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VIET NAM – Economy Report Highlights

Key Activities – 2026

Future Focus – 2027 and beyond

Presenter – Mr. Trung Dung BUI

PROJECT 996 REVIEWED – NQI PROJECT TO 2030

2018–2025: 48 national measurement standards (117% of target); 45,596 enterprises supported in measurement assurance; 29 RMs & 100 instrument models made in Viet Nam
Lesson: international CMC recognition lags (32/200)
Decision 1876/QĐ-TTg (30/9/2026): ≥50 new CMCs, 30 CRMs, 100 PT schemes by 2030

STREAMLINED RULES & DECENTRALISATION

Decree 36/2026/NĐ-CP: registration of verification, calibration & testing services moved to provinces (5 working days, ISO/IEC 17025)
Circular 54/2025: new rules for verification, calibration & testing
Circulars 04, 22, 45/2026: fewer procedures; pattern approval valid 10 years; training for commune inspectors

AMENDING THE LAW ON METROLOGY

Metrology Day (16/1/2026): review of 15 years of the 2011 Law
Government approval (Res. 162/NQ-CP, 23/6/2026); NA Committee verification (1/10/2026)
Before the 16th National Assembly: adoption expected Nov 2026, effective 1/3/2027

DIGITAL, DATA-DRIVEN METROLOGY

Shared digital platform & database; e-certificates and digitised results
ID codes & life-cycle management for Group 2 instruments
Risk-based post-market control instead of blanket pre-checks

STRONGER CAPACITY, ENTERPRISE-LED ASSURANCE

Standards for strategic tech, new energy, digital & green economy
Measurement Assurance Programmes in enterprises – first time in law
Public–private investment; recognition of foreign results

DECENTRALISATION & CONSUMER PROTECTION

Group 1: self-declared capability; Group 2: State designation
8 procedures cut; quantity-mark certificate replaced by batch control
Clear central–province–commune roles; data access & redress for consumers

PRESENTER NOTES – VIET NAM ECONOMY POSTER 2026 (33rd APLMF, Chiang Rai, 4–6 November 2026)
Format: 5-minute overview + 5-minute Q&A. Suggested timing: intro 30 s – 3 activities 2.5 min – 3 future pillars 1.5 min – close 30 s.

OPENING (≈30 s)
Good morning/afternoon. I am Quy Giau TRAN from STAMEQ – the Commission for Standards, Metrology and Quality under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of Viet Nam. Since March 2025 MOST has merged with the Ministry of Information and Communications, and since July 2025 Viet Nam has run a two-tier local government (34 provinces and the commune level). 2025/26 was a year of reviewing, simplifying and preparing a new legal basis for metrology.

KEY ACTIVITY 1 – PROJECT 996 REVIEWED, NEW NQI PROJECT TO 2030 (≈50 s)
• On 28 November 2025 STAMEQ held the national review conference of Project 996 (PM Decision 996/QĐ-TTg of 10 August 2018) "Strengthening and innovating measurement activities to support Vietnamese enterprises", phase 2018–2025.
• Results: 48 national measurement standards approved (target 41 → 117%); 10,079 trainee attendances (100.8%); 45,596 enterprises supported in measurement assurance programmes (91.2%); 29 reference materials and 100 types of measuring instruments produced domestically (≈129% of plan).
• Lesson learned: only 32 of the 200 targeted CMCs (16%) were achieved – limited expertise and facilities, few domestic inter-laboratory comparisons, costly and slow international comparisons. Investment in standards must include money for operation, maintenance and key comparisons.
• Model localities: Quang Ninh, Dak Lak, Ha Tinh, Hai Phong and the Ministry of National Defence; e.g. water utilities applying ISO/IEC 17025 to water-meter verification reduced errors and correction costs.
• Next step – PM Decision 1876/QĐ-TTg (30 September 2026) approving the Project on developing national technical organisations for standards, metrology and quality to 2030: upgrade one national metrology organisation; at least 50 more internationally recognised CMCs; at least 30 types of CRMs; at least 100 proficiency-testing schemes; OIML-based pattern-evaluation capability; 100% digital management of verification/calibration/testing data and gradual use of e-certificates.
Photo: review conference of Project 996, Hanoi, 28/11/2025 (VietQ / tcvn.gov.vn).

KEY ACTIVITY 2 – STREAMLINED RULES & DECENTRALISATION (≈50 s)
• Decree 36/2026/NĐ-CP (23 January 2026) amends Decree 105/2016: registration of verification, calibration and testing services is now granted by the Chairman of the provincial People's Committee within 5 working days; providers need legal status, adequate facilities, at least one qualified technician, a QMS in line with TCVN ISO/IEC 17025, public price lists and annual reports. MOST builds the national database on standards, metrology and quality.
• Circular 54/2025/TT-BKHCN (31 Dec 2025, effective 15 Feb 2026) on verification, calibration and testing of measuring instruments and standards replaces Circular 24/2013.
• Circular 04/2026 (27 Feb 2026, effective 15 Apr 2026): updated list of Group 2 instruments, control measures and verification intervals; updated rules for gold-trading balances.
• Circular 22/2026 (20 May 2026): pattern approval decisions valid 10 years; adjustments filed online and processed in 5 working days.
• Circular 45/2026 (31 Jul 2026, effective 1 Sep 2026): cuts and simplifies procedures across several metrology circulars.
• Support to localities: guidance documents and a training manual on state metrological inspection for commune/ward officials (Oct 2025); provinces now certify working standards (e.g. Bac Ninh certified 68 standards in Aug 2026).
• Consumer protection in practice: nationwide E10 bio-gasoline inspection (Plan 3927/KH-BKHCN, 5 June 2026) – no violations at inspected facilities by end-July 2026. A new sanctions decree replacing Decree 119/2017 (heavier fines for falsifying results) is under consultation.
Photo: calibration laboratory (illustration from the tcvn.gov.vn article on Decree 36/2026).

KEY ACTIVITY 3 – AMENDING THE LAW ON METROLOGY (≈50 s)
• The 2011 Law on Metrology has been in force almost 15 years; about 10 million measuring instruments are verified each year; the national system has 51 national standards and more than 8,000 working standards.
• Milestones: Vietnam Metrology Day workshop reviewing the Law (16 Jan 2026, Ninh Binh) → drafting team (25 Feb 2026) → public consultation (Mar 2026) → workshop in Ho Chi Minh City (10 Apr 2026) → National Assembly Committee on Science, Technology and Environment workshop (15 Jun 2026) → Government Resolution 162/NQ-CP (23 Jun 2026) → study visit to KATS, Korea (27 Jul 2026) → verification session of the NA Committee (1 Oct 2026) → submitted to the 2nd Session of the 16th National Assembly (October 2026), to be adopted at one session.
• Expected timeline (press reports): NA discussion late October, adoption around 13 November 2026, entry into force 1 March 2027.
• What we learned: broad consultation, international benchmarking (OIML, Korea, other economies) and a quantified impact assessment helped build consensus; deputies insisted that less pre-market control must be matched by evidence-based post-market control and effective redress for consumers.
Photos: Plenary session of the NA Committee on Science, Technology and Environment, 1/10/2026 (VietQ); Vietnam Metrology Day celebration, Ninh Binh, 16/1/2026 (VietQ).

FUTURE FOCUS 2027 AND BEYOND – THE THREE PILLARS OF THE AMENDED LAW (≈1.5 min)
1. Digital, data-driven metrology
• New chapter on digital transformation in metrology; digital platform and shared database as part of the national quality-infrastructure platform.
• Legal recognition of digitised measurement results and electronic certificates; identification codes and life-cycle management for Group 2 instruments and related standards; protection of software-controlled instruments (updates must not change results; data tampering prohibited).
• Inspection moves from blanket pre-market checks to risk-based post-market control using compliance history and data; automated alerts support but never replace evidence and the right to explain.
2. Stronger national capacity, enterprise-led assurance
• Orientation for scientific and industrial metrology; priority to standards for strategic technologies, new energy, the digital and green economy (AI, semiconductors, biomedicine, high-speed rail…).
• Measurement Assurance Programmes in enterprises are put into law for the first time (voluntary; they do not replace mandatory control of Group 2 instruments).
• Combining public and private resources; recognising foreign measurement results where domestic capability is not yet available. The Government estimates about VND 9,000 billion for 2026–2030 for national standards and the digital platform.
3. Decentralisation and consumer protection
• Group 1 instruments: verification/calibration/testing providers self-declare capability and are responsible for it; Group 2 (mandatory control): the State assesses and designates providers.
• Abolish certification of working standards, the classification of prepackages and the certificate for using the quantity mark – replaced by batch-based quantity control and record keeping by businesses; 8 administrative procedures cut (≈VND 400 billion compliance cost saved over 5 years).
• Clear inspection roles for central, provincial and commune levels; consumers' access to measurement data (electricity, water, fuel, gas), refunds and compensation when errors or fraud are found.

CLOSING (≈30 s)
Our message: simpler rules, stronger capacity, better data – so that every measurement Vietnamese consumers and businesses rely on can be trusted. We would welcome APLMF members' experience on risk-based market surveillance, quantity control of prepackages without a quantity mark, software control and remote verification of utility meters, digital calibration certificates and training of local inspectors.

POSSIBLE Q&A
• Why abolish the quantity mark? – Compliance cost vs. benefit; control shifts to producers' batch records and post-market checks; the obligation to ensure actual quantity remains for all businesses.
• How will risk be assessed? – Criteria and methods to be set in implementing decrees: compliance history, inspection results and data from the digital platform; criteria to be public.
• What about CMCs? – Decision 1876 targets at least 50 more CMCs by 2030 with funding for key comparisons and staff training.

SOURCES (accessed October 2026)
tcvn.gov.vn: Vietnam Metrology Day workshop (16/1/2026); Decree 36/2026/NĐ-CP (26/1/2026); Circular 54/2025 (8/1/2026); Decision 1876/QĐ-TTg (1/10/2026); NA Committee session on the draft Law (2/10/2026); NA deliberations (18/10/2026).
mst.gov.vn: Project 996 review (28/11/2025); draft Law – data-driven management (11/4/2026), three pillars (28/8/2026, 2/10/2026); Decree 36/2026 (24/1/2026); Circular 45/2026; cooperation with KATS (27/7/2026).
Other: baotintuc.vn (national SMQ database & E10 inspection, 31/7/2026); baophapluat.vn (timeline of the draft Law, 21/10/2026); worldmetrologyday.org (WMD 2026 theme).