Question:My company operates in the field of security services (a business line subject to conditions on security and order) and conducts import-export activities for certain types of goods under the management of the Ministry of Public Security. In 2026, my company plans to carry out procedures to apply for the re-issuance of the Certificate of Satisfaction of Security and Order Conditions due to loss, register an additional secondary seal for a new branch, and register for state inspection of the quality of imported goods. Having heard that the Ministry of Public Security has just issued a new document on reducing procedures, I am wondering: Shall the aforementioned procedures still be performed at present? What benefits does this new development bring, what potential legal risks exist if the enterprise fails to update in a timely manner, and what is the course of action for the enterprise?
Answer: Below is the detailed advice regarding the new regulations on the abolition of administrative procedures under the competence of the Ministry of Public Security pursuant to Decision No. 2709/QĐ-BCA (effective from May 15, 2026):
1/ Main Contents
– Complete abolition of 30 administrative procedures across 06 areas of state management of the Ministry of Public Security: The Decision officially eliminates completely 30 administrative procedures at all levels of competent authorities (Ministerial level, Provincial level, Communal level) to implement the plan on cutting down, decentralizing, and simplifying administrative procedures, as well as cutting down and simplifying business conditions. The affected areas include: issuance and management of identification; electronic identification and authentication; management of business lines subject to conditions on security and order; registration and management of seals; testing and issuance of driving licenses; and quality management of products and goods under the competence of the Ministry of Public Security.
(Legal Basis: Article 1 of Decision No. 2709/QĐ-BCA pursuant to Decree No. 02/2025/NĐ-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree No. 11/2025/NĐ-CP)).
– Abolition of a series of procedures regarding registration and management of seals and business lines subject to conditions on security and order: For the direct operations of enterprises, the document completely eliminates 06 procedures related to seals, including: registration of an additional seal (performed at the Ministerial level and Provincial level); registration of embossed seals, miniature seals, and wax seals (performed at the Ministerial level and Provincial level); and exchange or re-issuance of the Certificate of Seal Sample Registration (performed at the Ministerial level and Provincial level). Concurrently, it completely abolishes 03 procedures for the re-issuance of the Certificate of Satisfaction of Security and Order Conditions at all 3 levels, namely the Ministerial level, Provincial level, and Communal level.
(Legal Basis: Section 17, Section 18, Section 19, Section 20, Section 21, Section 22, Section 23, Section 24, Section 25 of the List issued together with Decision No. 2709/QĐ-BCA).
– Abolition of procedures for quality inspection of imported products and goods and driving test centers: It completely eliminates the procedure for Registration for state inspection of the quality of imported goods with the potential to cause insecurity under the management responsibility of the Ministry of Public Security performed at the Ministerial level. Along with that is the abolition of 03 procedures for the new issuance, amendment, supplementation, and re-issuance of decisions designating conformity assessment organizations for testing/inspection/verification/product certification activities, and the procedure for approval of the overall layout of the driving test ground of type 1 and type 2 driving test centers performed at the Ministerial level.
(Legal Basis: Section 26, Section 27, Section 28, Section 29, Section 30 of the List issued together with Decision No. 2709/QĐ-BCA).
– Abolition of the group of procedures regarding identification and electronic identification issued to individuals and organizations: The document eliminates 10 procedures regarding identification (including the collection and update of biometric information on DNA and voice into the Identification Database at the Ministerial level and Provincial level; integration, update, and adjustment of information on identification cards; and procedures for the issuance, exchange, and re-issuance of identification certificates or adjustment of information for persons of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not been determined). In parallel, it abolishes 06 procedures for the issuance of level 1 and level 2 electronic identification accounts to foreigners and Vietnamese citizens, and the issuance of electronic identification accounts to agencies and organizations at both the Ministerial level and Provincial level.
(Legal Basis: Section 1 to Section 16 of the List issued together with Decision No. 2709/QĐ-BCA).
2/ Greatest Impact
Decision No. 2709/QĐ-BCA brings an immensely major positive impact by drastically cutting administrative barriers in both the internal governance and international trade activities of enterprises. The complete abolition of procedures related to the registration of an additional secondary seal, the re-issuance of the security and order license, or the registration for quality inspection of group 2 imported goods helps enterprises maximize savings in time and legal compliance costs, and completely eliminates the previous manual “ask-and-give” mechanism. This enables enterprises to proactively manage production, accelerate the progress of introducing imported products into the market, and optimize the efficiency of administrative workflows.
3/ Risks of Non-Compliance
– Waste of time and operational costs: Due to failure to update new regulations, enterprises shall still allocate personnel and budgets to prepare application dossiers for abolished procedures, leading to rejection of acceptance by functional authorities, thereby unintentionally prolonging the timeframe for resolving internal work.
– Congestion in the import goods supply chain: If the Import-Export and Logistics Department fails to grasp the abolition of the state inspection procedure for the quality of imported goods under the Ministry of Public Security, it shall continue to struggle to find ways to submit dossiers, causing delays in the customs clearance stage and incurring substantial warehousing and yard costs.
– Financial exploitation by fraudulent entities: Enterprises lacking updated legal information are highly susceptible to approaches by disreputable service units or impersonators demanding payment for “facilitation fees” or service costs to resolve administrative procedures that have inherently been abolished.
– Outdated governance and internal control systems: If the Human Resources and Administration Department or the Legal Department fails to update this list, it shall continue to maintain erroneous internal control regulations and processes that are inappropriate for the administrative reality of 2026, thereby reducing the operational efficiency of the enterprise.
4/ Proposed Action Plan
– Legal Department & Administration Department: Immediately review and amend all internal processes and regulations related to the management, use, and generation of secondary seals or processes for the extension, exchange, or re-issuance of Certificates of Satisfaction of Security and Order Conditions of the enterprise to eliminate steps related to the Public Security organs.
– Import-Export Department & Logistics Department: Immediately notify freight forwarders and customs brokers of the abolition of the registration procedure for state inspection of the quality of imported goods under the Ministry of Public Security to update the direct customs clearance process, thereby optimizing the time for cargo release at border gates.
– Human Resources & Foreigner Management Department: Cease instructing personnel or foreign experts to perform procedures for the issuance of electronic identification accounts and integration of identification cards at Public Security organs under the old method, and switch to automatically exploiting online data according to the shared system of the Government.
– Board of Directors & Risk Management Department: Organize the rapid dissemination of the contents of Decision No. 2709/QĐ-BCA to department heads, thoroughly grasp the spirit of cutting administrative procedures, and strictly prohibit the payment of any costs for administrative procedure items that have been abolished.
5/ Notes and Recommendations
– Note on immediate effective application without a transitional period: Enterprises shall take special note that all 30 of these administrative procedures are abolished right from the date of signing the document, namely May 15, 2026. Any act of requiring enterprises to submit dossiers or delaying resolution by enforcement organs on the grounds of “waiting for guiding documents” with respect to these 30 procedures shall constitute a violation of legal regulations.
(Legal Basis: Article 2 of Decision No. 2709/QĐ-BCA).
– Note on the competence and implementation responsibility of local Public Security organs: This Decision applies compulsorily to all Heads of units under the Ministry and Directors of Public Security of provinces and centrally-run cities. When performing administrative transactions locally, if an enterprise encounters harassment or is compelled to perform procedures within the abolished list, the enterprise shall have a full and solid legal basis to exercise the right to administrative complaint.
