CIRCULAR

ON THE MANAGEMENT OF THE QUALITY OF ENGINE LUBRICATING OILS IN BUSINESS

Pursuant to the Commercial Law of May 10, 1997;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 95/CP of December 4, 1993 on the tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Trade;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 11/1999/ND-CP of March 3, 1999 on the goods banned from circulation, commercial services banned from provision; goods and services subject to business restriction and/or conditional business;
With a view to enhancing the State management over the quality of engine lubricating oils in business, the Ministry of Trade hereby guides the management of the quality of engine lubricating oils as follows:

Article 1.- Scope of application:

1.1. This Circular applies to:

a/ Organizations and individuals, including foreign organizations and individuals (hereinafter called traders for short), that currently trade in engine lubricating oils in Vietnam (including import, preparation, packing, wholesale and retail).

b/ Lubricating oils used for piston engines include: Four-stroke and two-stroke internal-combustion engines using burning fuel being petrol, diesel oil (DO) or natural gas.

1.2. This Circular does not apply to lubricating oils for aircraft engines

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Engine lubricating oils consumed on the Vietnamese market must be labeled according to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 178/1999/QD-TTg of August 30, 1999 on the Regulation on the labeling of goods circulated in the country as well as imports and exports; its guiding Circular No. 34/1999/TT-BTM of September 15, 1999 and Official Dispatch No. 486/BTM-QLCL of January 31st, 2000 of the Ministry of Trade.

Article 3.- Provisions on the grading of viscosity and quality; minimum quality levels; testing methods; and actual quality levels of engine lubricating oils permitted for consumption in Vietnam

3.1. Grading of viscosity and quality:

The viscosity grades of engine lubricating oils stated at Clause b, Item 1.1, Article 1, inscribed on the goods labels shall comply with the viscosity grading system of the American Society of Automotive Engineers in Appendix 1 and the quality levels inscribed on the goods labels shall comply with the quality level system of the American Petroleum Institute in Appendix 2.

3.2. The minimum quality level and the testing method of engine lubricating oils stated at Clause b, Item 1.1, Article 1, which are permitted for consumption in Vietnam, shall comply with the prescriptions in Table 1 below (corresponding to SC/CB quality level).

Ordinal

number

Criteria

Limit levels

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...

...

1

2

3

...

...

...

5

6

7

...

...

...

viscosity

at 100oC (cSt)

Viscosity index

Total sodium

value (TBN)

(mg KOH/g)

Coke burning

...

...

...

Bubble-forming

temperature at

93.5oC (ml)

Total metal

content of Ca,

Mg and Zn (%
of weight)

Water content

(% of volume)

According to

...

...

...

Not lower
than 95

Not lower

than 2.4

Not lower

than 180

Not lower

than 50/0

Not lower

...

...

...

Not lower
than 0.05

ASTM-D445

ASTM-D2270

ASTM-D2896

ASTM-D92

...

...

...

ASTM-D4628

ASTM-D95

(ASTM: American Society for Testing Materials)

3.3. Actual quality level:

Traders are only permitted to trade in engine lubricating oils with the quality level equal to or higher than the quality level stated in Table 1. The actual quality levels shall correspond to the quality levels in the API system and the viscosity grades in the SAE system.

Article 4.- Provisions on the management of the import of engine lubricating oils

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4.2. The actual quality levels and the technical specifications publicized on the goods labels, purchase and sale contracts as well as the provisions in Articles 2 and 3 of this Circular shall serve as legal grounds for goods evaluation, quality inspection and market control regarding engine lubricating oils.

Article 5.- Provisions on the management of preparation of engine lubricating oils and management of import of raw materials (original oil and additives) for preparation of engine lubricating oils

5.1. Only traders that have production and/or preparation establishments fully meeting conditions on technical capability, technologies and certificates may organize the preparation of engine lubricating oils from original oil and additives.

5.2. The Ministry of Trade shall coordinate with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment in organizing the evaluation of: technical capability; preparation technology; production environment; safety facilities for fire and explosion fighting; professional certificates suited the business lines of the engine lubricating oil-preparing establishments, and in granting certificates to establishments licensed to prepare engine lubricating oils.

The contents of such a certificate include: The preparation capacity, product categories and achieved quality level of products. Traders shall be only permitted to prepare their products with the quality level determined in the granted certificates.

5.3. Only traders that are granted certificates stated at Item 5.2 may import original oil and additives. The quantity of imported original oil and additives must not exceed the certified preparation capacity. The traders are forbidden to sell original oil and additives on the domestic market.

5.4. The certificates mentioned at Paragraph 5.2 shall serve as a legal basis for traders to fill in the procedures for importing original oil and additives at the customs offices. Other legal procedures shall comply with current regulations.

5.5. Traders must inspect the quality of lubricating oils prepared in Vietnam before putting them on circulation. The quality levels and technical specifications inscribed on the goods labels must match with the actual properties of the goods.

Article 6.- Implementation provisions

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6.2. Traders specified at Clause b, Item 1.1, Article 1, must abide by the provisions of this Circular. If they commit any violations, they shall be subject to administrative sanctions in the field of trading activities and have their certificates stated in Item 5.2, Article 5, revoked.

6.3. This Circular takes effect 30 days after its signing for issuance.

FOR THE MINISTER OF TRADE
VICE MINISTER




Luong Van Tu

APPENDIX 1

ENGINE LUBRICATING OILS� VISCOSITY CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO SAE

SAE viscosity grades

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Minimum

Maximum

OW

3.8

-

5W

3.8

-

...

...

...

4.1

-

15W

5.6

-

20W

5.6

-

25W

...

...

...

-

20

5.6

< 9.3

30

9.3

< 12.5

40

12.5

...

...

...

50

16.3

< 21.9

60

21.9

< 26.1

APPENDIX 2

ENGINE LUBRICATING OILS’ QUALITY LEVELS CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO API

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+ Engine lubricating oils used for diesel oil engines: CA, CB, CC, CD, CE...

+ Multi-functional engine lubricating oil used for both petrol engines and diesel oil engines includes both above codes, for instance: SA/CB; SG/CD.