Customs Department issues urgent guidance on food safety inspection of imported animal products

Customs Department issues urgent guidance on food safety inspection of imported animal products. Source: baodautu.vn

To resolve difficulties and ensure smooth customs clearance, on September 10, the Customs Department issued urgent Official Letter 21545/CHQ-GSQL providing guidance on the food safety inspection process for imported animal-derived and aquatic products.

According to Circular No.22/2026/TT-BNNMT amending and supplementing some Circulars on reduction, delegation of jurisdiction and simplification of administrative procedures under the state management scope of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE), from September 1, the entire state inspection of food safety (normal and strict inspection methods) for imported agricultural products was decentralised to local agencies designated by the chairman of the provincial people's committee.

This transfer of management authority, at a time when detailed new regulations were not yet in place, put many shipments of animal-derived food products at risk of being held up at border gates due to the lack of clear identification of the specialised inspection agency.

To immediately address the risk of disruption to the flow of goods, based on the request in Official Letter No.3486/CNTY-KD&TYCD (dated September 9) from the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine under the MAE, the Customs Department issued an urgent directive instructing regional Customs branches to unify temporary handling measures.

Accordingly, while awaiting the issuance of new legal regulations, the customs authorities will continue to apply the handling mechanism according to previous guidelines in Official Letter 358/TY-KD (March 2019) and Official Letter 3581/BNN-QLCL (May 2019).

For shipments of fresh and frozen terrestrial animal and aquatic products used as food, the customs authorities will allow immediate clearance upon presentation of the Import Quarantine Certificate issued by the veterinary authority. This mechanism helps streamline administrative procedures, expedite goods release, and maintain disease safety control.

Despite the flexible customs clearance mechanism, customs authorities still advise businesses importing animal products to check legal conditions before filing declarations to avoid incurring warehousing costs.

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