Reviewing regulations on assigning customs to perform food quality and safety inspections

Bring model of quality inspection and food quality inspection into practice

Customs officers of Hoa Lac Customs Branch inspect imports and exports. Photo: T.Huong

At the announcement of the Government Office about the conclusion of Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh in the recent meeting on the draft Decree stipulating the management mechanism, methods, order and procedures for state inspection of quality and food safety inspections for imported goods, the Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Finance to coordinate with relevant ministries and government agencies in reviewing regulations on assigning Customs authorities to conduct the inspection to comply with the Law on Product and Goods Quality, the Law on Food Safety and other specialized laws.

The Ministry of Finance is assigned to lead and unify regulations on procedures and dossiers for imports subject to various forms of inspection so that individuals and organizations submit only one application for inspection to the National Single portal.

The Ministry is asked to continue to gather feedback from ministries and relevant agencies to revise and complete the draft Decree, meeting the requirements and roadmap of reform and simplifying procedures for quality and food safety inspection for imports, which are approved in Decision 38, and report to the Prime Minister for consideration and a decision.

The Deputy Prime Minister highly appreciated the Ministry for urgently developing the draft Decree under the direction of the Prime Minister.

The draft Decree serves as a legal basis for the implementation of reformed contents in the Scheme.

The draft Decree concretizes the focal role of the Customs authority in quality inspection and food safety inspection for imported goods.

The draft Decree also stipulates the application of three inspection methods to both quality control and food safety inspection, based on the principles of commodity risk management and the level of legal compliance of enterprises that are published on the National Single Window for businesses to look up and implement.

All administrative procedures in the draft Decree are required to be carried out on the National Single Window. The application of information technology in handling administrative procedures helps to simplify inspection procedures, cut costs and time for businesses, strengthen the role of state management, and make information handled by agencies and organizations more transparent.