The Government of Vietnam has officially promulgated Decree No. 163/2026/ND-CP, providing detailed regulations and guidelines for implementing specific articles of the Law on Drug Prevention and Control. Under this newly instituted statutory decree, controlling legal activities related to narcotics is defined as the formal authorization, tracking, inspection, and surveillance of specified operations to prevent any exploitation of these substances for illicit purposes. The regulatory scope encompasses the entire supply chain, including the research, forensic examination, production, transportation, storage, commercial distribution, and import-export of narcotic substances, precursors, addictive drugs, psychotropic drugs, and derivative formulations.
The primary administrative architectures, compliance timelines, and cross-ministerial oversight criteria include:
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Production Licensing Framework: Entities seeking authorization to manufacture narcotic substances or precursors are required to submit a definitive single application file to the Ministry of Public Security (specifically the Counter-Narcotics Investigation Department). For incomplete or invalid submissions, the licensing authority must issue a written request for amendments or supplementary documentation within 5 working days of initial receipt. Within a 30-working-day window following the receipt of a fully compliant file, the authority will review the documentation and execute on-site evaluations if deemed necessary. Final decisions on permit issuance are cross-examined with technical branches of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, adjusted based on the verified scale, volume, and industrial purpose.
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Permit Validity and Surveillance Mechanisms: Valid manufacturing licenses are capped at a maximum duration of 2 years, with a single non-renewable extension window restricted to 1 year. To maintain tight logistical control, the issuing authority must distribute copies of the active permit to the provincial-level Department of Public Security and the local People’s Committee within 3 working days of execution. The entire manufacturing process remains under strict surveillance from initial approval through final product completion.
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Transportation Logistics and Clearance Protocols: For transit operations involving controlled substances, the application dossier must explicitly state the registered names of the dispatching and receiving organizations, the operational purpose, the specific substance name, its chemical CAS Registry Number, the exact volume, target concentrations, detailed transit route profiles, timing parameters, and the transport vehicle utilized. Dossiers must be supplemented by legal corporate status verifications, active transport contracts, and valid import-export permits or official documentation validating the lawful origin of the cargo. The transit approval pipeline operates on an accelerated track: the registry has 3 working days to signal deficiencies and must finalize technical review and issue the transit permit within 5 working days once a valid dossier is locked in.
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Strict Mandatory Healthcare Compliance: The decree permanently mandates that the receipt, handover, and physical transport of addictive therapies, psychotropic drugs, precursor-containing medicines, and raw active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) classified as addictive or psychotropic chemical bases must strictly comply with national statutory laws governing pharmaceuticals and medical raw materials subject to special state control.