Vietnam adopts amended Law on Product and Goods Quality

To take effect from next year, the new law opens new opportunities for innovation and improving state management efficiency.

With an approach based on risk management, digital traceability, and the application of modern technology, the law creates a solid legal foundation to ensure consumer rights to use quality, safe and transparent products and goods.

The National Assembly voted for the amended Law on Product and Goods Quality. Photo: MoST

One of the highlights of the law is a shift in management from administrative to a risk-based one. According to Article 5, products and goods are classified into three groups: low risk, medium risk, and high risk. The evaluation criteria are based on impacts on human health, the environment, the ability to control the supply chain as well as warnings from international organisations.

This approach is consistent with international practice and helps create conditions for Vietnamese goods to expand into regional and global markets.

The other important innovation is the legalisation of the concept of a digital product passport. Clause 8, Article 3 stipulates that this is a collection of information related to products and supply chains, stored in the form of barcodes or other suitable methods, ensuring that it can be accessed and read through digital devices.

This helps consumers and management agencies easily trace the origin, production process, and evaluate product quality. In particular, Article 6d stipulates that traceability is mandatory for products and goods in high-risk groups, with an implementation roadmap determined by the Ministry of Science and Technology and relevant agencies.

The law also has specific provisions to ensure the quality of goods traded on digital platforms and e-commerce floors.

Accordingly, organisations and individuals doing online business are responsible for fully disclosing information about the quality, origin, instructions for use, and safety warnings of products sold on their platforms. In addition, owners of digital platforms must establish and operate a system to receive and handle consumer complaints, and coordinate with authorities to handle quality violations.

The amended law also pays attention to building quality infrastructure and coordination among management agencies. Articles 6a and 6b define the focal role of the ministry in implementing unified state management of product and goods quality.

The law requires relevant ministries, sectors, and agencies to connect and share data for inspections and quality control. A national quality monitoring system will be established, connecting customs data, quality inspection, traceability information, consumer feedback, and international warnings.

According to the ministry, this amended law, together with the Law on Technical Standards and Regulations, will create a unified and synchronous legal framework for national product and goods quality management.

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