Regulations on export and import of herbal ingredients in Vietnam

According to Article 5 of the Circular No. 03/2016/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, export and import of herbal ingredients are specified as follows:

A Vietnamese facility importing herbal ingredients must satisfy the following conditions:

- It has been granted the Certificate of Eligibility for Drug Business that covers herbal ingredient trading.

- Good Storage Practice (GSP) applied to herbal ingredients are implemented in accordance with this Circular according to inspection result given by the Ministry of Health.

- A facility that has not fulfilled import conditions shall enter into an import entrustment contract with another facility that satisfies import conditions and the name of the entrusting facility must be written on the import bill.

Apart from the conditions specified in Clause 1 of this Article, upon registration of the customs declaration, the importer must present the originals and submit the copies bearing the importer's seal of the following documents to the customs authority:

- License to import herbal ingredients issued by the Traditional Medicine Administration of Vietnam in accordance with this Circular.

- Certificate of Origin (C/O) of the herbal ingredients issued by a competent authority of the exporting country. Where an international agreement to which Vietnam is a signatory permits the submission of electronic C/Os, the customs authority shall accept such electronic C/Os.

- From July 01, 2016, each shipment of imported herbal ingredients on the List must have a test result notice (enclosed with an English or Vietnamese translation) of the manufacturer which implements GMP. A manufacturer that does not apply GMP shall have a test result notice issued by a competent authority of the exporting country. Annually, the Ministry of Health shall publish the List of herbal ingredients requiring presentation of test result notice issued by competent authorities of the exporting countries.

View more details at the Circular No. 03/2016/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, issued on January 21, 2016.

Le Vy

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