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Updated on April 1, 2024
On April 1, 2024, Vietnam issues Circular No. 04/2024/TT-BNNPTNT, officially revising a number of articles regarding the quarantine of animal and terrestrial animal products. Revisions come into effect on May 16, 2024.
As revealed by an official notice1 issued on Jan 20, 2024, Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is consulting on the amendments to quarantine requirements for terrestrial animals and animal products. Any feedback can be submitted on the same official webpage prior to March 18, 2024.
Background of the revision
Currently, the quarantine requirements for terrestrial animal products in Vietnam are governed by:
Circular 25/2016/TT-BNNPTNT, providing quarantine requirements for terrestrial animals and animal products (further revised by Circular 35/2018/TT-BNNPTNT and Circular No. 09/2022/TT-BNNPTNT)
Circular No. 11/2021/TT-BNNPTNT, promulgating the HS code table for goods under the management of the MARD as well as imported & exported goods subject to specialized inspection in the field of agriculture and rural development
In order to ensure the consistency of current laws and regulations as well as address practical quarantine issues during imports, the Vietnamese authority proposes amendments to Circular 25/2016/TT-BNNPTNT (the Draft).
Key Revisions
Revision on pathogen indicators
The Draft requires high-risk meat and frozen meat products to additionally receive the inspection of Salmonella and E.coli at ports. Pathogen indicators remain the same for imported fresh raw milk and processed milk products.
Revision on the validity period of quarantine certificate
Currently, the regulation stipulates that “The validity period of the quarantine certificate for animal and animal products for import and export is from 30-60 days.” The draft revises the validity period of the quarantine certificate for imported animal and animal products to be a maximum of 60 days, while 180 days for exported animal and animal products.
Addition of procedures for the inspection and sampling of animal product batches
A new Appendix XIV is added, detailing the procedure for the inspection and sampling of animal product batches.
Updates on a number of forms in Appendix V
The Draft proposes new forms, including application form, declaration form and certificate form, to replace the current ones in Appendix V. Involved forms include: Form 2, Form 3, Form 13a, Form 13b, Form 14a, Form 14b, Form 15a, Form 16a, Form 16b, Form 17, Form 18, Form 19, and Form 20.
Among all the involved forms, Form 19 is the application template for the quarantine registration of imported animal and animal products. Form 20 is the application template for the quarantine registration of imported meat and bone meal.
Others
Since meat and bone meal is also a type of terrestrial animal product, this Draft adds the requirements for this kind of product into Clause 1 of Article 9, which stipulates the registration dossier for animal products’ quarantine inspection. To be specific, it adds the expression that “For meat and bone meal, submit the Import Quarantine Registration Form, as per Form 20 in Appendix V.” This is not a new requirement, since similar requirement is stipulated in another provision. But Form 20 is to be revised as explained above. However, as Form 20 is to be revised as explained above, please note the new Form 20 as reference.
Several provisions are abolished in the proposed draft. For example, the Draft abolishes Article 9a, which regulates the quarantine inspection and quality control of imported animal-origin feed and aquatic feed. Due to the deletion of Article 9a, the corresponding registration template for imported animal-origin feed and aquatic feed (i.e. Form 20a in Appendix V) is deleted as well.
The pathogen indicators for high-risk poultry egg products and unprocessed birds’ nest are revised.
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