Submit business export dossiers to China before October 26th

On October 21^st, Vietnam SPS Office has issued Official Letter No. 221/SPS-BNNVN to the People's Committees of provinces and cities under Central, the Food Administration (VFA - Ministry of Health), Department of Science and Technology (Ministry of Industry and Trade) on "demanding to urgently register enterprises producing food for export to China".

This is the next step of the Vietnam SPS Office in guiding enterprises to export agricultural products meeting the requirements of China's Orders No. 248 and 249.

Vietnam SPS Office mentioned three key contents in the Official Letter No. 221:

Firstly, the People's Committees of provinces and cities will direct the registration of enterprises producing and exporting food to the Chinese market. The concerned agencies at the same time should soon send the registration dossier to the competent State management agency in charge of food safety (prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP dated February 2^nd, 2018) before October 26^th, 2021.

Secondly, the state management competent agency in terms of food safety is responsible for guiding, receiving and inspecting registration dossiers, confirming that those enterprises meet registration requirements. After that, agencies shall apply for early registration with the General Administration of Customs China according to the mentioned regulations before October 30^th, 2021.

Three units are responsible for products under the management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in particular: the Plant Protection Department for plant-based products; the Department of Animal Health for products of terrestrial animal origin; the Department of Agriculture, and the Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department for aquatic products.

Thirdly, businesses proactively coordinate with local management agencies to complete registration dossiers and make sure to meet the deadline. They should also coordinate with importers and agents in China to obtain information on labeling and packaging in accordance with market regulations.

As shared by Mr. Ngo Xuan Nam, Deputy Director of the SPS Office, enterprises that complete their export registration dossiers to China before October 31^st will gain many advantages in terms of procedures compared to those registered from November 1^st to December 31^st.

Previously, on April 12th, 2021, the General Administration of Customs China issued Order No. 248 concerning "Regulations on registration and management of foreign food production enterprises". Two days later, this agency continued to issue Order No. 249 on "Safety management measures for import-export food." Previous orders will expire on January 1st, 2022.