Product Labeling & Trademark Protection 2026: New Regulations and Guidance for Import-Export Businesses

1. The new legal framework for product labeling: Decree 37/2026/ND-CP

The amended Law on Product and Goods Quality (Law No. 78/2025/QH15, passed by the National Assembly on 18/6/2025, effective from 1/1/2026) shifted Vietnam's quality-management model from the old two-group system to a three-tier risk classification (low — medium — high), aligning with WTO/TBT practice and ISO 31000. On 23/1/2026, the Government issued Decree 37/2026/ND-CP detailing implementation of this law — and this decree entirely replaces Decree 43/2017/ND-CP and Decree 111/2021/ND-CP, the labeling rules businesses have relied on for years.

Definition: under Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree 37/2026/ND-CP, a product label is written text, print, drawings, or photographic reproductions of characters, images, or data carriers that are affixed, printed, attached, cast, engraved, or otherwise displayed directly on goods or commercial packaging, or through other means attached to goods or commercial packaging.

Label placement (Article 36): the label must be positioned where it is easily observed and its content can be fully recognized without having to disassemble parts of the goods. What's new compared to Article 4 of the old Decree 43/2017/ND-CP: mandatory content no longer needs to be concentrated in a single location — it may be spread across different parts of the goods/packaging, as long as it remains easily observable and does not require disassembly. Special goods (paintings, statues, art ceramics, sculptures) may use a detachable tag or be labeled on the back/underside if the label cannot be shown in an easily observed location.

Mandatory content (Article 42): the rules are split into three categories of goods:

Supplementary label (Article 40): if the original label on imported goods lacks required Vietnamese content, the importing organization/individual must add a supplementary label before the goods enter circulation. The supplementary label must fully translate the mandatory content from the original label, add any missing content, must not obscure the mandatory content on the original label, and must not mislead about the true nature or origin of the goods.

Transitional note: under Clause 3-5, Article 98 of Decree 37/2026/ND-CP, goods that were legally labeled and already in circulation before 23/1/2026 may continue to be circulated until their stated expiry date. Pre-printed packaging and labels not yet used up may continue to be used, but for no more than 2 years from the decree's effective date — i.e., no later than 23/1/2028.

• Goods circulated in Vietnam — must be labeled in Vietnamese with: product name; name and address of the organization/individual responsible for the goods; country of origin; plus other content depending on the type of goods per Appendix I of the decree.
• Original label on imported goods — must be shown on the physical label (in a foreign language or Vietnamese) at customs clearance: product name; origin (if undeterminable, state the location of the final processing stage, e.g. "assembled in", "packed in", "finished in" plus the country/territory name per TCVN 7217-1); full or abbreviated name and address of the foreign manufacturing or responsible organization.
• Export goods — labeled per the importing country's regulations, the contract, and applicable international treaties; must not display content related to sovereignty disputes or other sensitive content affecting security, politics, diplomacy, or public morals.

2. Enforcement hot spot: fraudulent "Made in Vietnam" origin labeling

On 16/6/2026, the General Department of Customs issued Official Letter 17552/CHQ-GSQL, directing customs units to intensify inspection and cross-checking of declared origin against the actual labeling on goods and packaging when conducting physical inspections of imports. The letter specifically flags cases where goods manufactured abroad are pre-labeled "Made in Vietnam", "Produced in/by Vietnam", "Origin Vietnam" or similar wording — alongside other red flags such as non-compliant labeling, missing mandatory content, or altered labels intended to conceal true origin or evade quality inspection.

Under the criteria in Decree 37/2026/ND-CP, goods may only be represented as "goods of Vietnam" if they have wholly-Vietnamese origin or are wholly produced in Vietnam, or if the final processing/manufacturing stage performed in Vietnam substantially transforms the goods' character under the Change in Tariff Classification (CTC) criterion and also satisfies the Value Added Content (VAC) criterion. Imported goods pre-labeled "Made in Vietnam" without meeting these criteria may be treated as counterfeit-labeled goods under Decree 98/2020/ND-CP (as amended by Decree 17/2022/ND-CP and Decree 96/2023/ND-CP) — with fines ranging from VND 4,000,000 to VND 250,000,000 depending on the value of the violating goods (organizations face double the fine applicable to individuals), plus remedial measures such as destruction of violating labels/packaging and disgorgement of illicit gains; cases meeting the threshold for criminal elements may be referred for criminal prosecution.

Guidance for importers: carefully inspect the original label before signing contracts and upon receiving goods; require suppliers not to pre-print "Made in Vietnam" if the goods do not meet the CTC+VAC criteria; cross-check the origin declared on the customs declaration against the actual labeling to avoid being flagged for origin fraud during physical inspection.

3. Trademark protection: legal framework and what's new in 2026

In late 2025, the 15th National Assembly passed the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Intellectual Property; the law officially took effect on 1/4/2026. The most significant change for businesses: the substantive examination period for trademark applications was shortened from 9 months to 5 months, alongside simplified procedures for establishing industrial property rights. Implementing guidance includes Decree 65/2023/ND-CP (as amended by Decree 15/2026/ND-CP, Decree 33/2026/ND-CP, and Decree 100/2026/ND-CP) and Circular 10/2026/TT-BKHCN issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Domestic trademark registration process: file the application with the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam → formality examination (about 1 month) → application publication (within 2 months from the formality-valid date) → substantive examination (now 5 months) → issuance of the Trademark Registration Certificate, valid for 10 years from the filing date, renewable indefinitely in successive 10-year terms.

International registration via the Madrid System: Vietnam is a member of both the Madrid Agreement and the Madrid Protocol, so businesses can file a single application, in a single language (English/French/Spanish), pay one fee to WIPO, and seek protection in multiple member countries simultaneously — without needing to hire separate local representatives in each country. International applications originating from Vietnam must be filed through the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam, which conducts a formality review within 2 months before forwarding the application to WIPO; the Vietnam-side fee is VND 2,000,000 (excluding fees payable to WIPO). Applicants may claim the priority date of the base application filed at the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam if the international application is filed within 6 months of the base application's filing date.

Using the ® symbol on imported goods: Official Letter 15662/CHQ-GSQL dated 24/4/2026 from the General Department of Customs provides guidance on indicating trademark protection status on imported goods. If goods, packaging, or supplementary labels use the ® symbol or similar indicators while accurately reflecting the actual protection status in Vietnam, this is not considered a violation; conversely, falsely indicating protection status (attaching ® to a trademark not yet protected in Vietnam) is penalized under Point b, Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 99/2013/ND-CP (as amended by Decree 46/2024/ND-CP) on administrative penalties in the field of industrial property.

4. Checklist: what importers and exporters need to watch for now

For importers:

For exporters:

For both directions: review all existing label templates for compliance with Decree 37/2026/ND-CP, and use the 2-year transition window (until 23/1/2028) to phase out pre-printed packaging/labels rather than having to discard entire inventories at once.

• Inspect the original label before customs clearance — cross-check product name, origin, and manufacturer name/address against Article 42; be especially cautious if a label is pre-printed "Made in Vietnam" while the goods are actually manufactured abroad.
• Prepare a complete Vietnamese supplementary label before placing goods into circulation on the Vietnamese market, in accordance with Article 40.
• Verify the trademark protection status of imported goods in Vietnam before signing contracts, to avoid the risk of importing counterfeit-trademarked goods (subject to penalties and confiscation/destruction under Decree 98/2020/ND-CP).
• Review whether the ®/TM symbols on goods and supplementary labels accurately reflect the actual protection status in Vietnam, per the guidance in Official Letter 15662/CHQ-GSQL.
• Comply with the importing country's labeling regulations, the export contract, and relevant international treaties.
• Do not display sovereignty-, security-, political-, or diplomacy-sensitive content, or content offensive to public morals, on export labels.
• Register trademark protection in the export destination market before scaling up exports — consider registering via the Madrid System if the destination market is a member, to save cost and time compared to filing separate national applications.
• Note the 6-month priority window if you want an international application to claim the priority date of a base application filed in Vietnam.