Grounds for revocation of certificates of compliance with food safety regulations in Vietnam as of February 15, 2024

Grounds for revocation of certificates of compliance with food safety regulations in Vietnam as of February 15, 2024 (Internet image) 

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

On December 30, 2023, the Minister of Health issued Circular 31/2023/TT-BYT, stipulating the authority to revoke certificates of compliance with food safety regulations under the management of the Ministry of Health.

1. Authority to revoke certificates of compliance with food safety regulations in Vietnam

According to Article 2 of Circular 31/2023/TT-BYT, the authority to revoke certificates of compliance with food safety regulations is as follows:

The agency that issues certificates of compliance with food safety regulations has the right to revoke issued certificates of compliance with food safety regulations.

Article 35 of the Law on Food Safety 2010 stipulates that the authority to issue certificates of compliance with food safety regulations is:

The Minister of Health, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Minister of Industry and Trade specify the authority to issue and revoke certificates of compliance with food safety regulations in the areas assigned to management.

Thus, the authority to revoke certificates of compliance with food safety regulations belongs to the Minister of Health, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Minister of Industry and Trade.

2. Grounds for revocation of certificates of compliance with food safety regulations in Vietnam as of February 15, 2024

Pursuant to Article 3 of Circular 31/2023/TT-BYT, the grounds for revoking certificates of compliance with food safety regulations are as follows:

- The competent authority specified in Section 1 revokes certificates of compliance with food safety regulations when conducting an inspection or examination or revokes at the request of the inspection or examination agency according to Form No. 01 issued with Circular 31/2023/TT-BYT when detecting that the facility does not meet the following conditions:

+ Insufficient conditions to ensure food safety to produce, process, and trade food appropriate to each type of production specified in Articles 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 of the Law on Food Safety 2010; Specific regulations in Clause 2, Article 2 of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of regulations related to business investment conditions under the state management of the Ministry of Health; Article 28 of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Food Safety 2010 and other relevant legal regulations;

+ There is no registration of food businesses in the Business Registration Certificate/Enterprise Registration Certificate.

- Within 05 (five) working days from the date of receipt of the written request to revoke certificates of compliance with food safety regulations from the inspection and examination agency, the competent authority specified in Section 1 must issue a decision to revoke the establishment's certificates of compliance with food safety regulations according to Form No. 02 issued with Circular 31/2023/TT-BYT.

Thus, based on the above regulations, the competent authority revokes certificates of compliance with food safety regulations when it is detected that the establishment does not meet the conditions to ensure food safety to produce, process, and trade food suitable for each type of production; Without the registration of food businesses in the Business Registration Certificate/Enterprise Registration Certificate, certificates of compliance with food safety regulations will be revoked.

Circular 31/2023/TT-BYT takes effect on February 15, 2024.

Nguyen Ngoc Que Anh

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