DECREE

Regarding the import, export, and transit through the territory of Vietnam of narcotic drugs, precursor substances, addictive drugs, and psychotropic substances

 narcotic drugs, precursor substances, addictive drugs, and psychotropic substances

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THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to the Law on Prevention and Control of Narcotic Drugs dated December 9, 2000;

Considering the proposals of the Minister of Public Security, the Minister of Health, and the Minister of Industry,

DECREE:

Chapter 1:

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.

1. This Decree specifies and guides the control of activities related to the import, export, and transit through the territory of Vietnam of narcotic drugs, precursor substances, addictive drugs, and psychotropic substances.

2. The control of activities related to the import, export, and transit through the territory of Vietnam of narcotic drugs, precursor substances, addictive drugs, and psychotropic substances for national defense and security purposes is not within the scope of this Decree.

Article 2. Authorities within their respective duties and powers shall be responsible for coordinating to strictly control activities related to the import, export, and transit through the territory of Vietnam of narcotic drugs, precursor substances, addictive drugs, and psychotropic substances.

Article 3.

1. The Ministry of Public Security shall be responsible for leading and coordinating with ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government agencies to uniformly manage state control over the import, export, and transit through the territory of Vietnam of narcotic drugs, precursor substances, addictive drugs, and psychotropic substances, including:

a) Summarizing and reporting to the Prime Minister the results of the control of the import, export, and transit through the territory of Vietnam of narcotic drugs, precursor substances, addictive drugs, and psychotropic substances;

b) Guiding ministries, sectors, provincial people's committees, and municipal people's committees under the central government to build and implement plans to control the import, export, and transit through the territory of Vietnam of narcotic drugs, precursor substances, addictive drugs, and psychotropic substances within their respective fields and areas of management.

2. Organizations conducting activities related to the import, export, and transit through the territory of Vietnam of narcotic drugs, precursor substances, addictive drugs, and psychotropic substances must comply with the provisions of the Law on Prevention and Control of Narcotic Drugs, the provisions of this Decree, and other relevant legal documents; they are subject to inspection and supervision by competent authorities in accordance with the law.

Chapter 2:

CONTROL OF IMPORT AND EXPORT OF NARCOTIC DRUGS, PRECURSOR SUBSTANCES, ADDICTIVE DRUGS, AND PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES

Article 4. Only the following agencies and organizations are permitted to import and export narcotic drugs, precursor substances, addictive drugs, and psychotropic substances (hereinafter referred to as import and export)import and export):

1. Enterprises permitted by the Ministry of Health to import and export for use in the medical field, analysis, testing, and scientific research.

2. Enterprises permitted by the Ministry of Industry to import and export precursor substances for use in production fields.

3. Units under the People's Public Security designated by the Ministry of Public Security are permitted to import and export for use in combating criminal activities.

Article 5.

1. The Ministry of Health shall specify the procedures and formalities for granting permission to import and export in the medical field, analysis, testing, and scientific research.

2. The Ministry of Industry shall specify the procedures and formalities for granting permission to import and export precursor substances for use in production fields.

3. The Ministry of Public Security shall specify the procedures and formalities for granting permission to import and export in the field of combating criminal activities.

Article 6.

1. The application for permission to import and export includes:

a) Export or import permit documents from the country exporting or importing goods;

b) The application for permission to import and export must follow a unified form of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Public Security. The application must include the following information: Name and address of the organization importing or exporting; purpose of import and export; name and address of the place of production, name, quantity, and concentration of narcotic drugs, precursor substances, addictive drugs, and psychotropic substances to be imported or exported; means of transport and conditions ensuring safe transportation; time and name of the customs checkpoint that the imported or exported goods will pass through.

2. Documents mentioned above if in a foreign language must be translated into Vietnamese and certified regarding the legality of the translation.

3. Within the latest period of 15 working days from the date of receipt of a valid application and dossier, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Industry, and the Minister of Public Security must decide on issuing or not issuing an import and export permit. The permit must clearly state the name and address of the organization authorized to import and export; the name, concentration, and quantity of narcotic drugs, precursor substances, addictive drugs, and psychotropic substances; the implementation period of the import and export; the name of the customs checkpoint that the imported or exported goods will pass through. In case of refusal to issue a permit, the reasons must be notified in writing.

Article 7. An import and export permit is issued for each individual import and export and is valid for the duration specified in the permit. If the validity period specified in the permit expires but the import and export have not been completed, the issuing authority may extend it. The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Public Security within their respective duties and powers shall guide the implementation of this provision.

Article 8.

1. The import and export permit shall be sent to the agency or organization applying for permission to import and export, the Customs Sub-department at the customs checkpoint where customs procedures are carried out for imported and exported goods, and sent to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Security for monitoring and management.

2. The Customs Sub-department where the imported and exported goods are located shall be responsible for completing customs procedures, implementing inspection and supervision systems for imported and exported goods in accordance with the law. In case of discovering that the imported or exported goods do not match the contents of the permit, the Customs Sub-department at the customs checkpoint shall suspend the import and export procedures, prepare a record, handle according to its authority, and immediately notify relevant agencies.

Article 9.

1. The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Public Security shall specify the objects, conditions for delivery, receipt, storage, and transportation of imported and exported goods for use in the medical field, analysis, testing, scientific research, production, and combating criminal activities.

2. The importer and exporter must have the necessary documents and be responsible for the quality, quantity, and type of substances during transportation and delivery to the responsible party. The importer and exporter must check and verify the concentration, content, quantity, quality, batch number, and expiration date. Both parties must sign and clearly write their names on the accompanying documents and records for imported and exported goods.

3. During transportation, imported and exported goods must be packaged and sealed; the packaging must clearly indicate the exporting and importing locations, name, quantity, and must include accompanying records. In all cases, the packaging of imported and exported goods must have a packing list attached to each box, indicating the substance name, concentration, content (if applicable), quantity, packing date, and packer's name.

4. The means of transport used for imported and exported goods must meet the conditions specified to facilitate customs and police authorities in conducting inspections and management when necessary.

5. The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Public Security shall guide the implementation of the provisions of this Article within their respective duties and powers.

Article 10.

1. Importing and exporting agencies and organizations and the Customs Sub-department at the border gate through which the imported and exported goods pass must maintain a record book according to the prescribed model, establish tracking files for the quantity of imports and exports, and the quantity of goods entering and leaving the warehouse according to the regulations of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Finance. Export and import warehouse receipts must not be combined with other types of goods. Records and documents related to imports and exports must be retained for the period specified by the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Public Security.

2. Importing and exporting agencies and organizations and the Customs Sub-department at the border gate through which the imported and exported goods pass must implement storage systems and statistical reports according to the regulations of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Finance. Within ten working days from the completion of the import or export, they must report the results to the issuing authority and the Ministry of Public Security for monitoring. Upon the expiration of the retention period for records and documents, the head of the unit must establish a committee to destroy these records and documents and must prepare a minutes. In all cases, if any confusion or loss of these substances is discovered, the importing and exporting agencies and organizations must immediately report it to the issuing authority.

Article 11. For violations of the regulations on controlling import and export activities, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Industry, and the Minister of Public Security may, depending on the nature and degree of violation, decide to revoke the issued import and export permits, suspend import and export activities, handle the violators and imported and exported goods within their authority, or transfer them to competent authorities for handling according to the law.

Chapter 3:

CONTROL OF CROSSING THE VIETNAMESE TERRITORIAL BOUNDARY WITH DRUGS, PRECURSOR CHEMICALS, ADDICTIVE SUBSTANCES, AND PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES

Article 12. Organizations that need to transport drugs, precursor chemicals, addictive substances, and psychotropic substances across the Vietnamese territory (hereinafter referred to as cross-border transportation) must submit an application form and supporting documents along with the export permit from the exporting country and the import permit from the importing country to the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security for review and processing of the permit.

Article 13.

1. The application for cross-border transportation must include:

a) The export permit from the country of origin;

b) The import permit from the destination country;

c) The transit permit from the country through which the goods passed before arriving in Vietnam (in case of multi-country transit);

d) The application for cross-border transportation must follow the unified form of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security. The application must include the following information:

Name and address of the organization transporting the goods;

Time and reason for transit;

Name, address of the production location, name, chemical formula, quantity, and content of the drugs, precursor chemicals, addictive substances, and psychotropic substances, accompanied by samples;

Means of transport, route, and safe transportation conditions.

2. Documents mentioned above if in a foreign language must be translated into Vietnamese and certified regarding the legality of the translation.

3. Within fifteen working days from receiving a valid application and supporting documents, the Minister of Public Security must decide whether to issue or not issue a cross-border transportation permit for Vietnamese territory. The permit must specify the name and address of the organization authorized to transport the goods; the name, content, quantity of drugs, precursor chemicals, addictive substances, and psychotropic substances; the duration of the transportation; and the names of the border gates through which the goods will pass. If the permit is not issued, the reasons must be communicated in writing.

Article 14.

1. The Ministry of Public Security shall specify and guide the operations of units responsible for assisting the Minister of Public Security in receiving applications, reviewing, and issuing or revoking cross-border transportation permits.

2. Based on specific circumstances, the Minister of Public Security shall decide the time, route, and border gates through which the goods can pass.

3. A cross-border transportation permit for Vietnamese territory is valid once within the period stated in the permit. If the transportation has not been completed within the stated period, the issuing authority may extend it.

Article 15. Agencies and organizations transporting goods across Vietnamese territory must comply with procedures and be subject to inspection by Vietnamese customs and other competent authorities and bear all transit costs as stipulated by law.

Article 16.

1. The cross-border transportation permit for Vietnamese territory shall be sent to the applicant organization, the Customs Sub-department at the border gate through which the goods pass, the provincial public security agency, the direct central city public security agency, the border guard unit, and the maritime police unit where the goods pass.

2. After receiving the transit transport permit from the Minister of Public Security, the Customs Sub-department at the border gate where the transit procedures are carried out, the Provincial Police, the Border Guard Unit, the Coast Guard Unit managing the transit transport route must arrange forces and means to strictly control, ensuring that the transit transport follows the designated route and the contents recorded in the permit. In cases where the goods being transit transported have large quantities or other necessary circumstances, the issuing authority may request the People's Armed Police Force, Border Guard, Coast Guard, and Customs to organize the escort of the transit transported goods out of the territory of Vietnam.

3. During the transit transport process, the transit goods must be packed and sealed; the packaging must clearly indicate the place of export, import, name, quantity, concentration, content (if any), date of packing, and must be accompanied by relevant documentation.

Article 17. The Customs Sub-department at the border gate through which the transit transported goods pass must complete all customs procedures, implement customs inspection and supervision systems for the transit transported goods according to the provisions of the law. If the time to complete customs procedures is extended, the transit transported goods must be stored in the warehouse of the Customs Department according to regulations. In case there is an incident during transportation causing changes to the customs seal or the original state of the transit transported goods, the Customs Sub-department at the border gate where the transit transported goods exit the territory of Vietnam shall temporarily suspend the customs procedures, prepare a record, handle according to its authority, and immediately notify relevant agencies.

Article 18.

1. The Ministry of Public Security shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Defense, and relevant agencies to organize forces to strictly control the transit transport according to the route recorded in the permit.

2. When the transit transported goods leave their jurisdiction, the competent agencies and units responsible for controlling the transit transport must exchange information and situation updates with the competent agencies and units where the transit transported goods will pass through to continue strict control.

concerning the classification and determination of state management authority in the field of crop productionArticle 19. For cases of violation of the regulations on transit transport, depending on the nature and degree of violation, the Minister of Public Security may decide to revoke the issued transit permit, handle the violator and the transit transported goods according to his authority or transfer the case to the competent agency for handling according to the law.

Chapter 4:

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 20.

1. Organizations, individuals who have achievements in controlling the import, export, and transit transport of narcotic drugs, precursor chemicals, addictive drugs, psychotropic substances within the territory of Vietnam shall be commended according to the law.

2. Organizations, individuals violating the provisions of this Decree shall be disciplined, administratively punished, or criminally prosecuted depending on the nature and degree of violation.

Article 21. The budget for activities controlling the import, export, and transit transport of narcotic drugs, precursor chemicals, addictive drugs, psychotropic substances within the territory of Vietnam shall be balanced and allocated in the annual state budget of the specialized management Ministries.

Article 22.

1. The Ministry of Trade is responsible for reviewing Agreements on controlling the import, export, and transit transport of narcotic drugs, precursor chemicals, addictive drugs, psychotropic substances signed with other countries and proposing amendments to align with the Anti-Narcotics Law and this Decree.

2. The Ministers of Public Security, Health, Industry, and Finance within their respective duties and authorities are responsible for inspecting and urging the implementation of this Decree.

Article 23. This Decree takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. Previous Government regulations contrary to this Decree are abolished.

The Ministers of the Ministries, Heads of agencies equivalent to Ministries, agencies under the Government related to this matter, and Chairmen of provincial and municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government are responsible for implementing this Decree./.