit application report template shall be implemented as provided for in Clause 3 Article 28 of this Decree” with the phrase “The environmental permit application report template shall be implemented according to the form prescribed by the Minister of Agriculture and Environment” at Point c Clause 14 and Point a Clause 15 Article 168 Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree No. 05/2025/NĐ-CP);

n) Replace the phrase "miễn đăng ký môi trường" with the phrase "không phải đăng ký môi trường" in Clause 2, Clause 5 Article 5 Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP and Appendix XVI issued together with Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP (amended and supplemented at Point 13 of the Appendix issued together with Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP);

o) Replace the phrase "cơ quan nhà nước quản lý công trình thủy lợi" with the phrase "cơ quan quản lý nhà nước về thủy lợi" in Point b Clause 1 Article 26 Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP (amended and supplemented at Clause 8 Article 1 Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP).

Article 37. Repeal Clause 4 Article 5 Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP.

Article 38. Transitional provisions

1. Organizations and individuals whose applications for administrative procedures related to environmental matters have been accepted by state agencies or authorized persons before the effective date of this Decree (excluding the transitional provisions stipulated in Article 168 of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP, Article 5 of Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP, and Article 63 of Decree No. 136/2025/ND-CP) shall continue to be processed according to the laws in effect at the time of acceptance, except where organizations or individuals request processing according to this Decree.

2. Projects and facilities that have been granted environmental permits before the effective date of this Decree but are not required to hold such permits under this Decree may choose to continue using the previously granted permits until their expiration. The previously granted permits will become invalid if the project investors or facilities register for environmental matters as prescribed or if they fall under the category of entities not required to register for environmental matters.

3. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall issue, amend, or reissue environmental permits for projects and facilities approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment regarding the assessment of environmental impact reports and issuance of environmental permits according to the laws in effect prior to the effective date of this Decree, provided that they fall under any of the following circumstances:

a) Entities as defined in Clause 3 Article 41 of the Law on Environmental Protection (amended and supplemented at Clause 11 Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of 15 laws in the field of agriculture and environment);

b) Investment projects and equivalent facilities as defined in Article 26a of this Decree; investment projects and facilities located in two or more provincial administrative units or in areas of the sea without clearly defined administrative management responsibilities of the Provincial People's Committee as stipulated in Article 27b of this Decree.

The review period and review fees for issuing, amending, or reissuing environmental permits for cases specified in Points a and b of this clause shall be determined according to the review period and review fees applicable to projects and facilities within the jurisdiction of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for environmental permit issuance.

4. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall issue, amend, or reissue environmental permits for cases where the results of environmental impact assessments and environmental permits have been approved by the Provincial People's Committee, District People's Committee, or Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee according to the laws in effect prior to the effective date of this Decree.

5. The Chairman of the People's Committee of Hanoi City shall issue, amend, or reissue environmental permits according to the Law on Hanoi for projects and facilities within the investment decision-making authority of the People's Committee of Hanoi City, which have been approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment regarding the assessment of environmental impact reports and issuance of environmental permits according to the laws in effect prior to the effective date of this Decree.

6. Inspection teams that issued or reissued environmental permits before the effective date of this Decree are not required to conduct post-treatment monitoring before discharging pollutants into the environment, except where such monitoring has already been conducted.

7. Projects and facilities that have been granted environmental permits according to the laws in effect prior to the effective date of this Decree and include trial operation of pollution treatment works, but are not required to conduct trial operations under this Decree, may choose to continue trial operations or cease them. Licensing authorities are not required to fulfill the obligations stipulated in Point b Clause 10 Article 31 of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP) for projects and facilities not required to conduct trial operations under this clause.

8. Provincial specialized environmental protection agencies shall fulfill the obligations stipulated in Point b Clause 10 Article 31 of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP) for projects and facilities that were granted environmental permits by the District People's Committee before July 1, 2025.

9. Projects and facilities that registered for environmental matters before the effective date of this Decree but are not required to register for environmental matters under this Decree may choose to continue using their previously registered environmental registrations.

Article 39. Effectiveness and Responsibility for Enforcement

1. This Decree takes effect from the date of issuance.

2. Repeal Clause 2 of Article 31 and Section 8 of Chapter III of Decree No. 131/2025/NĐ-CP dated June 12, 2025 of the Government stipulating the division of authority between two levels of local administration in the field of state management by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

3. Repeal Clause 4 and Clause 5 of Article 44, Clause 2 of Article 45, Clause 6 of Article 46 and Chapter XI of Decree No. 136/2025/NĐ-CP dated June 12, 2025 of the Government stipulating the delegation and decentralization in the fields of agriculture and environment.

4. The Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government agencies, Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels, and other relevant organizations and individuals shall be responsible for enforcing this Decree.