Is it allowed to affix supplementary labels in Vietnamese on imported goods?

Posted date: 17/08/2020

My company has just imported a batch of functional foods for sale at our stores. This is a dietary supplement manufactured in Japan, so the labels are all in Japanese. Our company wants to add some information about the product to make it clearer for customers. Is it legal if our company put the Vietnamese labels on the product? Sincerely thank you!

FDVN’s opinion:

Regarding your request, after studying the legal provisions, FDVN Law Firm offers the following advice:

[1]. Regulations on supplementary labels on imported goods

According to Clause 3 Article 7 of Decree 43/2017/ND-CP: “3. If the goods imported into Vietnam of which the label has not represented or represented insufficiently mandatory information in Vietnamese, a supplementary label containing mandatory information in Vietnamese is required and the original label shall remain unchanged. The Vietnamese content shall be consistent with the original label text.”

Accordingly, if the information in Vietnamese is not presented on the package of your Company’s imported goods, the supplementary labels must be affixed.

[2]. Legal provisions on the content of supplementary labels

According to the provision of Appendix I attached to Decree 43/2017/ND-CP on the mandatory information to be presented by the nature of the products:

Quantity
Date of manufacture
Expiry date
Ingredients, ingredient quantities or nutritional value
Instructions for use, instructions for storage
Risk warnings (if any)
Labeling: “Thực phẩm bảo vệ sức khỏe” (“Health protection food”)
Labeling: “Thực phẩm này không phải là thuốc, không có tác dụng thay thế thuốc chữa bệnh”. (“The foodstuff is not medicine and cannot be replaced with medicine".)

Besides, according to Article 10, Decree 43/2017/ND-CP on the mandatory information to be shown on label:

“ 1. Mandatory information to be shown on a label:

a) Name of good;

b) Name and address of entity responsible for the good;

c) Origin of good;

d) Other details in conformity with the nature of the good prescribed in Appendix I of this Decree and relevant legislative documents.”

Besides, depending on the nature of each type of goods, the label of goods also contains other mandatory information as follows:

(According to Article 4 to Article 7 of Decree No. 43/2017/ND-CP)

Location

1. The label shall be put on the good or commercial container in such a place that is easily visible, containing required information without being disassembled.

2. If it is inadmissible or impossible to open the primary container, it must have a label containing mandatory information.

Size of labels, words and numbers on labels

An entity responsible for labeling shall self-identify the size of labels or words and numbers on labels providing that the following requirements are satisfied:

1. Sufficient mandatory information is available as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 10 hereof;

2. The size of words and numbers in the size that are considered easily visible to the naked eye and meet the following requirements:

a) The size of words and number expressing quantity shall comply with regulations of law on measurement;

b) If the good is prepackaged food, food additive, or food processing aid, the height of words expressing mandatory label content shall not be lower than 1.2 mm. If one surface area of the container reserved for labeling (excluding the lap at the margin) is less than 80cm2, the height of words shall not be lower than 0.9mm.

Colors of words, symbols, and pictures on labels

Color of any word, number, drawing, picture, sign, or symbol on a label must be clear. In the case of mandatory information, the color of words or numbers and color of background shall ensure the adequate contrast.

Language

1. Mandatory information on the label must be written in Vietnamese, except for the cases prescribed in Clause 4 hereof.

2. In the case of goods to be produced and circulated domestically, apart from the required language in Clause of this Article, another language is also allowed on their labels. The translations must convey the same meanings in Vietnamese. The font size of words in the other language may not be bigger than that font of words in Vietnamese.

3. If the goods imported into Vietnam of which the label has not represented or represented insufficiently mandatory information in Vietnamese, a supplementary label containing mandatory information in Vietnamese is required and the original label shall remain unchanged. The Vietnamese content shall be consistent with the original label text.

4. The following information is allowed to be written in other languages with Latin letter root:

a) International or botanical name of a drug for human use in case of absence from Vietnamese name;

b) International or botanical name enclosed with formula, structural formula of the chemical, active ingredients, excipients, ingredient of the drug;

c) International or botanical name of ingredient or ingredient quantity of good if such name is impossible to be translated or possible to be translated but it does not make sense;

d) Name and address of the foreign enterprise relating to the manufacture of the commodity.

We hope that our legal opinions are useful to you.

Legal advisor: Nguyen Thi Lan Anh - FDVN Law Firm

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