New Developments in “Made in Vietnam” Compliance: 2026 Decree No. 384 on Origin Rules Will Have Far-Reaching Impact on the Food Industry

Foodmate News: Vietnam recently issued Decree 384/2026/NĐ-CP, “Regulations on Determining the Vietnamese Origin of Goods Produced and Circulated Domestically.” This is a body of origin regulations specifically for goods produced in Vietnam and circulated in the domestic market, and it is expressly stated to take effect officially on January 1, 2027. The new policy aims to establish a clear and unified framework for determining the origin of goods circulated domestically in Vietnam. For foreign food manufacturing enterprises that invest in building factories in Vietnam, produce products, and sell them directly in the local market, the practice of vaguely labeling origin by relying on geographical location or simple processing steps will face strict compliance scrutiny in the future.

I. Core Background: Challenges in Managing Mixed Raw Materials from Multiple Countries and “Vietnamese Packaging”

The introduction of this decree is deeply linked to Vietnam's intensive tightening of product labeling and origin compliance policies in recent years. According to the earlier Proposal No. 4153/TTr-BCT submitted by Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade to the Government and the accompanying Legal Impact Assessment Report, officials explicitly pointed out the urgency of establishing a unified legal framework in Vietnam's domestic market. In its official document, the Ministry of Industry and Trade stated bluntly that for a long time, Vietnam's standards on the origin of goods had focused mainly on the import and export sector and on fulfilling the requirements of various free trade agreements (FTAs), while for goods produced, processed, and circulated domestically, there had long been a lack of a clear, unified legal basis and technical standards for determining “Vietnamese origin.” This institutional gap led some enterprises to exploit legal loopholes for improper operations, seriously affecting market order.

At the same time, in the report on the implementation of the Law on Product Quality and the assessment report accompanying the new labeling law (Decree 37/2026/NĐ-CP) shortly before its issuance, the pain point of labeling for goods made from mixed raw materials from multiple countries was directly addressed. The report cited monosodium glutamate as a typical example of disorder: some enterprises imported large quantities of raw materials from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and elsewhere, performed only simple physical mixing and packaging locally, yet used loopholes in old provisions to argue that this did not constitute pure splitting or repackaging (Sang chiết), and printed only “Vietnamese packaging” on the packaging to conceal the true origin. The assessment report pointed out that such concealment of origin not only infringes on consumers' right to transparent information, but also causes serious unfair competition for local compliant manufacturers that have made systematic investments and contributed to the fiscal budget. In view of the possibility that this phenomenon may occur in many other product categories, the authorities aim to ensure information transparency and fair competition in the domestic market through the implementation of Decree 384/2026/NĐ-CP.

II. Statutory Circumstances and Calculation Standards for Goods to Obtain Vietnamese Origin

According to the provisions of the decree, goods produced and circulated in Vietnam are recognized as having Vietnamese origin when they fall under one of the following circumstances:

1. Goods of purely Vietnamese origin

Article 5 of the decree explicitly lists 10 specific categories of goods of purely Vietnamese origin. In the food and agriculture sector, these mainly include:

(1) Plants and plant products grown and harvested in Vietnam;

(2) Animals born or raised in Vietnam, and products obtained from such animals;

(3) Products obtained in Vietnam through hunting, trapping, fishing, aquaculture, gathering, or capture.

1. Goods of non-purely Vietnamese origin

If the raw materials of goods contain non-originating ingredients originating outside Vietnam, one of the following conditions must be met:

(1) Change in tariff heading (Chuyển đổi mã số hàng hóa);

(2) Local value content (Hàm lượng VVC) of at least 30%.

1. Calculation of VVC content

Enterprises may choose the direct calculation method or the indirect calculation method to measure VVC content, and shall apply it consistently within a fiscal year. The specific calculation formulas are divided into the following two types:

a) Direct formula (Công thức trực tiếp):

b) Indirect formula (Công thức gián tiếp):

In terms of specific value composition, clear inclusion space is also provided for food enterprises: the value of packaging materials and the value of containers holding the goods are components of the goods and are included in the VVC content. This means that if a foreign-invested enterprise purchases or produces packaging materials locally in Vietnam, the value of that portion of packaging assets will directly help the enterprise meet the above-mentioned 30% compliance threshold.

III. What “Simple Processing Operations” Excluded from Origin Determination Refers To

Article 7 of Decree 384/2026/NĐ-CP defines simple processing operations as operations that do not use special skills, machinery, production lines, or specialized equipment. It also lists circumstances that constitute simple processing whether carried out individually or in combination, and these circumstances will not be taken into account when determining product origin. Those directly relevant to the food industry include:

(1) Storage and preservation maintenance: ventilation, drying, refrigeration, preservation (salting/sulfur fumigation) during transport or storage, and removal of deteriorated parts.

(2) Simple packaging: splitting and combining consignments, changing packaging, or simple bottling, bagging, or boxing.

(3) Labeling and printing: affixing/printing trademarks, logos, or distinguishing marks on products or packaging.

(4) Simple sorting: screening, classifying, grading, or simple mixing without changing the essential nature.

(5) Primary food processing: milling/husking/polishing/whitening of grains and rice; coloring/tableting of sugar; simple hulling or pitting of fruit shells.

(6) Routine testing: simple inspection or testing.

(7) Slaughter activities: slaughtering animals.

The simple processing operations listed above are basically consistent with the content of Article 9 of Vietnam's current Decree 31/2018/NĐ-CP, “Detailing the Law on Foreign Trade Management Regarding the Origin of Goods.”

IV. Transitional Provisions and Enterprises' Statutory Obligations

In order to ensure a smooth policy transition, the decree makes pragmatic arrangements for the replacement of old and new packaging and labels:

1. Continued circulation of old products: Before Decree 384/2026/NĐ-CP officially takes effect (January 1, 2027), goods whose labels correctly identify Vietnamese origin in accordance with the legal regulations in force at the time of production are allowed to continue using such labels and to be circulated and sold until the goods are consumed or exceed their shelf life (Hết hạn sử dụng). This provides a guarantee for foreign-invested enterprises to consume existing inventory of packaging materials.
2. Burden of proof and record retention responsibility: The new policy emphasizes that enterprises indicating Vietnamese origin on labels or relevant product documents must bear legal responsibility for the accuracy and authenticity of the published information. Enterprises must implement retention management of relevant files and documents proving the origin of goods (including input invoices, lists of raw and auxiliary materials, production process descriptions, and other relevant materials) so as to cooperate with inspection and audit by competent authorities at any time. The retention period for electronic data or paper documents must strictly comply with the relevant legal norms of the Accounting Law and the Archives Law.

V. Summary

The implementation of Decree 384/2026/NĐ-CP means the end of the era of vague labels such as “locally packaged in Vietnam” in the domestic sales market. Foreign-invested food enterprises should immediately self-check their product formulations in accordance with the logic of the new policy, dynamically calculate the local value-added share through the direct or indirect VVC formulas, and strictly review their factory production processes against Article 9 of Decree 31/2018/NĐ-CP to ensure that production processes go beyond the “simple processing” red line. At the same time, regulatory teams need to begin establishing complete input origin traceability files to ensure that, after the new policy is officially implemented on January 1, 2027, products circulated in Vietnam can continue to meet compliance requirements.

This article was edited by the Food Information Center of Foodmate Network. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. To reproduce, please contact news@foodmate.net.