Vietnam: UNECE accepted thanks to the EU-Vietnam FTA
Vietnam published a new law implementing the provisions of its Free Trade Agreement with the UE with regard to vehicles.
The full name of the law is: Decree No. 60/2023/ND-CP on technical safety quality and environmental protection inspection and certificate of conformity from inspection for imported motor vehicles and imported parts and equipment of motor vehicles under the international agreements to which Vietnam is a signatory.
The Decree applies to importers and agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the management and inspection of technical safety quality and environmental protection, and certificate of conformity from inspection for imported motor vehicles and imported parts and equipment of motor vehicles under the international agreements to which Vietnam is a signatory.
The Decree lists the documents necessary for the inspection of imported motor vehicles. These are, among others:
- VTA – “Vehicle Type Approval” meaning a Vehicle Type Approval under UNECE Regulations United Nations Economic Commission for Europe or EC Regulations European Commission including safety and environmental protection documentation
- Original CoC/DoC issued to each motor vehicle – understood as “Certificate of Conformity” under EC Regulations, or “Declaration of Conformance” DoC under UNECE Regulations meaning a document issued by the manufacturer to each motor vehicle when it comes out of the plant.
For the inspection of imported parts and equipment of motor vehicle, required are among others:
- Type Approval” TA means a Type Approval under UNECE Regulations including attachments to TA.
The above requirements are a good sign to European OEMs showing that Vietnam will finally accept UNECE certificates for vehicles and their parts as proofs of conformity.
The importer files an application for inspection with the Inspection Body online via National Wingle Window. The Inspection Body shall receive and verify required documents in the application for inspection and give processing results within 1 working day. Then, other steps follow as described in the Decree.
The Decree comes into force as of October 1, 2023 and applies to the following subject matters:
- a) With regard to parts and equipment: From the effective date of this Decree.
- b) With regard to motor vehicles: From August 1, 2025.
Careful: Imported parts and equipment and motor vehicles that arrive at Vietnamese ports and border checkpoints before the effective date stated in the Decree shall not apply the Decree.
To find out more about vehicle regulations and EU free trade agreements relating to automotive, please contact the Institute for Global Automotive Regulatory Research directly.