Various news from Vietnam

Merger of two ministries 

In Vietnam, the Ministry of Information & Communications (MIC) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) are merging. This may have a substantial impact on policies and fundamental regulations related to quality inspection procedures, conformity certification, and the declaration of conformity for IT and Communication (IT&C) products.
Basis for the merger is a Ministerial Document No. 141/KH-BCĐTKNQ18 (for the implementation of Resolution No.18-NQ/TW), which outlines a general plan to streamline and reorganizethe Government's administrative role.
The merger transition period was estimated to be completed within Q2-2025, (but may be delayed)
Expected impact on certification of IT&C products
- Some old and outdated MIC technical regulations/standards under MIC QCVN will be eliminated and replaced by
  new technical regulations/standards.

- The certification scheme #1 certification with factory assessment per ISO 9001 is expected to be eliminated. 

- MOST’s CR Conformity Mark will probably be adopted, and MIC’s ICT Conformity Mark will be discontinued.

- Currently the import clearance process PQIR and Declaration of Conformity via the Public Service Portal are not 
  fully integrated with the custom system, whereby paper documents are still needed for customs clearance of 
  Group 2 goods under MIC's jurisdiction. After the merger, the processes will be conducted entirely online. 

For testing of IT&C products according to the safety standard QCVN 132:2022/BTTTT (IEC 62368-1:2018), Nemko USA’s labs in San Diego, California and in Austin, Texas remain the ONLY accredited foreign labs under MRA agreement, as can be seen here.

Wi-Fi 6E band included in the regulation

After a public consultation by MIC regarding permissible frequency bands for wireless local area networks, they released on 31 March Circular No. 01/2025/TT-BHKCN which added the frequency band “5925 - 6425 MHz” for WLAN/RLAN devices, with effective date 15 May this year.

SAR testing becomes mandatory

At the end of last year, the MIC released Circular 19/2024/TT-BTTT  with a national technical regulation for Specific Absorption Rate (SAR).The regulated is denoted QCVN 134:2024/BTTTT, and its scope of handheld products includes:
•Mobile phones using 4G or 5G technology 
•Laptops/portable computers 
•Tablets

-For mobile phones, TA Certification shall be required, and the date of implementation is 1 July 2026. 
-For DECT phones, Laptops/portable computers and Tablets, local test report is required as basis for SDoC (Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity), and the date of implementation is 1 July 2027.

 Use of the regulation on a voluntary basis is already possible and is encouraged.

For further information and/or assistance with certification for Vietnam, please contact Vanessa.Wen@nemko.com

(This article is based on the information provided by Vanessa Wen and edited by T.Sollie)