Circular No. 17/2026/TT-BNNMT on amendments to Circular No. 25/2018/TT-BNNPTNT on procedures for risk assessment of and license for import of live aquatic animals and plants amended by Circular No. 01/2022/TT-BNNPTNT on amendments to circulars in aquaculture

CIRCULAR

ON AMENDMENTS TO SOME ARTICLES OF CIRCULAR NO. 25/2018/TT-BNNPTNT DATED NOVEMBER 15, 2018 OF MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT ON PROCEDURES FOR RISK ASSESSMENT OF AND LICENSE FOR IMPORT OF LIVE AQUATIC ANIMALS AND PLANTS AMENDED BY CIRCULAR NO. 01/2022/TT-BNNPTNT DATED JANUARY 18, 2022 ON AMENDMENTS TO CIRCULARS IN AQUACULTURE

Pursuant to the Law on Fisheries No. 18/2017/QH14 amended by the Law No. 31/2024/QH15, Law No. 43/2024/QH15, and Law No. 146/2025/QH15;

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

At the request of the Director General of the Directorate of Fisheries;

The Minister of Agriculture and Environment promulgates the Circular on amendments to some articles of Circular No. 25/2018/TT-BNNPTNT dated November 15, 2018 of Minister of Agriculture and Environment on procedures for risk assessment of and license for import of live aquatic animals and plants amended by Circular No. 01/2022/TT-BNNPTNT dated January 18, 2022 on amendments to circulars in aquaculture.

Article 1. Amendments to points a and dd, clause 2, Article 5

1. Amendments to point a, clause 2:

“a) Entities shall send an application to the Directorate of Fisheries in person via the national single-window system; via public online service portal; by post in accordance with regulations of the Prime Minister; via contracted services of enterprises or individuals; or by authorized representatives in accordance with the laws;”.

2. Amendments to point dd, clause 2:

“dd) The Directorate of Fisheries shall return the license for import of live aquatic animals and plants in person via the national single-window system; via public online service portal; by post in accordance with regulations of the Prime Minister.”.

Article 2. Amendments to some points and clauses of Article 6

1. Amendments to point c, clause 1:

“c) The original copy of the result of import, transport and nurture in accordance with Form No.4 in the Appendix attached to this Circular; a copy or scanned original of inspection record provided by the state management authority responsible for live aquatic animals and plants in accordance with Form No.7 in the Appendix attached to this Circular (for cases in which live aquatic animals and plants are imported from the second time onwards).”.

2. Amendments to point b, clause 4:

“b) Within 07 working days from the receipt of valid application, the Directorate of Fisheries shall issue the license for import of live aquatic animals and plants attached to the approved Plan for controlling live aquatic animals and plants (for cases prescribed in points a and b, clause 2, Article 4 of this Circular) or the Plan for handling after the conclusion of fairs and exhibitions (for cases prescribed in point c, clause 2, Article of this Circular) in accordance with Form No. 06 in the Appendix attached to this Circular;”.

Article 3. Replacement of some words, phrases and forms

1. The phrase “or changed or added in terms of importers, export checkpoints” is added after the phrase “If the license is lost or damaged or changed in terms of information of exporters, import checkpoints, dimension of aquatic species, address of importing organizations and individuals” in point e, clause 2, Article 5; and point c, clause 4, Article 6.

2. The phrase “the meeting held either in person or in a format combining in-person and online participation” is added after the phrase “the meeting” in point c, clause 1, Article 10.

3. The phrase “30 days” is replaced with the phrase “28 days” in point d, clause 2, Article 5. The phrase “05 days” is replaced with the phrase “02 days” in point e, clause 2, Article 5.

4. The phrase “Tổng cục Thủy sản” is replaced with the phrase “Cục Thủy sản và Kiểm ngư” (English translation remains unchanged) in points b, c, d and e, clause 2, Article 5; point a, clause 1 and point a, clause 2, Article 10; title of Article 11 and clause 2, Article 11; point b, clause 1 and point a, clause 2, Article 12; clause 5, Article 13.

5. The phrase “Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development” is replaced with the phrase “Ministry of Agriculture and Environment” in clauses 1, 2 and 4, Article 11; clauses 1 and 2, Article 14.

6. Form No. 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08 and 09 in the Appendix are respectively replaced by Form No. 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08 and 09 attached to this Circular.

Article 4. Effect

This Circular comes into force from March 10, 2026.

Article 5. Transitional provision

1. Applications that are received by competent authorities before the effective date of this Circular and under processing shall continue to be processed in accordance with applicable laws at the time of receipt, except in cases where organizations or individuals request to apply this Circular.

2. Documents, permits and certificates issued before the effective date of this Circular that are still valid shall remain valid until the expiry date prescribed in those documents, permits and certificates./.