Chemical Incident Prevention Plans under Circular 20/2013 — Historical Guidance

Cases requiring a plan under the former rules

Under the former rules, the following cases required a chemical incident prevention and response plan in the industrial sector:

1. Investment projects producing, storing or using hazardous chemicals where the maximum quantity held at any one time met or exceeded the threshold in Appendix IV to Decree 26/2011/ND-CP. A plan had to be prepared before the project began operating.
2. Facilities producing, trading, storing or using hazardous chemicals where the maximum quantity held at any one time met or exceeded the threshold in Appendix IV to Decree 26/2011/ND-CP.
3. Chemical projects or facilities changing production capacity, storage quantity, scale, or the number or types of chemicals, where the maximum quantity held at any one time met or exceeded the threshold in Appendix IV to Decree 26/2011/ND-CP.
4. Projects or facilities handling both chemicals requiring a plan and chemicals requiring prevention and response measures. A plan covering all those chemicals was required, without a separate measures document.

Appraisal and approval of plans

Cases requiring measures under the former rules

Plans were appraised by a council including representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade; provincial or municipal Departments of Industry and Trade; fire-prevention and firefighting authorities; environmental authorities; relevant economic-zone, industrial-park, high-tech-park, export-processing-zone or industrial-cluster management boards, where applicable; and specialists.

The former timeframe for plan appraisal and approval was 30 days from receipt of a complete, valid dossier. The Ministry of Industry and Trade was the competent approval authority.

Circular 20/2013/TT-BCT also specified cases requiring chemical incident prevention and response measures in the industrial sector:

1. Chemical projects whose maximum chemical inventory at any one time was below the quantity limit in Appendix VII to Decree 26/2011/ND-CP. Measures had to be prepared before operations began.
2. Chemical facilities whose maximum chemical inventory at any one time was below the quantity limit in Appendix VII to Decree 26/2011/ND-CP.
3. Chemicals for which Appendix VII to Decree 26/2011/ND-CP did not specify a quantity limit. The circular originally took effect on 15 October 2013. Read the historical circular here.

The circular’s historical effective date

Sources and legal status

Circular 20/2013/TT-BCT

Official list of repealed instruments

Law on Chemicals 69/2025/QH15