The Vietnam Food Administration’s (VFA) Decree on the Provision on Civil Penalties for Food Safety Violations, issued in September, is to take effect on 20 October.
The Decree 115/2018/ND-CP, which replaces the 2013 Decree 178/2013/ND-CP, specifies various fines, including those for the production of unsafe food contact packaging, implements and containers.
Importers of FCM products which fail to conduct conformity testings will incur fines of 30-40m VND (about $1,200-$1,700), almost three times the amount previously imposed. Chemicalwatch.com reported.
The fines signal the intent of authorities to tighten enforcement. The latest Decree triples fines for:
- falsifying conformity test results;
- providing false claims, declarations or information about product safety; and
- circulating products and assuring the public that they meet conformity standards, when they have not undergone such certification.
Fines for importing products that fail to meet a specified national standard or technical regulations will be doubled.
In addition, products deemed unsafe may be recalled, confiscated, or destroyed. All previous testing results and product conformity applications for imports, if applicable, would be nullified.