Circular No. 18/2026/TT-BCT on criteria of Vietnamese National Brand Program

CIRCULAR

ON THE CRITERIA OF VIETNAMESE NATIONAL BRAND PROGRAM

Pursuant to the Law on Foreign Trade Management No. 05/2017/QH14;

Pursuant to Decree No. 40/2025/ND-CP of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade amended by Decree No. 109/2025/ND-CP and Decree No. 193/2025/ND-CP;

Pursuant to Decree No. 28/2018/ND-CP of the Government elaborating the Law on Foreign Trade Management on some measures for foreign trade development, amended by Decree No. 24/2024/ND-CP;

Pursuant to Decision No. 10/2017/QD-TTg dated April 03, 2017 of the Prime Minister on issuance of Regulation on Development, Management and Implementation of the Vietnamese National Brand Program amended by Decision No. 03/2026/QD-TTg;

At the request of Director of Department of Trade Promotion.

The Minister of Industry and Trade herby issues a Circular on the criteria of the Vietnamese National Brand Program.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Circular provides for the criteria of the Vietnamese National Brand Program (hereinafter referred to as the Program), including:

1. Criteria for developing, appraising, and approving schemes under the Program.

2. Criteria for application for and award of “Vietnamese national brand” title.

Article 2. Regulated entities

This Circular applies to the units in charge of schemes under the Program (hereinafter referred to as “units in charge”), the Program’s managing body and relevant bodies, organizations, enterprises and individuals.

Chapter II

CRITERIA OF VIETNAMESE NATIONAL BRAND PROGRAM

Section 1. CRITERIA FOR DEVELOPING, APPRAISING, AND APPROVING SCHEMES UNDER THE PROGRAM

Article 3. Criteria for developing schemes under the program

1. Criterion 1: The scheme complies with Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of Article 16 of Decree No. 28/2018/ND-CP of the Government elaborating the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding some measures for foreign trade development.

2. Criterion 2: The scheme satisfies one of the following objectives:

a) Raising social awareness of the role of brands in production, business, and investment activities;

b) Improving the capacity of enterprises to build, develop, and manage brands to meet the criteria of the Program;

c) Promoting the Vietnamese National Brand in conjunction with promoting the brands of products that have achieved the “Vietnamese National Brand” title.

3. Criterion 3: The content of the scheme complies with the regulations of Appendix I attached hereto.

Article 4. Criteria for appraising and approving schemes under the Program

1. Criteria for appraising schemes under the Program:

a) Criterion 1: Necessity;

b) Criterion 2: Objectives;

c) Criterion 3: Content;

d) Criterion 4: Implementation options;

d) Criterion 5: Implementation plan and schedule;

e) Criterion 6: Budget estimate;

g) Criterion 7: Capacity of presiding unit;

h) Criterion 8: Expected results, expected risks and remedial measures.

2. The criteria in Clause 1 of this Article are specified in detail in Appendix II attached hereto.

3. The schemes shall be appraised using scoring method. The scoring scale is 100 points. The scoring scale is specifically determined for each assessment indicator in the criteria specified in Appendix II attached hereto.

4. Schemes eligible for approval are those with a total score of 80 points or more, with each criterion specified in Clause 1 of this Article achieving at least 60 points.

5. Based on the annual budget estimates for the Program announced by the Ministry of Finance, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall decide the approval of schemes, ensuring that the total cost of implementing the schemes does not exceed the total allocated budget.

Section 2. CRITERIA FOR APPLYING FOR AND AWARD OF “VIETNAMESE NATIONAL BRAND” TITLE

Article 5. CRITERIA FOR REGISTERING PRODUCTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE “VIETNAMESE NATIONAL BRAND” TITLE

1. Requirements for a product applying for the “Vietnamese National Brand” title include:

a) It is a product or goods of Vietnamese origin in accordance with laws;

b) It is granted intellectual property protection in Vietnam.

2. Requirements for an applicant for the “Vietnamese National Brand” title include:

a) It is an enterprise established under Vietnamese law with more than 50% of its charter capital or total common shares held by Vietnamese organizations or individuals.

In cases where an enterprise does not meet the above criterion but their applying product demonstrates unique Vietnamese characteristics and contributes to improving the image and value of the Vietnamese national brand, the Vietnam National Brand Council shall consider and decide;

b) It holds the intellectual property protection titles for the applying product;

c) It has been in operation for at least two consecutive years prior to the year of application;

d) It complies with regulations of laws on manufacture, investment, trade, environmental protection, labor affairs, social responsibilities, financial obligations, tax obligations and other obligations to the state budget. In cases where an enterprise has committed administrative violations but has fully complied with the penalty decision, implemented all remedial measures (if any) as prescribed by law, and is not subject to any preventive or coercive measures by competent state authorities at the time of submitting the application, it shall be considered to meet the criteria specified in this point.

Article 6. Criteria for the award of the “Vietnamese National Brand” title

1. Criteria for the award of the “Vietnamese National Brand” title include:

a) Criterion 1: Quality;

b) Criterion 2: Innovation;

c) Criterion 3: Pioneering capacity.

2. The criteria in Clause 1 of this Article are specified in detail in Appendix III attached hereto.

3. The selection of products to be awarded the Vietnam National Brand is carried out using scoring method. The scoring scale is 1.000 points. The scoring scale is specifically determined for each assessment indicator in the criteria specified in Appendix III attached hereto.

4. Schemes eligible for approval are those with a total score of 650 points or more, with each criterion specified in Clause 1 of this Article achieving at least 600 points.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 7. Responsibilities of units under the Ministry of Industry and Trade

1. The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency shall take charge in managing and implementing the Program and have the following responsibilities:

a) Provide guidance on the development of scheme, receiving, appraising, and submitting them to the Minister for approval;

b) Calculate and incorporate total cost estimate for Program management and implementation into the cost estimate of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and submit to the competent authority according to regulations of the Law on Budget;

c) Manage and use the Program’s funding according to applicable financial policies;

d) Sign contracts for performance of schemes under the Program with units in charge and support funding under the concluded contracts; and directly launch the schemes under the Program in charged by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency; Contents of such contracts are prescribed in Article 12 of the Decree No. 28/2018/ND-CP;

dd) Receive and handle administrative procedures for award of the “Vietnamese National Brand” title according to regulations in Article 8 of the Regulation on development, management and implementation of Vietnamese National Brand Program attached to Decision No. 30/2019/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister amended by Decision No. 03/2026/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister;

e) Submit annual consolidated reports on the Program to the Prime Minister via the Ministry of Industry and Trade before December 20 every year;

g) Take charge and cooperate with relevant bodies in inspecting and supervising the performance of schemes under the Program and compliance with the Program’s regulations of the Program’s participants;

h) Provide guidelines for this Circular, implement this Circular and inspect such implementation.

2. The Planning, Finance and Enterprise Management Department shall cooperate with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency in calculating total cost estimate, and distributing and allocating funding for the Program as prescribed.

3. The Domestic Market Management and Development Department shall cooperate with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency in inspecting and monitoring the implementation of this Circular in accordance with Decision No. 30/2019/QD-TTg.

4. Other units under the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall cooperate with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency and units in charge in executing the Program efficiently.

Article 10. Responsibilities of units in charge and applicants for “Vietnamese National Brand” title

1. Units in charge shall compile demands of organizations, enterprises and trade associations to propose, formulate and cooperate in launching schemes under the Program according to the criteria specified in this Circular and regulations in the Decision No. 30/2019/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister.

2. Applicants for the “Vietnamese National Brand” title shall implement the regulations in this Circular and in Decision No. 30/2019/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister.

Article 9. Effect

1. This Circular comes into force from the date on which it is singed and replaces Circular No. 33/2019/TT-BCT of the Minister of Industry and Trade on Criteria for the Vietnamese National Brand Program and Circular No. 25/2021/TT-BCT dated December 20, 2021 of the Minister of Industry and Trade amending Circular No. 33/2019/TT-BCT.

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

3. Shall any problems arise during the implementation process, promptly report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for review and resolution.

Article 10. Transitional provisions

Scheme dossiers and application for the “Vietnamese National Brand” title submitted before the effective date of this Circular shall continue to be processed according to the procedures specified in Circular No. 33/2019/TT-BCT amended by Circular No. 25/2021/TT-BCT. Scheme dossiers and application for the “Vietnamese National Brand” title submitted from the effective date of this Circular shall comply with the procedures specified herein.