Prominent Policies Effective from Mid-October 2018

1. No need to declare ID number when purchasing medicine for children

   The Ministry of Health issued Circular 18/2018/TT-BYT amending and supplementing Circular 52/2017/TT-BYT on regulations for prescriptions and the prescription of pharmaceutical drugs and biological products in outpatient treatment.

   According to the new regulation, prescriptions for children under 72 months old only require the child's age in months, weight, the name of the father, mother, or person taking the child for a medical examination and treatment without requiring the ID or citizen identification number of the parents or guardians of the child.

   Detailed information on the new prescription form can be found in Circular 18/2018/TT-BYT, which took effect on October 15, 2018.

2. Fines up to 3 million VND for wearing jewelry while processing food

   This new point needs to be noted in Decree 115/2018/ND-CP on administrative fines for food safety violations issued by the Government of Vietnam on September 4, 2018.

   From October 20, 2018, fines ranging from 1 to 3 million VND will be imposed on individuals who come into direct contact with food and commit any of the following acts:

   - Not wearing a hat or mask;- Not trimming fingernails short;- Wearing a watch, bracelet, or necklace;- Eating, drinking, smoking, or spitting in the area where food, food additives, food processing aids, tools, packaging materials, and containers that have direct contact with food are produced.

3. Principles for establishing the essential drug list

   Circular 19/2018/TT-BYT on the list of essential drugs was issued on August 30, 2018. When establishing the essential drug list, the following principles must be followed:

   - It must be based on drug selection criteria, diagnosis and treatment guidelines, technical standards; inherit the 6th Vietnam Essential Drug List and refer to the World Health Organization's essential drug list;- It must be in compliance with medicine policy and law, practical use, and Vietnam's capabilities to ensure drug supply;- Drug names in the Essential Drug List must ensure:- Not specifying the brand name of the drug;- Pharmaceutical drugs and biological products: recorded by the international nonproprietary name of the active ingredient or mixture of active ingredients in the drug formula;- Vaccines recorded by vaccine type or vaccine component name;- Traditional medicine recorded by the name of the medicinal herb, including the common Vietnamese name and scientific name;- Herbal medicines and traditional medicine (excluding single medicinal herbs): recorded by the Vietnamese name of each herbal or medicinal component in the drug formula.

   Circular 19/2018/TT-BYT comes into effect from October 15, 2018.

   

4. Circular 42/2018: Shortening the completion time for some procedures

   On July 30, 2018, the Ministry of Transport issued Circular 42/2018/TT-BGTVT amending and supplementing certain articles of circulars in the field of registration and inspection.

   From October 15, 2018, the completion time for some registration and inspection procedures will be shortened as follows:

   - Issuance of Quality Certificate for imported specialized motorcycles: Within 4 working days from the date of completing the actual vehicle inspection and receiving the complete documentation as per regulations, the Vietnam Register shall issue the Quality Certificate (currently regulated at 5 days);- Issuance of the Renovated Vehicle Quality Certificate: Within 3 working days from the date of inspecting and approving the renovated vehicle (currently regulated at 5 days);- Issuance of the Certificate of Appraisal for Renovated Motor Vehicle Design: If the design meets the requirements, the appraisal agency must issue the Design Certificate within 5 working days from the date of receiving the complete design dossier (currently regulated at 7 days).

5. Additional 2 cases of staffing reduction from October 15

   Decree 113/2018/ND-CP was issued by the Government of Vietnam on August 31, 2018, amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree 108/2014/ND-CP on policies for staffing reduction.

   From October 15, 2018, two additional cases of staffing reduction are added as follows:

   - Leaders and managers who voluntarily apply for staffing reduction and are agreed upon by their supervising agency or unit, following the organizational restructuring decision of the competent authority;- Those who were civil servants or public employees transferred by the competent authority to work at associations that have allocated staff and receive state budget support to pay salaries if they fall under one of the cases specified in points d, e, g Clause 1 Article 6 of Decree 108/2014/ND-CP.

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE