Additional entities subject to making packing lists of forest products in Vietnam from February 15, 2023

Additional entities subject to making packing lists of forest products in Vietnam from February 15, 2023 (Internet image)

Circular 26/2022/TT-BNNPTNT regulating the management and traceability of forest products issued by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Accordingly, additional subjects for making forest product lists are added, specifically:

1. Entities subject to making packing lists of forest products in Vietnam

According to Clause 1, Article 5 of Circular 26/2022/TT-BNNPTNT, entities subject to making packing lists of forest products include:

- A forest product owner or an organization/individual who is authorized by a forest product owner shall make a list after the harvesting.

- A forest product owner shall make a list when purchasing or transferring, transporting, dispatching forest products at a time and on the same vehicle; when preparing the application for issuance of license to export forest products;

- A competent person shall make a list when preparing documents about penalties for violations concerning forest products;

- An agency assigned to manage property after confiscating the property shall make a list when auctioning.

(Currently, packing list of forest products shall be made by the forest product owner after the harvesting; when trading, transporting and dispatching forest products at a time and on the same vehicle; when preparing the application for issuance of license to export forest products as prescribed or shall be made by the competent person when preparing documents about penalties for violations)

2. Making of packing lists of forest products in Vietnam

- The organization/individual prescribed above shall make a packing list of forest products using Form No. 01, Form No. 02, Form No. 03, Form No. 04, Form No. 05 in the Appendix enclosed with Circular 26/2022/TT-BNNPTNT:

Specifying sections of logs, round timber which have the sizes prescribed in Point a and Point b Clause 2 Article 3 of Circular 26/2022/TT-BNNPTNT; sawn timber which has the length of 1m or more, the width of 20 cm or more, the thickness of 5 cm or more; timber sawed/cut into other prisms.

Specifying total quantity and volume or weight of logs which fail to reach the sizes prescribed in Point a, Point b Clause 2 Article 3 of Circular 26/2022/TT-BNNPTNT; sawn timber which has the length of less than 1m, the width of less than 20 cm, the thickness of less than 5 cm; timber from planted forests.

Specifying the total or specific quantity and volume of each species of non-timber forest products.

Specifying total volume or weight of forest products at the bottom of each page of the packing list of forest products;

- The organization/individual making the list of forest products shall be responsible before law for declared contents and lawful origins of forest products specified in the packing list of forest products.

3. Entities subject to and methods of inspection in Vietnam

Article 25 of Circular 26/2022/TT-BNNPTNT stipulates the entities subject to inspection: organizations, individuals, household businesses, residential community engaging in harvesting, transport, processing, manufacturing, trading, transfer, import, export and storage of forest products, raising of forest animals and plants, and marking of specimens.

Inspection methods:

- Scheduled inspection;

- Ad hoc inspection.

(Currently, ad hoc inspection, which is carried out upon suspicion of violations specified in Clause 1 Article 40 of Circular 26/2022/TT-BNNPTNT or at the request of the head of the competent authority.)

4. Contents of inspection and tracing of forest products in Vietnam

Contents of inspection and tracing of forest products in Vietnam is specified in Article 26 of Circular 26/2022/TT-BNNPTNT, including:

- For harvesting of forest products: inspection of the compliance with law on harvesting of forest products according to the Rules for forest management and the regulations in Chapter II of Circular 26/2022/TT-BNNPTNT and physical inspection of forest products at places where the forest products are harvested.

- For import and export of forest products: inspection of forest product dossiers as prescribed in Article 16 and Article 19 of Circular 26/2022/TT-BNNPTNT and physical inspection at border checkpoints.

- In case of transport of forest products: inspection of the compliance with regulations on forest product dossiers during transport as prescribed in Article 18 hereof and inspection of forest products contained on vehicles.

- For facilities for processing, trading and storing timber and forest products: inspection of the compliance with regulations on forest product dossiers as prescribed in Article 20 of Circular 26/2022/TT-BNNPTNT and inspection of available forest products at these facilities.

- For facilities for raising forest animals and animals listed in the Appendices CITES; facilities for raising of endangered/rare forest plants or plants listed in the Appendices CITES: inspection of the compliance with regulations on forest product dossiers as prescribed in Article 21 of Circular 26/2022/TT-BNNPTNT and inspection of animals and plants that are raised at these facilities.

- For places where forest products are stored: inspection of forest product dossiers as prescribed in this Circular and inspection of available forest products.

Circular 26/2022/TT-BNNPTNT takes effect from February 15, 2023 and replaces Circular 27/2018/TT-BNNPTNT.

Nhu Mai

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