General Standards
As a member of the WTO, Vietnam complies to the WTO's Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. The national standards system of Vietnam are based on the principles of standard development of ISO/IEC Guides. At present, more than 45% of Vietnam national standards are harmonized with international and regional guidelines. Vietnam’s standards system (TCVN) consists of over 8,600 national standards.
In 2006, Vietnam introduced the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations. This law simplified standards and technical regulations to two levels: national standards (TCVNs) and organization’s standards (TCCSs); national technical regulations (QCVNs) and local technical regulations (QCDPs). Standards are applied voluntarily, but technical regulations are mandatory.
Standards organizations
The Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality of Vietnam (STAMEQ) represents the country's national standardization agency. The agency is responsible for advising the government on issues related to standardization, metrology and quality management at a national level, as well as representing Vietnam in regional and international organizations.
In addition, the Standards Department of STAMEQ is in charge of the management of standardization activities, suggesting the policy for standardization, standards development planning, development of national standards drafts and submitting standards for approval and declaration.
The Vietnam Standards and Quality Institute (VSQI) is another important standards body. The VSQI is a subsidiary of STAMEQ, responsible for organizing national technical committees for developing, publishing and issuing national standards and other related services.
National standards (TCVN’s) are developed on the basis of research and the application of scientific and technological advances. They are used as the technical criteria for quality certification, suppliers’ product conformity declarations, and quality inspection of imported and exported goods. TCVN’s are developed through technical national committees/ sub-committees with the involvement of any interested parties and are intended for voluntary adoption unless they were referenced in other laws and regulations as required.
Conformity Assessment
The Department for Conformity Assessment is responsible for the review and assessment of conformity assessment bodies, as all CABs operating in Vietnam should register at STAMEQ.
STAMEQ and the Standards, Metrology and Quality Departments provide the following services:
- Inspection of imported/exported products
- Calibration and verification of measuring equipment
- Products testing
- Products and systems certification
- Consultancy, training services
- Information services
More information on conformity assessment in Vietnam can be found at
Product Certification
There are four product certification bodies under STAMEQ: QUATEST1, QUATEST2, QUATEST3 and QUACERT (Vietnam Certification Centre).
QUACERT is the Certification Body of STAMEQ. This certification body provides certification services for organizations and individuals who have complied with internationally recognized standards or other technical specifications including:
- management system certification to international standards: ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 22000, HACCP, GMP, ISO 27001, ISO/TS 29001, ISO 50001
- product certification (the Quality Mark) to Vietnam standards (TCVNs), foreign standards (ASTM, JIS, DIN, GOST, GB), regional standards (EN, CEN) and international standards (ISO, IEC).
- certification of Electrical – Electronic equipment under ASEAN EE MRA.
- product certification to Technical Regulations (QCVN) under the Vietnam Law of Standards and Technical Regulations (CR mark).
- certification of VietGAP (Vietnam’s Good Agriculture Practices regulation established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development).
- provision of quality inspection for imported animal feeds as authorized by MARD.
- provision of business management solutions in applying information technology.
- testing of construction materials and bio-chemical testing
- provision of commercial inspection
Accreditation
The Bureau of Accreditation (BoA) is the accreditation body of Vietnam. BoA offers accreditation programs for testing laboratories, calibration laboratories, medical testing laboratories, certification bodies, inspection bodies and other conformity assessment bodies (CABs).
BoA includes the following schemes:
- Vietnam Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (VILAS) for testing and calibration laboratories.
- Vietnam Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (VILAS MED) for medical testing laboratories.
- Vietnam Biosafety Level 3 Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (VILAS BSL3) for Biosafety Level 3 laboratories.
- Vietnam Inspection Accreditation Scheme (VIAS) for Inspection Bodies
- Vietnam Certification Accreditation Scheme (VICAS) for Certification Bodies.
The Bureau of Accreditation is member of the APLAC (Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation), ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation), PAC (Pacific Accreditation Cooperation) and IAF (International Accreditation Forum).
Contacts
Vietnam National Standards – TCVN
Head: Mr. Tran Anh Tuan
Website: http://www.tcvn.gov.vn
E-Mail: vptdc@tcvn.gov.vn
Address: No.8 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Ha Noi, Vietnam
Tel: +844 37911597
Fax: +844 37911595
