Policies take effect in December 2022

Conditional production for industrial chemicals

Decree No. 82/2022/ND-CP (Decree 82) dated October 18, 2022, amends and supplements a number of articles of Decree No. 113/2017/ND-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Chemicals. 

Decree 82, scheduled to take effect on December 22, 2022, supplements industrial chemicals subject to conditional production and trading. 

Decree 82 also supplements the cases not subject to the grant of certificates of eligibility for production of and trading in industrial chemicals subject to conditional production and trading such as:

- Activities of chemical dilution and mixing without chemical reactions forming industrial chemicals subject to conditional production and trading to put into use and production of other products and goods.

- Chemical composition in the mixtures of substances listed as industrial chemicals subject to conditional production and trading has the content in the mixtures of substances less than 0.1 percent. 

Import and export nomenclature

The Ministry of Finance issued Circular No. 31/2022/TT-BTC dated June 8, 2022 on promulgation of Viet Nam's nomenclature of exports and imports.

Circular 31, set to come into effect on December 1, specifies the scope of application as follows: (1) Organizations and individuals that import or export goods; (2) Organizations and individuals that have rights and obligations related to the import, and export of goods; (3) Customs offices and customs officers; (4) Other state agencies are involved in the coordination of state management of customs and management of imports and exports.

The nomenclature shall be used to formulate import and export tariffs; compile lists of goods to serve the state management, make state statistics on imports and exports, and serve the state management of goods import and export and other fields.

The Circular also provides six general rules explaining the classification of goods in the Vietnamese import and export nomenclature based on the International Convention on Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System of the World Customs Organization.

This Circular replaces the Minister of Finance's Circular No. 65/2017/TT-BTC dated June 27, 2017, and the Minister of Finance's Circular No. 09/2019/TT-BTC, dated February 15, 2019, on Viet Nam's nomenclature of exports and imports.

Electricity generation price market

On November 08, 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Circular No. 31/2022/TT-BCT amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Industry and Trade's Circular No. 57/2014/TT-BTC dated December 19, 2014, prescribing the method and order for formulation and promulgation of the electricity generation price bracket and the Minister of Industry and Trade's Circular No. 57/2020/TT-BCT dated December 31, 2020, on providing the method to determine electricity generation prices and power purchase agreement.

The Circular specifies: Within 15 working days after the construction investment feasibility study report of the power plant is approved, the project owner of the power plant shall take responsibility for providing the construction investment feasibility study report to Viet Nam Electricity.

Besides, before November 1 every year, Viet Nam Electricity calculates or hires a consultant to calculate the electricity generation prices of thermal power plants; proposes the selection of a standard power plant, selects parameters used to calculate electricity generation prices for a standard power plant in accordance with the actual performance of power purchase agreements and make a dossier to calculate the electricity generation price bracket of the power plants; calculate the ceiling price of the hydroelectric power plant.

This Circular takes effect from December 28, 2022.

Licenses on tobacco product manufacturing

Circular No. 30/2022/TT-BCT amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Industry and Trade's Circular No. 57/2018/TT-BCT dated December 26, 2018, detailing a number of articles of Decrees related to tobacco business is issued on November 04, 2022, by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Accordingly, to change the effective date of the provisions of this Circular's forms and list of applications for licenses to manufacture tobacco products and sample licenses to manufacture tobacco products from January 01, 2023, to January 01, 2028.

The provisions of forms and list of applications for licenses to manufacture tobacco products and sample licenses to manufacture tobacco products provided in Circular No. 21/2013/TT-BCT are applicable until the end of December 31, 2027, instead of December 31, 2022, as in previous regulations.

This Circular takes effect from December 20, 2022./.