I. ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL DOCUMENTS
1. Laws:
- Law on Environmental Protection 2020 (No. 72/2020/QH14), effective from January 1, 2022;
- Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of 15 laws in the field of agriculture and environment 2025 (No. 146/2025/QH15), effective from January 1, 2026.
2. Decrees:
- Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP guiding the Law on Environmental Protection, effective from January 10, 2022;
- Decree No. 45/2022/ND-CP on administrative penalties in the field of environmental protection, effective from August 25, 2022;
- Decree No. 153/2024/ND-CP on environmental protection fees for emissions, effective from January 5, 2025;
- Decree No. 05/2025/ND-CP dated January 6, 2025 amending Decree 08/2022/ND-CP, effective from January 6, 2025;
- Decree No. 346/2025/ND-CP on environmental protection fees for wastewater, effective from January 1, 2026;
- Decree No. 48/2026/ND-CP amending Decree 08/2022/ND-CP as amended by Decree 05/2025/ND-CP, effective from January 29, 2026.
3. Circulars:
- Circular No. 02/2022/TT-BTNMT guiding the Law on Environmental Protection, effective from January 10, 2022;
- Circular No. 07/2025/TT-BTNMT amending Circular 02/2022/TT-BTNMT, effective from February 28, 2025;
- Circular No. 09/2026/TT-BNNMT amending Circular 02/2022/TT-BTNMT as amended by Circular 07/2025/TT-BTNMT, effective from January 29, 2026.
4. Vietnamese Technical Regulations:
- QCVN 40:2025/BTNMT on industrial wastewater, effective from September 1, 2025;
- QCVN 19:2024/BTNMT on industrial emissions, effective from July 1, 2025.
II. LAW ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
This is the highest legal document in the environmental sector, stipulating:
- Classification of projects by environmental impact levels (Group I, II, III, IV)
- Environmental management instruments:
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
- Environmental Permit (EP)
- Environmental Registration
- Trial operation of waste treatment facilities
- Environmental monitoring (automatic/continuous and periodic)
III. IMPLEMENTING DECREES
1. Decree 08/2022/ND-CP
- Detailed guidance on the Law
- List of projects subject to EIA, EP, or Environmental Registration
2. Decree 05/2025/ND-CP
- Amendments to Decree 08
3. Decree 48/2026/ND-CP
- Regulations on adjustment of Environmental Permits
- Standardization of administrative procedures
- Promotion of digitalization of environmental dossiers
IV. IMPLEMENTING CIRCULARS
1. Circular 02/2022/TT-BTNMT
- Issuance of templates for EIA, EP, and Environmental Registration dossiers
2. Circular 07/2025/TT-BTNMT
- Amendment of templates under Circular 02
3. Circular 09/2026/TT-BNNMT
- Procedures for EIA appraisal
- Issuance, adjustment, and re-issuance of Environmental Permits
- Environmental monitoring
- Issuance of implementation templates
V. ENVIRONMENTAL PROCEDURES FOR PROJECTS
Step 1: Project Identification and Classification
- Determine project group (I, II, III, IV)
- Identify applicable procedures: EIA, EP, or Environmental Registration
Step 2: Preparation of Environmental Dossiers
- Prepare dossiers according to prescribed templates
- Submit to competent authorities for appraisal
Step 3: Trial Operation
- Inspection and trial operation of waste treatment facilities (if required)
Step 4: Official Operation
During operation, projects must:
- Disclose environmental information:
Within 10 days after approval or issuance - Disclose monitoring results:
- Continuous monitoring: after 30 days
- Periodic monitoring: within 10 days
- Submit annual environmental reports: before January 15 of the following year
- Declare environmental protection fees:
- Wastewater: quarterly/yearly (if not connected to centralized system)
- Emissions: quarterly/yearly
