In brief
On 09 June 2023, the Government released Decree No. 32/2023/ND-CP to replace Annex II of Decree No. 53/2018/ND-CP regarding encryption products subject to Import Permit (“Decree No. 32”), which also takes effect on 09 June 2023.
Key takeaways
Most of the products under Annex I of Decree No. 53/2018/ND-CP remain unchanged.
Decree No. 32 includes the following new products into the scope of Export/Import Permit:
- Smart phones
- Cameras
As previously regulated, these products are only subject to Import Permit if they contain encryption functions as described under this Annex.
In depth
Decree No. 32 adds the following products to be subject to Export/Import Permit:
One question that arises from these new products is how the exemption set forth under Annex I, Decree No. 58/2016/ND-CP applies to these new products.
As previously discussed with the National Agency of Cryptography and Information Security (NACIS), the exemptions under Annex I, Decree No. 58/2016/ND-CP are applicable to products under Annex II; meaning that the products under Annex II may be exempted from Export/Import Permit if they meet the criteria of the exemption under Annex I (e.g., widely used IT products).
Plainly read, the new products under Annex II of Decree No. 32, based on their name and description, should also be considered as widely used IT products. If so, it follows that these products ought to be exempted from Export/Import Permit as per the explanation of the NACIS.
We propose that the NACIS provides guidance to clarify this point.
The full Vietnamese text of Decree No. 32 can be found here.
