Effective April 25, 2026, Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) will officially implement the newly revised Technical Regulation on Imported Electronic Equipment (QCVN 122:2026), requiring all imported sensor modules (including pressure, temperature and humidity, and gas types) to carry compliant Vietnamese labels on the smallest sales unit and to be accompanied by a full-item test report issued by a VILAS-accredited laboratory. This policy directly affects Chinese manufacturers, traders, and supply chain service providers exporting sensor modules to Vietnam, and is a new regulatory milestone in the field of export compliance for electronic components that requires priority assessment.

Event Overview

On April 25, 2026, Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) will enforce the newly revised Technical Regulation on Imported Electronic Equipment (QCVN 122:2026). Under this regulation, all sensor modules imported into Vietnam (explicitly covering pressure, temperature and humidity, and gas sensors) must meet two mandatory requirements: first, a Vietnamese label must be affixed to the smallest sales unit, and the content must include the model number, manufacturer name, safety warning information, and VILAS laboratory number; second, a full-scope test report issued by a laboratory accredited by the Vietnam Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (VILAS) must be submitted with the shipment. Currently, publicly available information does not mention any transitional arrangements or exemption clauses.

Which market segments will be affected

Direct trading enterprises

Foreign trade companies and self-operated export manufacturers engaged in exporting sensor modules to Vietnam will be directly affected. Since the label must be in Vietnamese and include the VILAS number, general multilingual labels cannot be used as a substitute; the test report must be issued by a VILAS-accredited laboratory, which means existing domestic third-party reports will no longer be accepted. The impact is mainly reflected in longer customs clearance times, increased complexity in document preparation, and higher risk of return shipments.

Processing and manufacturing enterprises

Chinese factories focused on sensor module production (especially under OEM/ODM models) need to simultaneously adjust end-of-line operating procedures. In addition to conventional packaging and manuals, new steps must be added for Vietnamese label printing, application, and quality review; some companies report that the cycle for localized label design and approval has already been extended to 7–10 working days. The impact is reflected in passively extended delivery cycles for individual orders and rising marginal costs for small-batch orders.

Supply chain service enterprises

Third-party agencies providing supporting services such as customs declaration, testing agency services, and label localization are seeing structural changes in business volume. Testing schedules at VILAS-accredited laboratories are becoming tighter, and the testing cycle has been extended from the original average of 15 days to more than 25 days; demand for Vietnamese label compliance review has surged, but service providers qualified to review Vietnamese technical documents are limited. The impact is reflected in delayed service response, higher quotations, and greater difficulty in cross-process coordination.

What key points should relevant companies or practitioners pay attention to, and how should they respond at present

Monitor the latest list of VILAS-accredited laboratories and the scope of their testing capabilities

At present, the number of accredited laboratories published on the VILAS official website is limited, and each institution differs in the coverage of test items for sensor categories. Companies should verify whether the parameters involved in their products (such as accuracy class, operating temperature range, explosion-proof rating, etc.) fall within the capability scope of the target laboratory, so as to avoid rejection after sample submission due to capability mismatch.

Distinguish the practical difference between label “compliance” and “localized execution”

Vietnamese labels require not only linguistic accuracy, but also compliance with the physical specifications in Appendix B of QCVN 122:2026 regarding font size, contrast, durability, and placement. It is recommended to prioritize label templates verified by local Vietnamese compliance consultants, rather than relying solely on text files provided by translation companies.

Plan in advance the parallel rhythm of testing and label production

The issuance cycle of test reports has become the main bottleneck. Companies should initiate advance communication and testing appointments with VILAS-accredited laboratories as early as the sample confirmation stage, and embed label printing into the mid-testing phase (such as after completion of safety tests), rather than waiting until the final report is issued before producing labels, so as to shorten the overall delivery window.

Carefully assess the applicable status of existing inventory and goods in transit

The new regulation does not clearly state whether it applies retroactively to goods already declared but not yet released. Companies need to immediately review batches shipped before April 25, 2026 that are still awaiting customs clearance at Vietnamese ports, and contact local agents to confirm whether they can be handled under the old rules, so as to avoid concentrated port congestion.

Editorial Viewpoint / Industry Observation

From an industry perspective, QCVN 122:2026 is not an isolated technical upgrade, but a continuation of Vietnam's gradual tightening of import compliance thresholds for electronic products. Analysis suggests that its core intent is more inclined toward strengthening end-market access control rather than simply raising testing standards——the mandatory binding of labels to VILAS numbers essentially establishes a strong closed-loop link between testing institutions and circulation channels. What is more noteworthy at present is that this requirement has not yet been extended to embedded sensor modules in complete equipment, but if implementation proceeds smoothly, there is a possibility of downstream extension within the next 12–18 months. It is more appropriately understood as a signal of regulatory capacity building using labels and reports as the entry point, rather than a one-time compliance shock.

Conclusion
This new Vietnamese regulation on imported sensor modules marks the entry of its technical trade measures for electronic products into a stage of refined implementation. It does not change the technical essence of the products, but it significantly raises the threshold for localized response capability and time cost in exports to Vietnam. At present, it is more appropriate to understand it as a normalized compliance requirement requiring systematic adaptation, rather than a temporary obstacle that can be resolved through short-term response. Companies should incorporate it into the baseline of country-specific export compliance management, rather than treating it as a case-by-case emergency response.

Information source note
Main sources: official announcements on the website of Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), the text of QCVN 122:2026 (issued by Vietnam's national standards authority); areas for continued observation: implementing rules to be subsequently issued by the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GACC), and the dynamically updated directory of VILAS-accredited laboratories.