Question: “I am a representative of a goods quality certification and inspection organization. Grasping the export trend to the Islamic market, our company wishes to register the operations of providing Halal certification services for manufacturing enterprises. May I ask, under the new regulations of the Ministry of Science and Technology, what procedures we need to carry out, what the conditions for expert personnel are, and whether there are any risks for failing to strictly comply with the process?”
Answer: Below is the detailed advisory on the new regulations regarding administrative procedures in the field of standards, metrology, and quality (focusing on Halal certification operations) under Decision 2432/QĐ-BKHCN (effective from May 15, 2026):
1. Main contents: Decision 2432/QĐ-BKHCN promulgates the official central-level legal procedural framework to manage organizations wishing to participate in the assessment and issuance of Halal certificates in Vietnam, including the following core points:
- List of 04 new administrative procedures: The Ministry of Science and Technology officially establishes 04 procedural streams managing the life cycle of a Halal certification organization, including: New issuance; Issuance of amendments and supplements; Re-issuance; and Revocation of the Certificate of Operation Registration. (Legal basis: Article 1 and Part I of the Appendix to Decision 2432/QĐ-BKHCN).
- Strict quantitative conditions on Muslim personnel: The certification organization shall have a sufficient number of Muslim assessment experts, who have long-term labor contracts and meet the required number of man-days of practical experience. (Legal basis: Section 1 of Part II of the Appendix to Decision 2432/QĐ-BKHCN).
- Diversified methods of dossier submission: The organization may flexibly select among 03 methods of submitting licensing dossiers to optimize time. (Legal basis: Section 1 of Part II of the Appendix to Decision 2432/QĐ-BKHCN).
- Clear time limits for processing and returning results: The State agency commits to rapid appraisal times: 07 working days for procedures of new issuance/issuance of amendments and supplements; 03 working days for re-issuance and 05 working days for revocation procedures. (Legal basis: Section 1, Section 2, Section 3 and Section 4 of Part II of the Appendix to Decision 2432/QĐ-BKHCN).
2. Greatest impacts: This regulation directly impacts certification organizations, testing laboratories, and technology enterprises operating within the Halal supply chain. These entities shall re-examine the new procedural processes relating to quality declaration and certification. Particularly, for products currently under quality control, enterprises shall immediately update the roadmap for applying for confirmation and certification to ensure no disruption to the goods circulation chain. (Legal basis: Article 1 and Part I of the Appendix to Decision 2432/QĐ-BKHCN).
3. Risks in case of failure to comply
- Failure to identify new procedures: The lack of updating the new list of administrative procedures results in the risk of preparing insufficient legal dossiers upon putting goods into circulation or when functional agencies conduct specialized inspections. Licensing application dossiers are returned by management agencies for supplementation. (Legal basis: Step 2 of Section 1 of Part II of the Appendix to Decision 2432/QĐ-BKHCN).
- Mistaken reliance on old procedures: If enterprises still use old forms or procedural flows, the direct consequence is a delay in the issuance of Halal operation registration certificates, thereby stagnating entire import-export and sales plans for markets requiring this standard. (Legal basis: Article 2 of Decision 2432/QĐ-BKHCN).
4. Proposed action plan
- Review the entire list of products and goods of the enterprise currently subject to standards, metrology, and quality management, particularly export-oriented products requiring Halal certification.
- Immediately update certification, inspection, and testing dossiers strictly according to the newly promulgated list of administrative procedures (standardizing applications according to Form 01, Form 02, Form 03, and Form 04) into internal legal processes. (Legal basis: Part II of the Appendix to Decision 2432/QĐ-BKHCN).
5. Notes and recommendations
- Compliance with specialized management system standards: In addition to personnel factors, the law mandates that certification organizations shall apply a management system according to the national standard TCVN 13888 or equivalent international standards. Enterprises need to complete this system prior to submitting licensing dossiers. (Legal basis: Section 1 of Part II of the Appendix to Decision 2432/QĐ-BKHCN).
- Pay attention to the deadline for submitting extension dossiers and the exception for personnel reservation: As Certificates have a time limit, enterprises shall submit extension dossiers prior to 60 days. An advantage is that if previous assessment experts remain unchanged, enterprises may prepare a document on dossier reservation to reduce the paperwork that shall be re-submitted. (Legal basis: Step 2 of Section 1 of Part II of the Appendix to Decision 2432/QĐ-BKHCN).
