Viet Nam Steps Up Quarantine Regulations

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is in the process of developing a Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 31/2016/ND-CP dated May 6, 2016 stipulating penalties for administration violations against regulations on plant varieties, and animal and plant protection and quarantine; and Decree No. 90/2017/ND-CP dated July 31, 2017 stipulating penalties for administrative violations in veterinary field.

The above Decrees have contributed to bringing regulations on plant variety management, plant and animal protection and quarantine into effect; creating positive changes in raising awareness of organizations and individuals; ensuring order and discipline in state management on plant varieties, plant and animal protection and quarantine.

However, a number of limitations and shortcomings still exist in these Decrees such as: Low fine levels could not deter violations, leading to rampant occurrence and repetition of violations (acts of bringing into Viet Nam's territory objects which are subjected to plant quarantine without plant quarantine certificate of the exporting country; violations in trading of plant protection drugs, sales, storage and slaughter of animals to make food for which animals are subjected to tranquilizers...); the arise of some negative behaviors in practice where regulatory sanctions are still missing (the import of animal products that do not contain the name of the manufacturing establishment or that do contain the name of the manufacturing establishment and production establishment’s code number, which is not among the name of establishments in the list of enterprises allowed to export products to Viet Nam from eligible countries; the import of animal products for use as food which do not carry labels, name of the responsible organization, individual, name of the production establishment, the production establishment’s code number not in accordance with information stated in the quarantine certificate of the exporting country; and the import of animal products which have changed their colors, smells, and contaminated with insects do not meet the requirements of veterinary hygiene, etc.); some acts need to be adjusted to ensure align with practical norms (acts of animal transporting, trading, storing and slaughtering to make food but those animals are subjected to tranquilizers without following instructions of the manufacturer or competent veterinary management agency ...).

In addition, many titles competent to sanctioning administrative violations in Decree No. 31/2016/ND-CP and Decree No. 90/2017/ND-CP have changed or no longer exist. These new contents require the review and revision of the above-mentioned Decrees to ensure consistency of authority in sanctioning administrative violations.

Increase the level of penalty

Due to the above-mentioned reasons, MARD is currently developing a draft Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 31/2016/ND-CP dated May 6, 2016 stipulating administration violations against regulations on plant varieties, and animal and plant protection and quarantine; and Decree No. 90/2017/ND-CP dated July 31, 2017 stipulating penalties for administrative violations in veterinary field in order to ensure the consistency of the legal system and overcome the above limitations and shortcomings. .

In particular, the Ministry proposed to increase the penalty level for some violations including: Increasing the fine level from VND 3 - 5 million to a fine of VND 10 - 20 million for acts of bringing into Vietnamese territory products subjected to plant quarantine without the plant quarantine certificate of the exporting country, except for cases certified by the specialized plant protection and quarantine agency of MARD. Increasing the fine from VND 30 - 35 million to VND 40 - 50 million for acts of transporting, trading, storing and slaughtering animals for use as food for which such animals are subjected to tranquilizers without following instructions of the manufacturer or competent veterinary management agency. At the same time, provisions on remedial measures are also adjusted (forced destruction of animals and animal products) ...

Please visit here for full text of the draft Decree and providing comments.

Source: Chinhphu.vn