New regulations on goods labels

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Question: What are new regulations on goods labels?

Answer: Decree 43 prescribes the content and method for labeling and state management of goods circulated in Viet Nam and imports; excluding such goods as real estate, goods temporarily imported for re-export, luggage of people on exit or entry, movable property, auctioned confiscations, fresh and raw foods; processed foods, fuel, raw materials, construction materials, scraps unpacked and sold directly to consumers, used goods and so forth.

General regulations on good labeling

Decree 43 supplemented the strict and detailed regulations on position, color, language, size of the goods label:

- In terms of position, any label must be shown on the goods and commercial packages of the goods in easily visible positions with its full contents as regulated and without having to remove a parts of the goods;

- With regard to the mandatory contents, the background color, the color of letters, figures, pictures, images, signs and symbols written on the goods label must be clear and in-contrast with the background color of the good label;

- In terms of language, the mandatory content shown on the goods label must be written in Vietnamese, and in case of any writing in another language, it must not be larger than the front size of the Vietnamese contents.

- In terms of size, the size of the letters and numbers must ensure visibility with the naked eye and if there is a measure of quantity, it must comply with the law on measurement. If the goods are foodstuffs, food additives or pre-packaged food processing aids, the letter height of the compulsory contents on the label must not be smaller than 1.2 mm.

Use of labels on non-exported goods

Decree 43 requires the use of additional labels on the non-exported or returned goods, which are put to the market and, at the same time, must have “Made in Viet Nam” in bold print.

The following goods without additional labels include: components imported to replace damaged components with regard to the goods warranty service by organizations or individuals responsible for such goods that are not allowed to be sold in the market; the raw materials, food additives, food processing aids and components imported for production, which are not allowed to be sold in the market.

Question: What are mandatory contents on goods label as stipulated on Decree 43?

Answer: Under Decree 43, the goods label must demonstrate mandatory contents including the goods name, name and address of the organization or individual responsible for such goods and the goods origin.

In addition, depending on the nature of each kind of goods, the goods label must ensure at least the other contents are separately prescribed, including production date, expiry date, composition, quantitative composition, specifications, warning information, and other details such as codes, bar codes, standard conformity marks, regulation conformity stamps and so forth.

The goods label must not show the images or contents related to any ownership dispute and other sensitive contents that may affect the security, political, economic, social aspects, diplomatic relations and fine customs of Viet Nam.

If the goods size is insufficient to cover all the compulsory contents of the label, the name and address of the organization or individual responsible for such goods and the goods origin must be written on the label. The other contents must be written in the document accompanying the goods and the goods label must indicate where such contents are written.

Decree 43 takes effect from June 1, 2017.