Law on Standards and Technical Regulations amended 2025: Pending bottlenecks in the elevator industry

Attending the seminar were representatives from the leadership of the Employment Department (Ministry of Home Affairs), the National Committee for Standards, Metrology and Quality, and the Vietnam Standards and Quality Institute. Representing the Employment Department were Mr. Nguyen Khanh Long - Deputy Director and Mr. Vu Tien Thanh - Head of the Technical Regulations and Inspection Division.

Representing the National Committee for Standards, Metrology and Quality were Mr. Nguyen Van Khoi - Head of the Standards Division and Mr. Trieu Viet Phuong - Director of the Vietnam Standards and Quality Institute. Also in attendance were the leadership of VNEA, domestic inspection organizations, and domestic and international enterprises operating in the elevator sector.

Speaking at the seminar, Mr. Nguyen Khanh Long - Deputy Director of the Employment Department stated that recently, the Department has received numerous opinions from organizations and enterprises reflecting difficulties and obstacles in the implementation process, particularly regarding conformity assessment activities for imported elevator products.

Acknowledging these difficulties, the Department has issued numerous guiding documents to resolve issues for import enterprises as well as conformity assessment organizations regarding the recognition of test results. In practice, the recognition of conformity assessment results was previously regulated in Article 26 of the Law on Product and Goods Quality; Circular No. 28/2012/TT-BKHCN; and Circular No. 02/2017/TT-BKHCN.

"The issuance of amended laws and decrees will resolve many obstacles for enterprises and certification organizations in the coming time, especially regarding mutual recognition activities," shared Mr. Nguyen Khanh Long.

Is there a need to plan the number of testing centers and principles for test pricing?

Presenting on the current situation and shortcomings in elevator conformity declaration, Mr. Nguyen Huy Tien, Secretary General of VNEA, stated that in 2025, several new regulations have had a profound impact on the elevator sector.

Notably, Circular No. 13/2024/TT-BLDTBXH dated December 5, 2024, from the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (now the Ministry of Home Affairs) abolished the acceptance of foreign test results as a basis for issuing conformity certificates for 6 elevator safety devices.

"This has created confusion in implementing conformity certification and recognizing the conformity assessment results of foreign organizations," said Mr. Tien.

Sharing the new points of the amended and supplemented 2025 Law on Standards and Technical Regulations, effective from January 1, 2026, Mr. Nguyen Huy Tien emphasized that the guiding Decrees and Circulars need to further clarify the basis for conformity declaration, the list of recognized certification/testing organizations, as well as recognized foreign conformity assessment organizations.

Regarding unilateral recognition, the VNEA Secretary General noted that Clause 2, Article 41 of the Draft Decree guiding the implementation of certain articles introduces the requirement: "Priority is given to recognizing conformity assessment results ... for fields where domestic testing, certification, and inspection capacity is still limited, failing to meet requirements and international standards."

Mr. Nguyen Huy Tien suggested that the element of "limitation" in domestic testing, certification, and inspection capacity needs to be clarified.

"With the scale of the elevator industry reaching 40,000 units/year, how many testing centers are needed to meet demand? How should the zoning planning of these centers be to ensure progress, optimize costs,... meet needs, and ensure the business production schedule of enterprises?" questioned the VNEA Secretary General.

Regarding domestic testing activities, Mr. Nguyen Huy Tien emphasized the need to clarify the competency criteria and facilities of the centers, the monitoring mechanism to prevent malpractice, and the establishment of clear, reasonable principles for pricing test costs that do not create burdens for enterprises.

At the seminar, Mr. Nguyen Van Khoi - Head of the Standards Division, National Committee for Standards, Metrology and Quality, also introduced the new points in the 2025 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations. Simultaneously, he stated that the Decree and guiding Circulars will be issued soon in the coming time.

Throughout the seminar, the delegates focused on analyzing the regulations on recognizing conformity assessment results according to the amended 2025 Law on Standards and Technical Regulations, clarifying the new points, scope of application, and practical impact on testing and conformity certification activities in the elevator sector.

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