The number of post-inspections is still too low
According to data from the Drug Administration of Vietnam (Ministry of Health), there are currently about 200,000 cosmetic products nationwide that have received Declaration Fores, from nearly 2,500 facilities. Of which, 150,000 imported products are received by the Department of Drug Administration and about 50,000 domestically produced products are processed by the Departments of Health of provinces and cities.
Product announcement activities are carried out in accordance with the provisions of the ASEAN Cosmetic Agreement and Circular 06/2011/TT-BYT. Accordingly, for imported cosmetics, businesses only need to submit documents online: Declaration form; Authorization letter of the manufacturer or product owner; Free circulation certificate (CFS). The responsibility for ensuring quality, safety and efficiency lies entirely with the organization in charge of the announcement.
Dr. Ta Manh Hung - Deputy Director of the Department of Drug Administration (Ministry of Health) - said that the annual inspection, examination and post-inspection work is implemented according to the principle of risk management. However, the number of facilities subject to post-inspection is still quite modest.
According to Mr. Hung, each year the Drug Administration only inspects 20-30 facilities, while local Departments of Health inspect about 300 facilities. In 2024, the Department inspected 23 facilities and fined 2 units with a total amount of 255 million VND; the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Health fined 4 more facilities (350 million VND). As of November 17, 2025, the Department has inspected 35 facilities, of which 23 facilities were conducting surprise inspections, and fined 11 units with a total amount of more than 1 billion VND.
Regarding product quality, in 2025 alone, the number of products whose circulation was suspended, their declarations were revoked or their own recalcitation by enterprises reached 9,296 products - a figure that shows the complexity of the market.
Dr. Hung commented that with the scale of the Vietnamese cosmetics industry reaching 2.3 - 2.5 billion USD in 2024, a growth rate of 10-15% per year, large profits make the market a "fertile land" for counterfeit and counterfeit goods. At the same time, the widespread self-made and trading of handicraft cosmetics is putting great pressure on management agencies, especially when many consumers are still subjective with products of unknown origin.
Need to tighten processes and increase corporate responsibility
In reality, many cases related to unusual cosmetics are discovered thanks to consumer feedback. At that time, the authorities will start checking, taking samples to analyze and handle the violation.
A recent example is the post-inspection of products of MK Skincare Import-Export Production and Trading Service Company Limited (HCMC) - a company owned by Mr. Hoang Kim Khanh, associated with the Mailisa beauty salon brand. Cosmetic lines DOCTOR MAGIC, MAIKA BEAUTY,
MK is only checked when there are suspicious reports.
Data on the public service system, from 2018 to present, MK Skincare has received 162 declarations; as of November 17, 2025, there are still 81 valid receipts.The review results show that up to now, the Drug Administration has not received any feedback from the testing system or the Department of Health about quality violations related to this product group.
Notably, the self-declaration mechanism is being applied to cosmetics circulating in Vietnam. Accordingly, the enterprise must prepare documents including ingredients, quality standards, documents proving safety... and submit them to the management agency. After receiving valid documents, the Department issues the receipt number so that the enterprise has the right to circulate.
However, the management agency did not pre-evaluate the quality of the product.The dossier is the responsibility of the enterprise itself.The inspection only takes place after the product has been circulating, through post-inspection or when there is a reflection.
Dr. Ta Manh Hung believes that this is a major "bottleneck" of current cosmetic management activities.According to him, Vietnam needs to build a strong enough post-inspection system, conducting periodic inspections with higher frequency, especially for products at risk of violations.
Mr. Hung emphasized raising the penalty for violations related to advertising, advertising or cosmetic production to increase deterrence. At the same time, it is necessary to build a transparent traceability database...
In addition to perfecting the legal framework, Dr. Hung said that it is necessary to promote the development of the domestic cosmetic industry to reduce dependence on imported products, while raising consumers' awareness of the risks of using cosmetics of unknown origin.
In addition, the Ministry of Health needs to closely coordinate with the Police, Industry and Trade, Customs, Market Management... to control the entire chain from production - import - distribution to circulation.
