Chemical Import in 2026: Decoding the Composition Declaration Crisis & The Latest Regulatory Relief

Since the beginning of 2026, chemical import procedures in Vietnam have encountered a severe bottleneck. At the heart of this customs clearance crisis lies a sharp conflict between regulatory demands for composition disclosure and the strict proprietary data protection principles of global supply chains. Below is an in-depth analysis of the root causes of this impasse and an evaluation of the impact of Official Letter No. 7786/BTC-CHQ, aimed at resolving these operational challenges for international trade enterprises.

1. The Current Impasse in Industrial Chemical Customs Clearance

Despite arriving at ports with complete documentation, industrial chemical shipments are currently facing local customs demands for a 100% detailed chemical composition disclosure. This requirement mandates three compulsory elements:

Scientific Name: The scientific name of each constituent substance.
Unique Identifier: CAS numbers (Chemical Abstracts Service) or equivalent registries.
Exact Concentration: The precise percentage of each ingredient within the mixture.

In real-world supply chains, foreign manufacturers routinely refuse to disclose these details to safeguard technology secrets and proprietary formulations. Consequently, cargo is being held up at ports. This impasse not only disrupts downstream supply chains but also triggers a spike in demurrage and storage fees, presenting a highly risky landscape for importing enterprises since the beginning of this year.

2. Root Causes Stemming from Chemical Law No. 69/2025/QH15

These customs clearance bottlenecks escalated sharply on January 1, 2026, when Chemical Law No. 69/2025/QH15 and its guiding decrees officially took effect. The current specialized chemical control lists expose two major roadblocks:

Absence of Detailed HS Codes: Controlled chemical lists primarily identify substances by scientific names and CAS numbers without mapping them to specific, granular HS codes.
Conventional Commercial Declaration Habits: Importers historically declare goods using trade names or broad descriptions such as “additives” or “chemical mixtures.”

This gap between regulatory frameworks and conventional declaration practices leaves customs officers without a standardized basis to verify whether a shipment requires a specialized license, leading to systematic holds for verification.

3. Conflict Between Intellectual Property Security and Legal Liability

Vietnamese importers are caught in a classic “Catch-22” due to this information asymmetry in the global supply chain:

Upstream Data Deficiency: Foreign partners firmly refuse to share proprietary formulas, leaving importers without detailed composition data.
Downstream Legal Liability: Falsifying composition data to expedite clearance constitutes a severe legal violation, exposing the importer to heavy administrative and criminal liabilities.

This regulatory deadlock has been highlighted by three notable milestones in 2026:

March 2026: The US Business Council (Asia) submitted an urgent petition to competent authorities highlighting the severe port congestion.
May 2026: The General Department of Customs clarified that there is no statutory regulation mandating a 100% composition disclosure for every chemical import under all circumstances.
June 2026: Despite official clarifications, shipments continue to face severe delays at ports due to inconsistent enforcement at local customs sub-departments.

4. Official Letter No. 7786/BTC-CHQ: The Proposed Relief Measures

To prevent widespread economic disruption, the Ministry of Finance issued Official Letter No. 7786/BTC-CHQ on June 8, 2026. The letter requests the Prime Minister to direct the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) to amend Decree No. 26/2026/ND-CP. The proposal puts forward two ground-breaking solutions:

Transition to a Post-Clearance Audit (PCA) Mechanism: Remove the requirement for detailed composition checks prior to customs clearance. The system will empower businesses to self-declare and bear post-import legal responsibility.
Establishment of a Secure Data Portal: Create a dedicated, secure platform allowing foreign suppliers or importers to submit sensitive composition data directly to government regulators, eliminating the risk of trade secret exposure to third parties.

If approved, these proposed amendments will represent a major milestone, unclogging chemical imports and setting a precedent for procedural standardization for other complex, multi-component goods.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on Chemical Customs Clearance in 2026

Do customs authorities mandate a 100% chemical composition declaration?

No, there is no statutory regulation forcing a 100% composition disclosure in all cases, as officially clarified by the General Department of Customs in May 2026. However, due to the lack of specific, granular HS codes on regulatory lists, local-level customs officers frequently request this information to ensure compliance with specialized control lists.

What should businesses do to mitigate port storage costs in the meantime?

Enterprises should proactively negotiate Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) with foreign suppliers to obtain partial, key composition data. While waiting for the official amendment of Decree No. 26/2026/ND-CP, importers can also request suppliers to provide formal declarations confirming that the product contains no restricted or banned substances listed under current Vietnamese chemical regulations.

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