Instructs management of N20 gas imports

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Illustrative photo.

This is the instruction from the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) to municipal and provincial customs departments onmanagement ofimported N2O gas.

Decree 113/2017/ND-CP does not provide that enterprises importing industrial chemicals are restricted from manufacture and sale as prescribed in Appendix II, including N20, must submit apermit to customs for customs clearance. Therefore, the GDVC guides municipal and provincial customs departments to work based on the provision for performance.

Regarding the handling of violations, after customs clearance, if the competent agency inspects and the business fails to present apermit, the business shall be sanctioned for “manufacturing and trading industrial chemicals restricted from manufacture and salewithout the permit as per provisions in Clause 6, Article 17 of the Government Decree 71/2019/ND-CP dated August 30, 2019 stipulating penalties for administrative violations against regulations on chemicals and industrial explosive materials.”

Specifically, a fine from VND 20,000,000 to VND 25,000,000 shall be imposed for manufacturing or selling industrial chemicals restricted from manufacture and sale without a permit or continuing to manufacture or sell chemicals while the operation or the permit to manufacture or sell industrial chemicals restricted from manufacture and sale is suspended.

The GDVC’s instruction is based on areply from the Ministry of Industry and Trade on this issue. The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that the national chemical database has functions for chemical management. The control of chemical business activities as well as N2O gas is carried out by the Ministry of Industry and Trade via the National Chemical Database. The Ministry of Industry and Trade can check unlicensed chemical exporters or exporters importing chemicals in excess of the limited quantity in their permits.