Consolidated Decree on Decentralization of State Authority in Industry and Trade (Updated Through 2026)
RegHub explainer by New MarketerLast updated:
Based on:146/2025/ND-CP; 235/2025/ND-CP; 26/2026/ND-CP; 137/2026/ND-CP - Government Official Gazette
This explanation was generated by AI and checked by an automated AI review, not by a human expert. It is not legal, tax or accounting advice and may contain errors. Check the official document before you rely on it.
This document is a consolidated version of Decree No. 146/2025/ND-CP (effective July 1, 2025) merged with three later amending decrees: Decree 235/2025/ND-CP (industrial promotion, effective October 15, 2025), Decree 26/2026/ND-CP (chemicals, effective January 17, 2026), and Decree 137/2026/ND-CP (multi-level marketing, effective July 1, 2026). It transfers approval and licensing authority away from the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) down to MOIT itself or to provincial People's Committees, across 25 chapters covering almost every sector MOIT regulates: oil and gas, chemicals, trade promotion, petroleum retail, LPG/LNG/CNG gas trading, tobacco, alcohol, market development, industrial explosives, electrical safety, occupational health and safety, import-export trade, trading activities of foreign-invested enterprises, food safety, product quality, electricity, consumer protection, e-commerce, energy efficiency, minerals, supporting industries, and automobiles. For businesses operating in these conditional business lines, the most important change is which agency now receives and processes applications. Many licenses and certificates that previously required approval from MOIT or the Prime Minister, such as alcohol production and distribution licenses, LPG/LNG/CNG export-import certificates, and tobacco raw-material processing permits, are now handled by provincial People's Committees or the Minister of Industry and Trade. Detailed procedures sit in 16 appendices to the original decree, so businesses should check the appendix matching their industry to identify the correct new authority and avoid filing with the wrong agency. The decree also sets general principles: agencies receiving delegated authority bear full responsibility for exercising it, the state budget funds the resources needed, and procedures involving fees continue to follow existing fee regulations. The entire decentralization framework stays in effect until March 1, 2027, unless extended by a law or National Assembly resolution, or superseded earlier by new legislation in the relevant sector.
Consolidated text and source decrees
This is a consolidated version of Decree No. 146/2025/ND-CP dated June 12, 2025, on decentralization of state authority in industry and trade (effective July 1, 2025), as amended by:
- Decree No. 235/2025/ND-CP dated August 27, 2025 (industrial promotion), effective October 15, 2025;
- Decree No. 26/2026/ND-CP dated January 17, 2026 (chemicals and hazardous substances management), effective January 17, 2026;
- Decree No. 137/2026/ND-CP dated April 7, 2026 (multi-level marketing business), effective July 1, 2026.
General principles (Chapter I)
The decree sets out the authority, order, and procedures for competent agencies to carry out delegation and decentralization of power in industry and trade. General principles: central agencies focus on macro-level state management and institution-building; local governments get more autonomy and full accountability; the state budget funds the resources needed; administrative procedures involving fees continue to follow existing fee regulations (Article 3).
Sectors covered by delegation and decentralization (Chapters II-XXIII)
The decree shifts authority from the Prime Minister or the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) down to MOIT or provincial People's Committees across 22 sectors, including:
- Oil and gas - approval of basic survey programs, contractor selection plans, petroleum contract content, and contract extensions moves from the Prime Minister to MOIT.
- Chemicals - the older delegation provisions are repealed and replaced by Decree 26/2026/ND-CP.
- Trade promotion - registration for organizing overseas trade fairs and exhibitions moves from MOIT to provincial People's Committees.
- Petroleum trading - authority to approve share transfers to foreign investors moves from the Prime Minister to the Minister of Industry and Trade.
- Gas trading (LPG/LNG/CNG) - issuance and revocation of export-import eligibility certificates and cylinder production/repair certificates moves to provincial People's Committees.
- Tobacco and alcohol trading - a range of licenses (tobacco raw-material processing, tobacco distribution, large-scale industrial alcohol production and distribution) move to provincial People's Committees; some Prime Minister authorities move to the Minister of Industry and Trade.
- Market development and management - training on market management moves to the provincial level.
- Industrial explosives and explosive precursors - training and safety certification for industrial explosives moves to the provincial level; some blasting-service licensing authority moves to the provincial level.
- Electrical safety - rules on protective corridors for power facilities and hydropower safety move from the Government to MOIT; appraisal of protection plans for major dams and reservoirs moves to provincial People's Committee chairs.
- Occupational health and safety - some of MOIT's technical safety inspection and certification authority moves to the provincial level.
- Trade and import-export; trading activities of foreign-invested enterprises; food safety; product and goods quality; electricity; consumer protection; e-commerce; energy efficiency and conservation; industrial promotion; mineral trading; supporting industries; and automobiles - each of these sectors has at least one specific delegation or decentralization provision, detailed in the corresponding articles and 16 appendices to the decree.
Implementation responsibility and validity (Chapters XXIV-XXV)
Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, and chairs of provincial People's Committees are responsible for organizing the exercise of delegated and decentralized authority within their assigned scope.
The base decree (146/2025/ND-CP) took effect July 1, 2025 and expires March 1, 2027, unless extended by the National Assembly or superseded earlier by a law or new decree that re-assigns the relevant authority. Decree 137/2026/ND-CP (multi-level marketing) replaces Decree 40/2018/ND-CP and 18/2023/ND-CP, with a 12-month transition period for existing multi-level marketing businesses to meet the new conditions.
Practical note for businesses
Because this is a consolidated reference text rather than an independent legal instrument, businesses should verify the original decrees and the matching procedural appendix before filing any application. Companies operating in the conditional business lines covered here, including oil and gas, chemicals, petroleum, gas, tobacco, alcohol, industrial explosives, and multi-level marketing, should confirm the new competent authority before submitting paperwork, to avoid delays or rejected filings sent to the wrong agency.