Thông tư 19/2009/TT-BKHCN

CIRCULAR

ON QUALITY CONTROL MEASURES FOR PRODUCTS AND GOODS SUBJECT TO INCREASED MANAGEMENT BEFORE MARKET CIRCULATION

THE MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Pursuant to the November 21, 2007 Law on Product and Goods Quality;
Pursuant to the Government s Decree No. 28/ 2008/ND-CP of March 14, 2008, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology;
Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 132/2008/ND-CP of December 31, 2008, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Product and Goods Quality;
The Minister of Science and Technology prescribes quality control measures for products and goods subject to increased management before market circulation as follows:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. This Circular prescribes quality control measures for products and goods subject to increased management before market circulation.

2. This Circular applies to organizations and individuals manufacturing and importing products and goods (below referred to as enterprises) and concerned state management agencies in charge of product and good quality.

3. This Circular does not apply to products and goods of the armed forces which are manufactured or imported for defense and security purposes. The Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security shall prescribe the manufacture and import of these products and goods.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

In this Circular, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Likely unsafe products and goods (below referred to as group-2 products and goods) means products and goods which have latent possibility of harming human, animals, plants, property and the environment even when they are properly transported, stored, preserved or used for proper purposes.

2.Quality control measures (below referred to as control measures) means technical or non­-technical measures to control the quality, safety, manufacture, environmental and circulation conditions of products and goods, and other contents such as labeling and origin.

3. Eco-label (or green or environmental label) means the label of a product or service which provides consumers with information on the pro­duct's or service's higher level of environmental friendliness than that of products or services of the same type. There are three types of eco-labels:

a/ Type-I labels, which are certified and granted to products of manufacturers:

b/ Type-II labels, which are announced by goods manufacturers, importers or distributors based on their own evaluation or evaluation by a third party.

c/ Type-III labels, which are voluntarily given by goods manufacturers and suppliers to consumers under voluntary programs initiated by economic branches and organizations.

4. Chemical safety slip means a document which is made by a chemical supplier or importer and printed in Vietnamese with all of the following information:

a/ Precise name of the hazardous industrial chemical, its UN code and level of hazard:

b/ Physical and chemical properties of the chemical;

c/ Packing requirements for the chemical to be transported:

d/ Necessary measures in case of chemical leakage:

e/ Requirements to be complied with in transportation and instructions for handling accidents or incidents:

f/ Technical instructions and warnings in preservation and storage:

g/ Notes on transportation and disposal:

h/ Warnings on safely for laborers.

Chapter II

CONTROL MEASURES

Article 3. Compulsory control measures

Compulsory control measures applicable to products and goods on lists of group-2 products and goods promulgated by line ministries include:

1. Control measures (announcement and certification of regulation conformity) under national technical regulations and legal documents applicable to respective products and goods, which are promulgated by responsible line ministries.

The announcement and certification of regulation conformity comply with the Regulation on certification and announcement of standard and regulation conformity promulgated together with the Science and Technology Ministry's Decision No. 24/2007/QD-BKHCN of September 28, 2007.

2. Announcement of applicable standards

Enterprises shall announce standards applicable to their products and goods in accordance with Article 23 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality.

3. Labeling

Enterprises shall label goods in accordance with the Government's Decree No. 89/2006/ND-CP of June 30, 2006, on goods labeling, and guiding documents.

Particularly for imports, enterprises shall additionally declare the origin of goods and guarantee the truthfulness of their declaration. The origin of goods shall be determined under the Government's Decree No. 19/2006/ND-CP of February 20, 2006, detailing the Commercial Law concerning origin of goods, and guiding documents.

Article 4. Additional control measures

Based on actual manufacture, importation and market circulation conditions and management requirements, line ministries shall promulgate documents on criteria and selection of one or more of the following additional control measures to appropriately apply to each type of group-2 product or goods or products and goods outside group 2 under their management:

1. Standard conformity certification

Products and goods are certified for their standard conformity by independent certifying organizations in order to confirm that these products and goods conform with national standards or corresponding foreign or international standards.

2. Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) certification

Products and goods are certified for their electromagnetic compatibility by independent certifying organizations in order to confirm that the operation of electric and electronic equipment and equipment systems is stable, smooth and safe to human health without causing harmful interference to other equipment and equipment systems.

3. Power saving certification

Electric and electronic products and goods are certified for their power saving by independent certifying organizations. Information on power consumption and specific instructions must be indicated on labels of products to enable users to choose products that consume less power than those of the same type.

4. Certificate of free sale (CFS)

Products are granted CFSs by competent authorities of exporting countries to confirm that those products satisfy prescribed safety, health and environment requirements.

5. Certification of conformity with TCVN ISO 9001 or ISO 9001 quality control standards

Certification of quality control standard conformity shall be conducted by independent certifying organizations to prove that enterprises' quality control systems conform with TCVN ISO 9001 or ISO 9001 standards.

6. Certification of conformity with TCVN ISO 14001 or ISO 14001 environmental control standards

Certification of environmental control standard conformity shall be conducted by independent certifying organizations to prove that enterprises' environmental control systems conform with TCVN ISO 14001 or ISO 14001 standards.

7. Eco-labels

Enterprises shall put eco-labels on their products and goods and guarantee the truthfulness of these labels.

8. Chemical safety slips

Enterprises having chemicals to be transported shall produce chemical safety slips and guarantee the truthfulness of these slips.

9. Certification of other control systems

a/ Application of food safety control systems (HACCP, ISO 22000) is required for food and aquatic products;

b/ Application of the social responsibility control system (SA 8000) or occupational health safety assurance system (ISO 18000/OHSAS 18000) is required for textiles and garments;

c/ Application of the medical equipment control system (ISO 13485) is required for medical equipment;

d/ Application of the auto industry control system (ISO/TS 16949) is required for autos;

e/ Application of GlobalGAP (Good Agricultural Practices) or VietGAP standards is required for agricultural products.

f/ Application of GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) and GHP (Good Hygienic Practices) standards is required for medicines and cosmetics.

g/ Application of GVP (Good Veterinary Practices) standards is required for veterinary products.

Chapter III

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 5. Effect

This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of its signing.

Article 6. Organization of implementation

Any problems arising in the course of implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Science and Technology (the Directorate for Standards. Metrology and Quality) for consideration and settlement.