Circular No. 09/2026/TT-BNNMT on amendments to Circular No. 02/2022/TT-BTNMT on elaboration of Law on Environmental Protection amended by Circular No. 07/2025/TT-BTNMT and Circular No. 07/2025/TT-BNNMT

 

CIRCULAR

AMENDMENTS TO SOME ARTICLES OF CIRCULAR NO. 02/2022/TT-BTNMT DATED JANUARY 10, 2022 OF THE MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT ON ELABORATION OF LAW ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AMENDED BY CIRCUAL NO. 07/2025/TT-BTNMT DATED FEBRUARY 28, 2025 AND CIRCULAR NO. 07/2025/TT-BNNMT DATED JUNE 16, 2025

Pursuant to the Law on Environmental Protection No. 72/2020/QH14, amended by Law No. 11/2022/QH15, Law No. 16/2023/QH15, Law No. 18/2023/QH15, Law No. 47/2024/QH15, Law No. 54/2024/QH15, and Law No. 146/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Law on Promulgation of Legislative Documents No. 64/2025/QH15 amended by the Law No. 87/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP dated January 10, 2022 on elaboration of the Law on Environmental Protection amended by the Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP dated January 06, 2025 and the Decree No. 48/2026/ND-CP dated January 29, 2026;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 78/2025/ND-CP dated April 01, 2025 on elaboration and measures for organization and guidance on enforcement of the Law on Promulgation of Legislative Documents amended by the Decree No. 187/2025/ND-CP dated July 01, 2025;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 35/2025/ND-CP dated February 25, 2025 on functions, duties, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment;

 Pursuant to the Prime Minister’ Decision No. 21/2025/QD-TTg dated July 04, 2025 on environmental criteria and verification of investment projects under the green taxonomy;

At the request of the Director of Environment Department,

The Minister of Agriculture and Environment promulgates Circular on amendments to some articles of Circular No. 02/2022/TT-BTNMT dated January 10, 2022 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment on elaboration of Law on Environmental Protection amended by Circular No. 07/2025/TT-BTNMT dated February 28, 2025 and Circular No. 07/2025/TT-BNNMT dated June 16, 2025.

Article 1. Amendments

Article 1. “Article 1. Scope

This Circular elaborates a number of articles of Law on Environmental Protection amended by the Law on amendments to 15 Laws related to agriculture and environment, and the Government’s Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP dated January 10, 2022 on elaboration of the Law on Environmental Protection amended by the Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP dated January 06, 2025 and the Decree No. 48/2026/ND-CP dated January 29, 2026. To be specific:

1. Elaboration of  point a, clause 2 and point b, clause 3 of Article 8; clause 7 of Article 10; point a, clause 1 of Article 19; clause 2 of Article 24; clause 3 of Article 27; clause 2 of Article 32; clause 3 of Article 34; clause 5 of Article 40; clause 3 of Article 43; clause 9 of Article 49; clause 4 of Article 62; clause 8 of Article 67; clause 6 of Article 72; clause 2 of Article 76; clause 5 of Article 78; clause 5 of Article 79; clause 4 of Article 80; clause 4 of Article 81; clause 5 of Article 83; clause 4 of Article 84; clause 6 of Article 86; point b, clause 1 and point b, clause 2 of Article 115; clause 5 of Article 118; clause 5 of Article 119; clause 5 of Article 120; clause 7 of Article 126 and clause 6 of Article 148 of the Law on Environmental Protection amended by the Law on amendments to 15 Laws related to agriculture and environment.

2. Elaboration of point d, clause 2 of Article 15; point d, clause 2 of Article 16; clause 5 of Article 17; clause 3 of Article 18; clause 7 of Article 19; clause 2, point a of clause 6 and point a of clause 8 of Article 21; point b, clause 3 of Article 26; clause 16 of Article 30; clause 6, point b of clause 7, clause 11 and clause 12 of Article 31; clause 9 of Article 36; point a, clause 3 of Article 37; clause 5 of Article 40; clause 10 of Article 45; point b, clause 2 and point b, clause 3 of Article 54; point d, clause 2 of Article 58; point a and point c, clause 4 of Article 65; clause 1 and clause 3 of Article 66; clause 2 and clause 3 of Article 67; clause 2 of Article 69; clause 4 of Article 71; point c, clause 2 of Article 76; clause 1 of Article 80; point a, clause 3 of Article 81; clause 1 of Article 84; clause 5 of Article 93; clause 6 of Article 94; clause 6 and clause 8 of Article 96; point d, clause 4, point a, clause 6 and point c, clause 7 of Article 97; point c, clause 5, point a, clause 7 and point c, clause 8 of Article 98; clause 4 of Article 104; clause 6 of Article 105; clause 1 of Article 107; point a, clause 2 of Article 111; clause 4 of Article 125; clause 7 of Article 127; clause 1 of Article 145; clause 2 of Article 154; clause 6 of Article 147 and point b, clause 4 of Article 163; point d, clause 14 of Article 168 of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP, amended by Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP dated January 06, 2025 and Decree No. 48/2026/ND-CP dated January 29, 2026.”.

Article 2. Amendments to Article 5

“Article 5. Groundwater protection

1. The groundwater protection in the process of survey and extraction shall comply with regulations of Section 3 Chapter IV of the Circular No. 03/2024/TT-BTNMT dated May 16, 2024 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment amended by the Circular No. 06/2026/TT-BNNMT dated January 17, 2026.

2. The monitoring and supervision of quality of groundwater in the extraction process shall comply with regulations of the Government’s Decree No. 53/2024/ND- CP dated May 16, 2024 amended by the Decree No. 23/2026/ND-CP dated January 17, 2026.

3. Agencies, organizations, community, households and individuals that pollute the groundwater environment shall be responsible for the implementation of measures for management, treatment of wastewater, solid waste and other environmental protection measures for preventing pollutants from dispersing into the groundwater environment according to regulations on management and treatment of wastewater, solid waste and relevant laws.”.

Article 3. Amendments to Title and some clauses of Article 13

1. Title of Article 13 shall be amended as follows:

“Article 13. Organization and operation of council for appraisal of measures for environmental improvement and remediation in mineral mining”.

2. Clause 1 shall be amended as follows:

“1. The council for appraisal of measures for environmental improvement and remediation in mineral mining shall be responsible for providing advice for the head of the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser; responsible to the appraisal agency, the competent appraiser and the law for appraisal results.”.

3. Clause 4 shall be amended as follows:

“4. Council members participating in the official meeting of the appraisal council shall be responsible for writing written comments, using the Form No. 15, appraisal sheets, using Form No.16 Appendix II enclosed with this Circular and sending them to the council at the meeting. A council member who is absent in the official meeting may send written comments before the official meeting of the council. His/her comment shall be considered as the comment of a member who participates in the meeting but he/she does not write an appraisal sheet. Council members who are representatives of agencies and organizations, shall be responsible for commenting and assessing measures for environmental improvement and remediation for projects under their management.”.

4. Clause 6 shall be amended as follows:

“6. The chairperson, vice-chairperson (s) (if any) and the secretary of the appraisal council shall be civil servants of the appraisal agency or the specialized agency affiliated to the appraisal agency. The chairperson (or the vice-chairperson who is authorized by the chairperson in his/her absence) and the secretary shall be responsible for signing the minutes of the council meeting.”.

5. Clause 7 shall be amended as follows:

“7. Council members shall be responsible to the appraisal agency, the competent appraiser and the law for their comments and assessments of measures for environmental improvement and remediation; and entitled to receive meeting documents at least 03 days before the meeting and remuneration according to the regulations of the law.”.

Article 4. Addition of Article 13a after Article 13

 “Article 13a. Organization of appraisal of environmental impact assessment report (EIAR)

1. The appraisal agency or the competent appraiser shall organize appraisal of an EIAR through the following activities:

a) Reviewing the compliance of the project with regulations of the law on environmental protection;

b) Establishing an appraisal council, except for the case specified in point c of this clause;

c) Approving the list of experts to be consulted for appraisal of the special public investment project in accordance with the law on public investment;

d) Organizing on-site survey of the area where the project is implemented as prescribed in clause 4 of this Article;

dd) Collecting opinions from relevant agencies and organizations (if any);

e) Holding the appraisal council’s meeting or collecting experts’ opinions in the case specified in point c of this clause;

g) Giving written notification of appraisal results.

2. The time limit for organization of the appraisal of the EIAR begins from the date of receipt of a complete and valid application and is prescribed as follows

a) Regarding Group I investment projects as specified in clause 3 Article 28 of the Law on Environmental Protection, the appraisal of the EIAR shall be organized within 30 days;

b) Regarding Group II investment projects as specified in points c, d, dd and e clause 4 Article 28 of the Law on Environmental Protection, the appraisal of the EIAR shall be organized within 20 days.

c) Regarding projects appraised by the form specified in point c clause 1 of this Article, the appraisal of the EIAR shall be organized within 10 days;

d) Within the time limit specified in point a, b or c of this clause, the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser shall be responsible for giving written notification to the investment project owner of the appraisal result in accordance with point g clause 1 of this Article.

3.  Contents of appraisal of the EIAR are composed of:

a) Conformity with environmental protection planning, environmental protection contents included in regional planning, provincial planning in case the project is not required to undergo preliminary environmental impact assessment; and compliance with regulations of law on environmental protection;

b)  Conformity of the EIA method; methods of assessment of impacts on river and lake bed, bank and terrace (regarding projects required to undergo assessment of impacts on river and lake bed, bank and terrace in accordance with the law on water resources) (if any); other methods adopted (if any);

c)  Conformity of result of identification of technology, work items or activities likely to result in adverse environmental impacts; work items or activities likely to result in impacts on river and lake bed, bank and terrace (regarding projects required to undergo assessment of impacts on river and lake bed, bank and terrace in accordance with the law on water resources) (if any); encroachment on rivers, streams, canals or ditches against which there are remedial measures (without hindering flood drainage and water flow, extraction and use of water) in accordance with the law on water resources (if any);

d)  Conformity of result of assessment of state of the environment and biodiversity; state of identification of the affected river and lake bed, bank and terrace (regarding projects required to undergo assessment of impacts on river and lake bed, bank and terrace in accordance with the law on water resources) (if any)); state of the encroached rivers, streams, canals or ditches (if any); identification of affected subjects and sensitive environmental factor at the project location (if any);

dd)  Conformity of result of identification and prediction of major environmental impacts and waste generated from the investment project; impacts on river and lake bed, bank and terrace (regarding projects required to undergo assessment of impacts on river and lake bed, bank and terrace in accordance with the law on water resources) (if any); impacts of encroachment on rivers, streams, canals or ditches against which there are remedial measures (without hindering flood drainage and water flow, extraction and use of water) in accordance with the law on water resources (if any); prediction of environmental emergencies; prediction of emergencies arising from impacts on river and lake bed, bank and terrace (regarding projects required to undergo assessment of impacts on river and lake bed, bank and terrace in accordance with the law on water resources) (if any); prediction of emergencies arising from impacts of encroachment on rivers, streams, canals or ditches against which there are remedial measures (without hindering flood drainage and water flow, extraction and use of water) in accordance with the law on water resources (if any);

e) Conformity and feasibility of environmental protection works and measures; environmental improvement and remediation measures (if any); biodiversity offsetting plan (if any); plans, requirements and conditions for protection, prevention and control of river and lake channel, bank and terrace erosion (regarding projects required to undergo assessment of impacts on river and lake bed, bank and terrace in accordance with the law on water resources) (if any)); remedial measures against encroachment on rivers, streams, canals or ditches in accordance with the law on water resources (if any) (without hindering flood drainage and water flow, extraction and use of water); environmental emergency prevention and response scheme; scheme for preventing and responding to emergencies arising from impacts on river and lake bed, bank and terrace (regarding projects required to undergo assessment of impacts on river and lake bed, bank and terrace in accordance with the law on water resources) (if any); scheme for preventing and responding to emergencies arising from encroachment on rivers, streams, canals or ditches in accordance with the law on water resources (if any);

g) Conformity of an investment project satisfying environmental criteria as prescribed to be certified as an investment project under the green taxonomy (in case of applying for certification of investment project under the green taxonomy in accordance with the Decision No. 21/2025/QD-TTg dated July 04, 2025 of the Prime Minister);

h) Conformity of the environmental management and supervision program; adequacy and feasibility of environmental commitments made by the investment project owner.

4. The on-site survey of the area where the project is implemented is conducted as follows:

a) The appraisal agency, or the specialized agency affiliated to the appraisal agency, or the specialized agency assigned by the competent appraiser shall organize on-site survey of the area where the project is expected to be implemented, except for the cases specified in point b and point c of this clause;

b) Regarding investment projects in dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters, appraised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the appraisal agency does not organize the on-site survey but must request in writing the Management Board of dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision (regarding investment projects in dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision) or the People’s Committee of commune (regarding investment projects in industrial clusters) where the project is implemented to provide information in writing or directly at the council meeting on state of the area where the project is implemented;

c) Projects on which on-site surveys are not organized include public investment projects in accordance with the law on public investment; offshore crude oil and natural gas extraction projects; telecommunications infrastructure or power transmission line construction projects; projects implemented in areas where epidemics, natural disasters, or abnormal weather phenomena occur during the appraisal period; and other projects as considered and decided by the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser.

5. The appraisal agency or the competent appraiser shall consider appraisal results provided by the appraisal council, or opinions given by experts and relevant agencies and organizations (if any) to serve as a basis for issuance of a written notification of appraisal results of the investment project’s EIAR, except for the case where the appraisal council or all experts (in the form of collection of expert opinions) approve the EIAR without requiring any revisions.

6. The application for appraisal of the EIAR shall be received in person, by post, or electronically through the online public service system;

7. The application for appraisal of the EIAR includes:

a) An application form for appraisal of the EIAR;

b) The investment project’s EIAR.”.

Article 5. Addition of Article 13b after Article 13a

 “Article 13b. Organization of appraisal of environmental impact assessment report (EIAR) in the form of establishment of appraisal council

1. The council for appraisal of EIAR shall be responsible for providing advice for the head of the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser; responsible to the appraisal agency, the competent appraiser and the law for appraisal results.

2. The appraisal agency or the competent appraiser shall issue a decision to establish an appraisal council; then send the establishment decision enclosed with the EIAR to each council member. The appraisal council is composed of chairperson, vice-chairperson (s) (if any), secretary, 02 reviewers and other members. The chairperson, vice-chairperson (s) (if any) and the secretary of the appraisal council shall be civil servants of the appraisal agency or the specialized agency affiliated to the appraisal agency. The chairperson (or the vice-chairperson who is authorized by the chairperson in his/her absence) and the secretary shall be responsible for signing the minutes of the council meeting.

3. An expert who is a council member must have expertise in environment or other fields related to the investment project. The expert who participated in assessment of environmental impacts of the investment project must not participate in the appraisal council for such project’s EIAR.

4. Delegates participating in the appraisal council meeting shall be decided by the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser in necessary cases. Such delegates are entitled to express their opinions during the council meeting, shall be subject to the direction by the chairperson, and are entitled to receive remuneration as prescribed by law.

5. The official meeting of the appraisal council shall only be held if the following conditions are fully satisfied:

a) There must be at least 2/3 (two thirds) of total council members participating in the meeting (online or offline), including the chairperson or the authorized vice-chairperson (s) (hereinafter referred to as “the chair”), a secretary and at least 01 reviewer;

b) There must be the competent representative of the investment project owner;

c) The investment project owner has paid fee for appraisal of the EIAR as per law.

6. The appraisal council shall work on the principle of public discussion among the council members, or with the investment project owner in the form of official meeting or thematic meeting according to the Chair’s decision, if necessary. Council members who are representatives of agencies or organizations shall submit written documents on appointment prepared by such authorities and organizations.

If the investment project discharges wastewater into a hydraulic structure under the management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the appraisal council must include representatives of its affiliates advising state management of irrigation.

If the investment project discharges wastewater into a hydraulic structure under the management of the local government, the appraisal council must include representative of an agriculture and environment agency under the provincial People’s Committee.

7. Council members participating in the official meeting of the appraisal council shall be responsible for writing written comments, using the Form No. 06, appraisal sheets, using Form No.07 Appendix II enclosed with this Circular and sending them to the council at the meeting. A council member who is absent in the official meeting may send written comments before the official meeting of the council. His/her comment shall be considered as the comment of a member who participates in the meeting but he/she does not write an appraisal sheet. Council members who are representatives of agencies and organizations, shall be responsible for commenting and assessing the EIAR of the investment project under their management.

If the investment project discharges wastewater into a hydraulic structure, the written opinions provided by council members who are representatives of affiliates advising state management of irrigation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, or the representative of the agriculture and environment agency under the provincial People’s Committee, must clearly state their agreement or disagreement on the discharge of wastewater into hydraulic structure. In case of disagreement, the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser shall collect opinions from the aforementioned units to obtain their agreement or disagreement on the wastewater discharge before approving the result of appraisal of the investment project’s EIAR, in accordance with Article 16 of this Circular.

8. Council members shall be responsible to the appraisal agency, the competent appraiser and the law for their comments and assessments of the EIAR; and entitled to receive the EIAR at least 03 days before the meeting and remuneration according to the regulations of the law.

9. The appraisal result provided by the appraisal council shall be prescribed as follows:

a) Approval without revisions: All appraisal sheets written by council members shall be approved without revisions

b) No approval: At least 1/3 (one third) of appraisal sheets of council members are not approved;

c) Approval with revisions: other cases that are not specified in points a, b of this clause.”.

Article 6. Addition of Article 13c after Article 13b

 “Article 13c. Organization of appraisal of environmental impact assessment report (EIAR) in the form of collection of experts’ opinions

1. The appraisal agency or the competent appraiser shall issue a decision to approve the list of experts whose opinions are collected for appraisal (respondents), including at least 03 experts as prescribed in Form No. 03a, Appendix II issued together with this Circular. Such respondents must satisfy the requirements specified in clause 3, Article 13b of this Circular.

2. Each respondent is responsible for writing a written comment in accordance with Form No. 06, Appendix II enclosed with this Circular (which must clearly state one of the three results: approval without revisions; approval with revisions; or no approval) and submitting it to the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser within 03 days from the date of receipt of the EIAR. The respondent shall be responsible to the appraisal agency, the competent appraiser and the law for their comments and assessments of the EIAR; and entitled to receive remuneration according to the regulations of the law. The respondent must meet regulations in clause 3 Article 13b of this Circular.

3. The EIAR will be appraised in the form of collection of experts’ opinions, provided that at least two-thirds (2/3) of total number of respondents have written their comments and sent them to the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser as prescribed in clause 2 of this Article. The appraisal result is regulated as follows

a) Approval without revisions: All respondents’ written comments shall be approved without revisions;

b) No approval: At least 1/3 (one third) of written comments of respondents are not approved;

c) Approval with revisions: other cases that are not specified in points a, b of this clause.”.

Article 7. Addition of Article 13d after Article 13c

 “Article 13d. Approval of result of appraisal of environmental impact assessment report (EIAR)

1. The appraisal agency or the competent appraiser shall issue a decision to approve the result of appraisal of the EIAR in case the appraisal result is approved without revisions within 07 days from the date of organization of the appraisal council meeting or from the date of termination of the collection of experts’ opinions.

2. Within 12 months from the effective date of the written notification of the appraisal result which is approved with revisions, the investment project owner is responsible for resubmitting the revised EIAR at the request of the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser, for the approval of the result of appraisal of EIAR. After the aforementioned deadline, the investment project owner must conduct a new environmental impact assessment and request re-appraisal in accordance with Article 13a of this Circular.

3. Within 15 days from the date of receipt of the revised EIAR submitted by the investment project owner, the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser shall issue a decision to approve the result of appraisal of the project’s EIAR; in case of disapproval, a written response clearly stating the reasons must be sent to the investment project owner.

4. Regarding a project required to undergo assessment of impacts on river and lake bed, bank and terrace or involved in encroachment on rivers, streams, canals or ditches that is not prohibited in accordance with the law on water resources, the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser shall direct the collection of internal opinions from agencies/units advising state management of water resources on measures to mitigate risks of instability to river and lake bed, bank and terrace, or impacts of encroachment on rivers, streams, canals or ditches as proposed by the project owner, to serve as a basis for consideration of approval of the result of appraisal of the project’s EIAR.

5. The result of processing administrative procedures for approval of the result of appraisal of the EIAR shall be returned in person, by post, or electronically through the online public service system.

Article 8. Amendments to Article 16

“Article 16. Collection of opinions for approval of result of appraisal of EIAR for investment project discharging wastewater into a hydraulic structure

1. The investment project owner is responsible for consulting with the irrigation agency on a project discharging wastewater into a hydraulic structure during the environmental impact assessment process, in accordance with the Government’s regulations.

In case the irrigation agency agrees in writing with the investment project owner on discharge of wastewater into hydraulic structure and information on the hydraulic structure receiving wastewater, discharge location, maximum discharge flow and applicable standards are available; or if, during the official meeting of the appraisal council, representatives of affiliates to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, advising state management of irrigation, or the agriculture and environment agency affiliated to the provincial People’s Committee, have agreed on wastewater discharge in accordance with clause 7, Article 13b of this Circular, the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser is not required to re-collect opinions during the process of approval of result of appraisal of the project’s EIAR.

2. In case the appraisal agency is also the irrigation agency, the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser shall direct collection of internal opinions among these agencies to reach an agreement or disagreement on discharge of wastewater into the hydraulic structure.

3. In case the appraisal agency is not the irrigation agency, the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser shall collect written opinions from the irrigation agency on agreement or disagreement on the project’s discharge of wastewater into the hydraulic structure before approving the appraisal result.

Within 03 days from the date of receipt of a written request for provision of opinions from the appraisal agency or the competent appraiser, the irrigation agency shall be responsible for providing a written opinion on agreement or disagreement on the discharge of wastewater into hydraulic structure; if no written opinion is provided by the prescribed deadline, it shall be deemed as agreement. The written request for provision of opinions and the written opinion shall comply with Form No. 04b and Form No. 04c, Appendix II enclosed with this Circular,”.

Article 9. Addition of Article 18a after Article 18b

 Article 18a. Main contents of report on proposal for issuance of environmental license

1. Main contents of a report on proposal for issuance of the environmental license with respect to the investment project to which the decision on approval of result of appraisal of EIAR has been issued include:

a)  General information about the investment project: names of the project and project owner; location of the project; type of production, business or service of the project; current use of land by the project; investment registration certificate (if any), enterprise registration certificate (if any) of the project owner; types of environment-related licenses, project approval, decision on approval of result of appraisal of the project’s EIAR and document about changes (if any); project execution process; scale (classified according to the criteria prescribed by regulations of law on public investment), production capacity, production technology, products (if any), amount of electricity, source and amount of water used, wastewater receiving body, raw materials, fuels, materials, scrap and chemicals used and other information relating to the project; works, work items which continue to be constructed after being issued with the environmental license (if any); assessment of applying for certification of investment project under the green taxonomy;

b) Conformity of the investment project with the environmental protection planning, provincial planning, environmental zoning and environmental carrying capacity under the competent authority’s decision as specified in point c clause 1 Article 42 of the Law on Environmental Protection (if any);

c) Results of completion of environmental protection works and measures (works transferred and accepted between the investment project owner, contractor and construction supervision unit in accordance with regulations of law on construction) (except for the case specified in clause 10 Article 18b of this Circular)): works and equipment for collecting and treating wastewater, dust and emissions; works for storing and treating normal industrial solid waste, domestic solid waste and hazardous waste; works and measures for minimizing noise and vibration; works and measures for environmental emergency prevention and response during trial and official operation and other environmental protection works. Primary information, including: scale, capacity and operation process; chemicals and biological preparations used for waste treatment; chemicals and catalysts used to treat dust and emissions; systems and equipment for synchronous and packaged waste treatment, automatic and continuous monitoring equipment (if installation thereof is required) and other treatment equipment; basic specifications; environmental standards and technical regulations applied; waste generated, including: weight and type of waste (listing each waste code).

For a project on investment in centralized solid waste treatment and hazardous waste treatment, specify the works, equipment and vehicles for collecting and treating waste.

For an investment project that uses scrap imported from a foreign country as raw materials for production in conformity with the decision on approval of the EIAR appraisal result, explicitly specify the conditions concerning warehouses and yards for scrap storage; recycling equipment system; impurity treatment scheme; scheme for re-export of scrap that fails to satisfy technical regulations on scrap imported from a foreign country as raw materials for production; measure, plan, and roadmap for reducing the percentage of scrap imported from a foreign country as raw materials for production;

d) Plan, schedule and result of implementation of environmental improvement and remediation measures; biodiversity offsetting plan (if any);

dd) Change(s) to the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result (if any) enclosed with environmental impacts of such change(s) in case such change(s) increase(s) adverse impacts on the environment but not to an extent that EIA is required;

e) Items to be licensed as specified in clause 2 Article 40 of the Law on Environmental Protection;

g) Plan and expected time for trial operation of waste treatment works enclosed with a waste monitoring plan intended to assess efficiency of the works; plan to prevent and respond to environmental emergencies during trial operation and when the project is put into operation;

h) Waste monitoring program (automatic, continuous and periodic) prescribed by law and other environmental protection contents (if any);

i) Explanation of the investment project satisfying environmental criteria as prescribed to be certified as an investment project under the green taxonomy (in case of applying for certification of investment project under the green taxonomy in accordance with the Decision No. 21/2025/QD-TTg).

2. Main contents of a report on proposal for issuance of the environmental license with respect to the investment project not required to undergo environmental impact assessment include:

a)  General information about the investment project: names of the project and project owner; location of the project; type of production, business or service of the project; current use of land by the project; investment registration certificate (if any), enterprise registration certificate (if any) of the project owner; types of environment-related licenses, project approval, construction investment decision regarding the construction investment project (not required for group III investment projects), if any; scale (classified according to the criteria prescribed by regulations of law on public investment), production capacity, production technology, products, amount of electricity, source and amount of water used, wastewater receiving body, raw materials, fuels, materials, scrap and chemicals used and other information relating to the project; assessment of applying for certification of the investment project under the green taxonomy;

b) Conformity of the investment project with the environmental protection planning, provincial planning, environmental zoning and environmental carrying capacity under the competent authority’s decision as specified in point c clause 1 Article 42 of the Law on Environmental Protection (if any);

c) Assessment of state of environment in the area where the investment project is located regarding the group II investment project (except for investment projects located in dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters); assessment of selected production and waste treatment technologies and other selected environmental protection works; assessment and prediction of impacts of waste sources, noise and vibration; assessment and prediction of investment project’s impacts (if any) on biodiversity and natural heritage sites, sources of water for hydraulic structures (if any), flow, landslide, sedimentation, saltwater intrusion (if any).

Regarding a group III investment project: description of state of environment in the area where the investment project is located (except for investment projects located in dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters); description of production technologies proposed to be selected;

d)  Proposed plan and measures for waste treatment enclosed with a description and alternative for construction design (fundamental design or construction drawing design (if the project only requires one single design step) of environmental protection works, systems, equipment for synchronous and packaged waste treatment, automatic and continuous monitoring equipment (if installation thereof is required) and other treatment equipment; plan for environmental emergency prevention and response during trial and official operation; plan for construction, installation, operation, maintenance and management of discharge items and waste treatment works, enclosed with an estimate of costs of construction of works; waste generated, including: weight and type of waste (listing each waste code);

dd) Specific environmental protection contents (for group II investment projects): for a project on investment in mineral mining or waste burial, the proposal report must contain an environmental improvement and remediation plan. For an investment project involving the renovation of river/lake channel, bank or terrace, construction of hydraulic structure or exploitation of sand, gravel, and other minerals on river/lake or water source protection corridor which poses a risk of destabilizing river/lake channel, bank or terrace or water source protection corridor, the proposal report must include contents of assessment of the impacts and plan to protect, prevent and control river/lake channel, bank or terrace erosion, etc. For an investment project that causes biodiversity loss or decline, the proposal report must include a biodiversity offsets scheme (if any);

e) Items to be licensed as specified in clause 2 Article 40 of the Law on Environmental Protection;

g) Plan and expected time for trial operation of waste treatment works enclosed with a waste monitoring plan intended to assess efficiency of the works; plan to prevent and respond to environmental emergencies during trial operation and when the project is put into operation;

h) Waste monitoring program (automatic, continuous and periodic) prescribed by law and other environmental protection contents (if any);

i) Explanation of the investment project satisfying environmental criteria as prescribed to be certified as an investment project under the green taxonomy (in case of applying for certification of investment project under the green taxonomy in accordance with the Decision No. 21/2025/QD-TTg).

3. Main contents of a report on proposal for issuance of environmental license to an operating business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision, industrial cluster, expansion investment project of the operating business or dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision, industrial cluster or operating phased project (hereinafter referred to as “business upon considering issuance of an environmental license”) and the project/business specified in point c, d clause 14 and point a clause 15 Article 168 of the Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP, amended by the Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP and the Decree No. 48/2026/ND-CP include:

a)  General information about the business: name and owner of the business; operating location; type of production, business or service; current use of land by the business; document about appraisal of the construction design, environment-related licenses and project approval (if any); decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result and component environmental license (if any); scale (classified according to the criteria prescribed by regulations of law on public investment); production capacity, production technology, products (if any), amount of electricity, source and amount of water used, receiving body of wastewater, raw materials, fuels, materials, scrap and chemicals used and other information related to the business; works or work items that generate waste and environmental protection works which continue to be constructed after being issued with the environmental license (if any); assessment of applying for certification of investment project under the green taxonomy;

b) Conformity of the business with the environmental protection planning, provincial planning, environmental zoning and environmental carrying capacity under the competent authority’s decision as specified in point c clause 1 Article 42 of the Law on Environmental Protection (if any);

c) Waste generated, including: weight and type of solid waste; flow rate and pollution parameters of dusts, emissions, noise and vibration; flow rate and pollution parameters of wastewater, receiving bodies of wastewater; environmental protection works and measures completed as prescribed in point c clause 1 of this Article.

For a centralized solid waste treatment and hazardous waste treatment facility, specify the works, equipment and vehicles for collecting and treating waste.

For a business that wishes to use imported scrap from a foreign country as raw materials for production in conformity with the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result (or a document equivalent to the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result, including the dossier enclosed with the equivalent document according to the provisions of law), it is required to explicitly specify the conditions concerning warehouses and yards for imported and domestic scrap storage (if any); recycling equipment; impurity treatment scheme; scheme for re-export of scrap that fails to satisfy technical regulations on scrap imported from a foreign country as raw materials for production; measure, plan, and roadmap for reducing the percentage of scrap imported from a foreign country as raw materials for production;

d) Plan, schedule and result of implementation of the environmental remediation and improvement, biodiversity offsets scheme (if any) with respect to a business that satisfies the environmental criteria equivalent to group I or group II investment project;

dd) Change(s) to the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result, component environmental license or environmental license (if any) enclosed with environmental impacts of such change(s) in case such change(s) increase(s) adverse impacts on the environment but not to an extent that EIA is required;

e) Items to be licensed as specified in clause 2 Article 40 of the Law on Environmental Protection;

g) Results of environmental monitoring carried out in the 02 previous years (for a business that satisfies the environmental criteria equivalent to group I or group II investment project), 01 previous year (for a business that satisfies the environmental criteria equivalent to group III investment project) in the case where waste monitoring is required as prescribed or result of additional waste sample monitoring specified in Article 20 of this Circular in the case where waste monitoring is not required as prescribed;

h) Plan and expected time for trial operation of waste treatment works (if there is any waste treatment work required to undergo trial operation) enclosed with a waste monitoring plan intended to assess efficiency of the works; plan to prevent and respond to environmental emergencies during the business’ operation;

i) Latest results of examination, inspection and handling of violations against regulations on environment given by the competent authority, enclosed with decisions and conclusions (if any);

k) Waste monitoring program (automatic, continuous and periodic) prescribed by law and other environmental protection contents (if any);

l) Explanation of the investment project satisfying environmental criteria as prescribed to be certified as an investment project under the green taxonomy (in case of applying for certification of investment project under the green taxonomy in accordance with the Decision No. 21/2025/QD-TTg).

4. Legal documents and technical dossiers cited in the report on proposal for issuance/revision/re-issuance of environmental license and used to prove legality and techniques are not required to be attached to the application, but the investment project owner or the business shall be held responsible for the legality, reliability, accuracy, and truthfulness in accordance with the law. The investment project owner or the business is responsible for providing these documents and dossiers during the appraisal council’s meeting or for the inspectorate for the environmental license when requested.”.

Article 10. Addition of Article 18b after Article 18a

 “Article 18b.  Applications and procedures for issuing environmental licenses

1. Application for issuance of an environmental license includes:

a) Application form for issuance of the environmental license;

b) Report on the proposal for issuance of the environmental license;

c) Copy of the feasibility study report or document equivalent to the feasibility study report of the investment project or expansion investment project in accordance with regulations of laws on investment, public investment, PPP investment and construction, except for the case where the investment project/the business to which the decision on approval of result of appraisal of EIAR has been issued.

2. Time of submission of the application for issuance of environmental license is prescribed as follows:

a) The owner of the investment project (including the expansion investment project of the operating business; operating staged project) subject to EIA shall submit an application for issuance of environmental license after completing the entire project or investment phase of the project (if the project is divided into investment phases) or any work or work item that generates waste and attached environmental protection works;

b) The owner of the investment project (including the expansion investment project of the operating business) not subject to EIA shall decide the time of submission after having sufficient applications prescribed in clause 1 of this Article; In case there are prescribed environment-related procedures applicable to an ongoing project, the investment project owner must submit an application for issuance of environmental license before it is put into operation;

c) The business owner shall decide when to apply for the environmental license as long as the environmental license is issued in accordance with the Law on Environmental Protection and this Circular at least 32 days in advance if the environmental license is issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and 30 days in advance if the environmental license is issued by the Chairperson of provincial People’s Committee before the date on which the environmental license has to be obtained.

3. Except for the cases specified in clauses 8 and 10 of this Article, the time limit for issuance of the environmental license begins from the date of receipt of the complete and valid application and is prescribed as follows:

a) If the environmental license is issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the time limit shall not exceed 32 days;

b) If the environmental license is issued by the Chairperson of provincial People’s Committee, the time limit shall not exceed 30 days.

4. The investment project owner or business owner shall submit an application for issuance of environmental license in person, by post or electronically through the online public service system and pay fees for application appraisal as prescribed.

5. Except for the cases specified in clauses 8, 9 and 10 of this Article, within 07 days from the date of receipt of the complete and valid application, the licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall:

a) publicize contents of the report on proposal for issuance of environmental license on the website of the licensing authority or authority authorized the competent license issuer, except for information classified as state secrets or enterprise’s secrets as prescribed by law; the time limit for publicizing the report on proposal for issuance of environmental license is at least 10 days from the date of publicization;

b) Regarding an investment project that directly discharges at least 10/000 m³ of wastewater (except for heat exchanging water, aquaculture water) per day (24 hours) into an inter-provincial river or lake or a river or lake bordering provinces or directly discharges wastewater into coastal sea, the licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall consult with the People’s Committee of province having the inter-provincial river or lake, bordering river or lake or coastal sea of the bordering province to cooperate in dealing with environmental protection issues in the region, except where the investment project has been issued with the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result and does not change the contents related to wastewater discharge specified in the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result. The enquired provincial People’s Committee shall give a written response within 03 days from the receipt of the enquiry. If such time limit expires and a written response fails to be given, it is considered that such body agrees to the licensing.

Regarding an investment project that directly discharges at least 10.000 m³ of wastewater (except for equipment cooling water, aquaculture water) per day (24 hours) or at least 200.000 m³ of dust or emissions per hour, the licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall consult with a specialized organization about the calculation results given by the pollutant dispersion model or environmental emergency (if any), except where the investment project has been issued with the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result and does not change the contents related to wastewater, dust or emission discharge specified in the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result. The enquired specialized organization shall give a written response within 10 days from the receipt of the enquiry. If such time limit expires and a written response fails to be given, it is considered that such body agrees to the calculation results;

c) The application for issuance of environmental license is appraised as follows:

In the case where the investment project has been issued with the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal and there is not any change to the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result or there is a change other than that specified in point b clause 4 Article 37 of the Law on Environmental Protection but not to an extent that EIAR has to be made, the licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall establish an appraisal council and shall not carry out a site inspection.

Regarding an investment project not required to undergo environmental impact assessment, the licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall establish an appraisal council and shall not conduct on-site survey.

In the case where the business or investment project has been issued with the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result and there is a change to the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result according to point b clause 4 Article 37 of the Law on Environmental Protection but not to an extent that EIAR has to be made, the licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall establish an inspectorate.

The inspectorate and appraisal council shall each be composed of at least 07 members if the environmental license is issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment; the appraisal council and inspectorate shall each be composed of at least 05 members if the environmental license is issued by the Chairperson of provincial People’s Committee, including the council’s chairperson (or inspectorate’s chief) who is a representative of the appraising authority or specialized authority which is authorized or assigned tasks.

The appraisal council and inspectorate shall each be composed of 01 chairperson or chief; 01 vice chairperson or deputy chief if necessary; 01 secretary; representatives of authorities and organizations concerned; representative of economic zone, industrial park, export-processing zone or hi-tech zone management board of a province/city (if any); experts and officials in the field of environmental protection and operating field of the investment project or business.

Every member of the appraisal council or inspectorate shall examine the application for issuance of environmental license, make remarks about the contents specified in Article 40 of the Law on Environmental Protection and certification of the investment project under the green taxonomy (in case of certification of investment project under the green taxonomy in accordance with the Decision No. 21/2025/QD-TTg) and take legal responsibility for their remarks to the licensing authority, the competent license issuer and the law.

6. According to the appraisal result of the appraisal council or result of the inspectorate, the licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall consider issuing environmental license to the investment project or business in case of eligibility to be issued with environmental license or send a notification of return of application to the project or business owner specifying reasons for ineligibility to be issued with environmental license.

If the application needs revising to have sufficient grounds for issuing license, the licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall send a notification to the project/business owner clearly specifying the revisions.  The licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall not request the project or business owner to perform tasks other than those specified in the notification. Response (final result or necessary revisions) must be provided within the licensing time limit as prescribed.

Within 12 months from the receipt of the written request for revision from the licensing authority or the competent license issuer, the investment project owner or business owner shall complete and submit the application for issuance of environmental license to the licensing authority or the competent license issuer in order to obtain the environmental license by the prescribed deadline. After this deadline, the licensing shall follow procedures specified in this Article.

7. Except for the case specified in clause 8 of this Article, within 15 days if the environmental license is issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, and 10 days if the environmental license is issued by the Chairperson of provincial People’s Committee, from the receipt of the revised application for issuance of environmental license (in case where the application has to be revised as requested by the licensing authority or the competent license issuer), the licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall consider issuing the environmental license to the investment project or business; in case of failure to issue the environmental license, a written response specifying reasons therefor shall be given to the project/business owner.

8. The receipt of application and return of results shall be carried out online via the online public service system of the licensing authority or the authority authorized by the competent license issuer within 15 days from the receipt of the valid application with respect to a project not required to undergo trial operation of the waste treatment work. The online receipt of application and return of results specified in this clause shall be only carried out at the investment project owner’s request.

9. The appraisal of application for issuance of environmental license in the case specified in clause 8 of this Article shall be carried out through the appraisal council established by the licensing authority with no more than 05 members if the environmental license is issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment; no more than 03 members if the environmental license is issued by the Chairperson of provincial People’s Committee. The licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall not carry out an on-site inspection. The time limit for seeking opinions of the authorities and organizations specified in point b clause 5 of this Article is 03 days from the receipt of the enquiry. The time limit within which the licensing authority or the competent license issuer considers issuing environmental license to the investment project or gives a written response to the project owner specifying reasons for failure to issue environmental license is 05 days.

10. Regarding a special public investment project in accordance with the law on public investment, the simplified procedures for issuance of environmental license shall be followed as follows:

a) The investment project owner shall submit an application for issuance of environmental license as prescribed in clause 1 and clause 4 of this Article after completion of the work or work item that generates waste, and environmental protection works;

b) Within 05 days from the date of receipt of the complete and valid application, the licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall send a written request for opinions to at least 03 experts (respondents) (the priority shall be given to those who participated in the appraisal of the EIAR);

c) Each respondent is responsible for writing a written comment in accordance with Form No. 30, Appendix II enclosed with this Circular (which must clearly state one of the three results: approval without requirements or conditions; approval with requirements or conditions; or no approval) and submitting it to the licensing authority or the competent license issuer within 03 days from the date of receipt of the application. The respondent shall be responsible to the licensing authority or the competent license issuer and the law for their comments and assessments of the application; and entitled to receive remuneration according to the regulations of the law;

d) The application for issuance of environmental license will be appraised in the form of collection of experts’ opinions, provided that at least two-thirds (2/3) of total number of experts have written their comments and sent them to the licensing authority or the competent license issuer as prescribed in point c of this clause;

dd) If at least 2/3 (two-thirds) of total number of experts approve the application (including attached requirements and conditions, if any), within 05 days from the date of receipt of opinions from experts, the licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall issue the environmental license as prescribed.”.

Article 11. Addition of Article 18c after Article 18b

 “Article 18c.  Applications and procedures for revision or re-issuance of environmental licenses

1. An application for revision or re-issuance of an environmental license includes:

a) An application form for revision or re-issuance of the environmental license;

b) Report on the proposal for revision or re-issuance of the environmental license.

2. The environmental license shall be revised within 15 days from the date of receipt of the application form for revision from the investment project/business owner. If the application for revision to the environmental license is not complete and valid, the licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall send a written notification of return of the application to the investment project/business owner, specifying reasons.

3. The re-issuance of the environmental license shall follow procedures specified in clauses 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7, Article 18b of this Circular. The time limit for the re-issuance of the environmental license begins from the date of receipt of the complete and valid application and is prescribed in point a or b, clause 3, Article 18b of this Circular.

4. The investment project/business owner shall submit an application for revision or re-issuance of the environmental license to the licensing authority or the competent license issuer electronically through the online public service system (the wholly online public service system in case of revision to the environmental license), in person, or by post and shall pay fees for application appraisal as prescribed; the licensing authority or the competent license issuer shall be responsible for receiving and checking the completeness and validity of the application.

5. Documents submitted electronically via the online public service system specified in this Circular shall be electronic copies from master registers; electronic certified true copies of the originals.”.

Article 12. Amendments to Article 19

“Article 19. Forms of documents used for issuance of environmental license and revocation of environmental license and on-site inspection of trial operation of waste treatment works

1. Decision on establishment of appraisal council responsible for appraising application for issuance/re-issuance of an environmental license to an investment project according to regulations of Form No. 22, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

2. Application form for issuance/revision/re-issuance of an environmental license to an investment project/business as prescribed in Form No. 22a Appendix II issued together with this Circular

3. Report on the proposal for issuance of an environmental license to an investment project issued with the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result before putting into trial operation as prescribed in Form No. 22b, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

4. Report on the proposal for issuance/re-issuance of an environmental license to a group II investment project not subject to EIA or a group III investment project as prescribed in Form No. 22c, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

5. Report on the proposal for issuance/re-issuance of an environmental license to an operating business as prescribed in Form No. 22d Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

6. Report on proposal for revision to an environmental license issued to an investment project/business as prescribed in Form No. 22dd Appendix II issued together with this Circular

7. Decision on establishment of inspectorate responsible for inspecting application for issuance/re-issuance of an environmental license to an investment project according to regulations of Form No. 24, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

8. Meeting minutes of appraisal council responsible for appraising application for issuance/re-issuance of an environmental license to an investment project according to regulations of Form No. 28, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

9. Record of inspection of issuance/re-issuance of an environmental license to an investment project/business according to regulations of Form No. 29, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

10. Written comments of members of appraisal council responsible for appraising application for issuance/re-issuance of an environmental license to an investment project according to regulations of Form No. 30, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

11. Appraisal sheets of members of appraisal council responsible for appraising application for issuance/re-issuance of an environmental license to an investment project according to regulations of Form No. 31, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

12. Written comments of members of inspectorate responsible for inspecting application for issuance/re-issuance of an environmental license to an investment project/business according to regulations of Form No. 32, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

13. Written notification of completion or return of an application for issuance/revision/re-issuance of environmental license to an investment project/business according to regulations of Form No. 33, Appendix II issued with this Circular.

14. Written notification made the licensing authority of the revision to type and weight of hazardous waste allowed to be treated or weight of scrap allowed to be imported as production materials specified in clause 4, Article 30 of the Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP according to regulations of Form No. 35, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

15. A written enquiry sent to the authority/organization during the issuance or re-issuance of environmental license as prescribed in Form No. 37, Appendix II enclosed with this Circular.

16. A written response sent by the enquired authority/organization during the issuance or re-issuance of environmental license as prescribed in Form No. 39, Appendix II enclosed with this Circular.

17. Environmental license (issued/re-issued) as prescribed in the Form No. 40 in the Appendix II enclosed with this Circular.

18. Environmental license (revised) as prescribed in the Form No. 41 in the Appendix II enclosed with this Circular.

19. Decision to revoke environmental license as prescribed in the Form No. 42 in the Appendix II enclosed with this Circular.

20. Written notification of the plan for trial operation of waste treatment work of the investment project/business as prescribed in Form No. 43, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

21. Report on result of trial operation of waste treatment work of the project as prescribed in clause 4 Article 46 of the Law on Environmental Protection and another project as prescribed in Form No. 43a, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

22. Decision on appointment of cadres or civil servants to on-site inspection of waste treatment works of the investment project or business in the process of trial operation in cases other than those specified in clause 4, Article 46 of the Law on Environmental Protection according to regulations of Form No. 44, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

23. Decision on establishment of inspectorate responsible for on-site inspection of the process of trial operation of waste treatment works of the investment project or business specified in clause 4, Article 46 of the Law on Environmental Protection according to regulations of Form No. 44a, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

24. Record of inspection/supervision of trial operation of waste treatment work by the cadre/civil servant as prescribed in Form No. 45, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

25. Record of inspection of trial operation of waste treatment work of the investment project or business that uses scrap as production materials or hazardous waste treatment services as prescribed in Form No. 46, Appendix II issued together with this Circular.

Article 13. Amendments to Article 20

“Article 20. Additional waste monitoring applied to operating businesses upon proposal for issuance of an environmental license

1. In case a business that satisfies the environmental criteria equivalent to group I or group II investment project as specified in point g clause 3 Article 18a of this Circular applies for issuance of an environmental license, the additional waste monitoring shall be carried out as follows: Take a single sample (wastewater) and cluster sample (exhaust gas) in 02 consecutive days for the purpose of assessment of the treatment efficiency of the exhaust gas, wastewater treatment work and equipment (if any).

2. In case a business that satisfies the environmental criteria equivalent to group III investment project as specified in point g clause 3 Article 18a of this Circular applies for issuance of an environmental license, the additional waste monitoring shall be carried out as follows: Take 01 single sample (wastewater) and 01 cluster sample (exhaust gas) for the purpose of assessment of the treatment efficiency of the exhaust gas, wastewater treatment work and equipment (if any).”.

Article 14. Amendments to some clauses of Article 21

1. Clause 4 shall be amended as follows:

“4. Regarding dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters of the investment project/business specified in Column 3 Appendix II enclosed with the Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP amended by the Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP and the Decree No. 48/2026/ND-CP, except for the cases specified in clause 1 Article 31 of the Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP amended by the Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP and the Decree No. 48/2026/ND-CP, the monitoring is prescribed as follows:

a) Regarding dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision and industrial clusters; the investment project/business specified in Column 3 Appendix II enclosed with the Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP amended by the Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP and the Decree No. 48/2026/ND-CP, the waste monitoring shall comply with regulations in clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, except for point b of this clause;

b) Regarding the investment project/business specified in Column 3 Appendix II enclosed with the Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP amended by the Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP and the Decree No. 48/2026/ND-CP, at least 03 single waste samples shall be monitored within 03 consecutive days of the stable operation stage (01 input wastewater sample and 03 output wastewater samples) for the following systems: domestic wastewater treatment system (excluding system for treating wastewater in combination with industrial wastewater); wastewater and exhaust gas treatment system with additional stages for improvement of efficiency in treatment.”.

2. Clause 7 shall be amended as follows:

“7. Regarding the investment project/business that has a wastewater treatment system with a design capacity of less than 10m³/day (24 hours) (capacity of each separate system), at least 01 single waste sample (01 output waste sample) shall be monitored.”.

Article 15. Addition of clause 9 after clause 8 of Article 32

“9. An ordinary industrial solid waste and domestic solid waste landfill shall be closed according to regulations in this Article.”.

Article 16. Amendments to title and addition of clause 5 after clause 4 of Article 33

1. Title of Article 33 shall be amended as follows:

“Article 33. Technical requirements of environmental protection for storage and management of ordinary industrial solid waste”.

2. Clause 5 shall be added after clause 4 as follows:

“5. The use of ordinary industrial solid waste to be treated as direct raw materials for production of the a project/business shall be consistent with the production process and specified in the decision on approval of EIAR appraisal result, the environmental license, the component environmental license, or the environmental registration.”.

Article 17. Amendments to clause 1 Article 35

‘1. The hazardous waste source owner shall declare the weight and type of hazardous waste generated (if any) in the application for issuance of an environmental license according to regulations of Article 18a of this Circular or environmental registration contents specified in Article 22 of this Circular.”.

Article 18. Addition of clause 8 after clause 7 of Article 36

“8. Encapsulation tank used for isolation and long-term storage of hazardous waste must satisfy the following requirements:

a) The encapsulation tank can be cylindrical, box-shaped or has another shape, is made of reinforced concrete, installed above ground, underground, or semi-underground. The tank’s structure must meet requirements for water and corrosion resistance, and is not affected by aggressive environment according to technical standards and regulations on construction. The location of the bank must be suitable for hydrogeological conditions to avoid subsidence and cracking;

b) Each tank’s bottom area shall not exceed 100 m² and height shall not exceed 05 m; in case of multiple tanks, they must be constructed independently and do not have a common wall, except for the case where total area of all tanks does not exceed 100 m²;

c) Waste (block or packaging) must be neatly stacked inside the tank. Dry sand or cushions must be filled between waste layers or in empty space to reduce porosity and limit subsidence over time. Throughout the waste loading process (before the tank is full), the tank must be covered by a roof or tarpaulin to prevent rainwater ingress, and must be equipped with a signboard and warning sign as regulated;

d) After the bank is full, it must be sealed with a reinforced concrete cover to maintain its durable structure. A few layers of HDPE waterproof membranes or asphalt emulsion must be placed on top of the concrete cover to prevent rainwater infiltration from above, according to technical standards and regulations on construction. Signboards indicating a hazardous waste area and prohibiting excavation must be installed; in case where the sealed tank’s surface is used for other purposes, the load-bearing capacity must be maintained.”.

Article 19. Amendments to points b and c clause 3 Article 38

“b) Within 10 days from the date of receipt of the complete application, the competent authority of Basel Convention in Vietnam under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall send a written notification attached to the English shipping notification to the competent authority of the Basel Convention in the import and transit (if any) country in accordance with regulations of the Basel Convention. In case the application is not eligible for a written notification, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall send a written response to the organization or individual and provide clear reasons;

c) Within 10 days from the date of receipt of the written response from the competent authority of the Basel Convention in the import and transit (if any) country, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall issue a written approval in accordance with regulations of Form No. 06, Appendix III issued together with this Circular. In case of disapproval, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall send a written response to the organization or individual and provide clear reasons.

Article 20. Addition of Article 38a after Article 38

“Article 38a. Management of treated and recycled waste, and waste treatment in specific cases

1. Products derived from the waste recycling and treatment process, when used or purchased/sold on the market, must satisfy requirements in accordance with the law on quality of products and goods.

2. Inorganic waste treated by the stabilization and solidification methods for the production of unburnt bricks may only be mixed with other raw materials at a ratio of waste to mixture (by dry weight) that must not exceed 30%, except for stabilization and solidification of waste to be buried in the solid waste landfill in accordance with the law.  Unburnt bricks must simultaneously satisfy the requirements of QCVN 16:2023/BXD – National Technical Regulation on Products and Goods of Building Materials, and test results show that the hazardous parameters do not exceed hazardous waste thresholds specified in QCVN 07:2025/BNNMT – National Technical Regulation on Hazardous Waste Thresholds for use as building materials.

3. Waste treated by the co-treatment method must simultaneously satisfy the following requirements:

a) It is consistent with the production technology process;

b) The rate of utilization of wastes as raw materials or fuel is appropriate.

c) Products derived from the waste recycling and treatment process must satisfy requirements in accordance with the law on quality of products and goods.”.

Article 21. Amendments to clause 4 Article 45

“4.  Decision on appointment for an organization to assess the conformity with environmental technical regulations applied to imported scrap used to make raw materials for production from a foreign country according to the Form No. 10 in the Appendix VII enclosed with the Government’s Decree No. 37/2026/ND-CP dated January 23, 2026 (hereinafter referred to as “Decree No. 37/2026/ND-CP”).”.

Article 22. Amendments to some clauses of Article 46 

1. Clause 1 shall be amended as follows:

“1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall assess the application for appointment for an organization to participate in the assessment of conformity with environmental technical regulations applied to imported scraps used to make raw materials for production from a foreign country as specified in the Decree No. 37/2026/ND-CP.”.

2. Clause 2 shall be amended as follows:

“2. Assessment of the actual capacity at the organization:

a) An assessment team’s members shall be responsible for studying the appointment application according to the Decree No. 37/2026/ND-CP, and writing written comments and assessment as specified in clause 2 of this Article;

b) Results produced by the assessment team serve as a basis for the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment to consider deciding the appointment for an organization to assess the conformity with environmental technical regulations applied to imported scraps used to make raw materials for production.”.

Article 23. Amendments to point a clause 5 Article 66

“a) The project/business owner shall send an environmental protection report to the authority approving the EIAR appraisal result, the licensing authority (for the contents specified in point a, clause 1 of this Article) or the environmental registration agency (for the contents specified at point b, clause 1 of this Article); the Department of Agriculture and Environment of province (where the project/business exists); the commune-level People’s Committee; the investor of the project on construction and trade of technical infrastructure in a dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or an industrial cluster (for any business that is located in an economic zone, a dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster);”.

Article 24. Amendments to clause 2 Article 72

“2. The formulation and approval of the plan for environmental remediation in case of environmental incidents at communal, provincial and national levels shall comply with regulations of clause 2, Article 126 of the Law on Environmental Protection.”.

“Article 25. Annulment of clauses 1 and 2 of Article 8; points a, b, and c of clause 1, points a, b, and d of clause 2, point b of clause 3, clause 6, points a, c, d, dd, e, h, and i of clause 7 of Article 36; clauses 1, 2, and 3, points a, b, c, d, and e of clause 4 of Article 37; point d of clause 2 of Article 38, and Article 39a.

Article 26. Amendments to and annulment of some phrases and forms

1. The phrase “Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường” (the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) shall be replaced by the phrase “Bộ Nông nghiệp và Môi trường” (the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) in clause 2 of Article 7; point c of clause 1 of Article 9; clauses 3, 5, and 6 of Article 38; point c of clause 3 of Article 44; Article 46; clauses 3 and 4 of Article 48; clause 5 of Article 49; clauses 1, 7, and 10 of Article 50; clause 3 of Article 55; clause 3 of Article 62; clause 5 of Article 63; clauses 1 and 2 of Article 64; point b of clause 2 of Article 65; point a of clause 1 of Article 68; point a of clause 1 and point a of clause 3 of Article 69; clause 1 of Article 71; point a of clause 3 of Article 78; point a of clause 2 of Article 79; clause 1 of Article 81; Forms No. 05, 06, 07, and 15 of Appendix III; Form No. 07 of Appendix IV; Form No. 02 of Appendix V; Forms No. 01 and 02 of Appendix VII; and Forms No. 01, 02, 02a, 02b, 02c, 03, and 04 of Appendix IX.

The replacement of the phrase “Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường” (the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) with the phrase “Bộ Nông nghiệp và Môi trường” (the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) as specified in this clause shall not apply in case of reference to the documents previously issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

2. The phrase “Bộ trưởng Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường” (Minister of Natural Resources and Environment) shall be replaced by “(3)” in Form No. 07 of Appendix III.

3. The phrase “Bộ Nông nghiệp và Phát triển nông thôn” (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) shall be replaced by the phrase “Bộ Nông nghiệp và Môi trường” (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) in clause 1 Article 43.

4. The phrase “Sở Tài nguyên và Môi trường” (Department of Natural Resources and Environment) shall be replaced by the phrase “Sở Nông nghiệp và Môi trường” (the Department of Agriculture and Environment) in clause 5 of Article 42; clause 3 of Article 63; point b of clause 1 of Article 68; point b of clause 1 and point a of clause 3 of Article 69; clause 2 of Article 71; clause 2 of Article 85, and Form No. 07 of Appendix IV.

5. The phrase “cấp huyện” (district) shall be replaced by the phrase “cấp xã” (commune) in point dd clause 1 Article 26; clause 1 Article 63; clause 2 Article 72.

6. The phrase “Mẫu biểu đề nghị thẩm định, báo cáo dự án xác lập và báo cáo điều tra, đánh giá di sản thiên nhiên” (Written request form for appraisal, report on establishment of project and investigation and assessment of natural heritage) shall be replaced by the phrase “Mẫu biểu báo cáo điều tra, đánh giá di sản thiên nhiên” (Form of report on investigation and assessment of natural heritage) in the title of Article 8.”

7. Some phrases and forms in the Appendix I shall be annulled as follows:

a) Forms No. 06 and 07 shall be annulled;

b) The phrase “thị trấn, quận/huyện/thành phố” (town/district/city) in Form No. 04; and the phrase “cấp huyện” (district) in Form No. 09 shall be annulled.

8. Some phrases and forms in the Appendix II shall be amended, replaced or annulled as follows:

a) Forms No. 02, 04, 04b, 06, 08, 09, 10, 24, 29, 30, 32, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, and 42 in Section 1 of the Appendix issued together with this Circular shall be replaced;

b) The phrase “được đóng dấu treo của cơ quan thẩm định thành lập hội đồng hoặc cơ quan được giao thẩm định” (bearing seal of the council-establishing appraisal agency or the assigned appraisal agency) shall be replaced by the phrase “được đóng dấu treo của cơ quan thẩm định thành lập hội đồng hoặc cơ quan được giao thẩm định hoặc cơ quan của người có thẩm quyền thành lập hội đồng” (bearing seal of the council-establishing appraisal agency, the assigned appraisal agency, or the agency of the person having jurisdiction to establish the council) in Form No. 07 and Form No. 16;

c) The phrase “đóng dấu treo của cơ quan cấp phép hoặc cơ quan được giao tổ chức cấp phép” (bearing seal of the licensing authority or the assigned licensing authority) shall be replaced by the phrase “đóng dấu treo của cơ quan cấp phép hoặc cơ quan được giao tổ chức cấp phép hoặc cơ quan của người có thẩm quyền cấp phép” (bearing seal of the licensing authority or the assigned licensing authority or the competent license issuer) in Form No. 31

d) The phrase “UBND huyện/quận/thị xã/TP trực thuộc tỉnh (trường hợp UBND tỉnh hoặc Sở TN&MT cấp phép)” (the People’s Committee of district/town/provincial city (in case where the provincial People’s Committee or the Department of Natural Resources and Environment issues the license) shall be replaced by the phrase “UBND phường/xã/đặc khu (trường hợp Chủ tịch UBND tỉnh hoặc Sở NN&MT cấp phép)” (the People’s Committee of ward/commune/special zone (in case where the Chairperson of the provincial People’s Committee or the Department of Agriculture and Environment issues the license) in the “Recipients” section of Form No. 43;

dd) The phrase “hoặc người có thẩm quyền” (or competent person) shall be added after the phrase “cơ quan” (agency) in the “Note” section of Forms No. 03, 04c, 07, 09a, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 22, 35, 43, 44, 44a, 45, and 46;

e) Form No. 03a shall be added after Form No. 03 in Section 1; Forms No. 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, and 22dd shall be added before Form No. 22, and Form No. 43a shall be added before Form No. 43 in Section 2 of the Appendix issued together with this Circular;

g) Forms No. 26, 27, 36 and 38 shall be annulled.

9. Some forms in the Appendix III shall be amended or replaced as follows:

a) Section C Form No. 01 in Section 3 in the Appendix enclosed with this Circular shall be amended;

b) Forms No. 07, 09, 12, 13 and 14 in Section 3 in the Appendix enclosed with this Circular shall be replaced.

10. Some phrases in the Appendix V shall be replaced or annulled as follows:

a) The phrase “xã/phường, thị trấn” (commune/ward/town) shall be replaced by the phrase “xã/phường/đặc khu” (commune/ward/special zone) in Form No. 01;

b) The phrases “quận/huyện” (district), “huyện/quận, thị xã, thành phố” (district/town/city) and “huyện” (district) in Form No. 01 shall be annulled.

c) No.2 and the phrase “Mã danh mục Quận/Huyện” (District List Code) in Form No. 02 shall be annulled.

11. Some phrases and forms in the Appendix VI shall be amended, replaced or annulled as follows:

a) Forms No. 01, 05 and 06 in Section 4 in the Appendix enclosed with this Circular shall be replaced.

b) The phrase “xã/phường, thị trấn” (commune/ward/town) and the phrase “quận/huyện/xã” (district/commune) shall be replaced by the phrase “xã/phường/đặc khu” (commune/ward/special zone) in Form No. 03;

c) The phrase “quận/huyện” (district) in Table 1 Appendix II of Form No. 03 shall be annulled;

d) The phrase “quận/huyện” (district) shall be replaced by the phrase “phường/xã/đặc khu” (ward/commune/special zone) in Tables 3, 4, 5, 6, and Table 12 of Appendix II; Appendices III, IV, V, VI, and Appendix VII of Form No. 03; Form No. 07.

12. Some phrases in the Appendix VII shall be replaced or annulled as follows:

a) The phrase “quận/huyện” (district) shall be replaced by the phrase “phường/xã/đặc khu” (ward/commune/special zone) in Form No. 03 and Form No. 04;

b) The word “huyện” (district) in Form No. 06 shall be annulled.

Article 27. Transition clauses

1. Complete and valid applications received by competent authorities or persons to be processed before the effective date of this Circular shall be processed in accordance with regulations of law at the time of receipt, unless the organization or individual wishes to apply this Circular.

2. If the legislative documents referred to in this Circular are amended or replaced, the newer documents shall apply.

Article 28. Effect

1. This Circular comes into force from January 29, 2026

2. The Circular No. 07/2025/TT-BNNMT dated June 16, 2025 of the Minister of Agriculture and Environment shall cease to be effective from the effective date of this Circular.

3. Ministers, ministerial-level authorities, Governmental authorities, provincial People’s Committees, provincial Departments of Agriculture and Environment and relevant organizations and individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Circular.

Relevant agencies, organizations and individuals should report difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Circular to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment for study, guidance and amendments./.