What is inspection of compliance with the law on environmental protection in Vietnam?

According to Clause 3, Article 160 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 (Effective from 01/01/2022), regulations on Inspection of environmental inspection and environmental auditing, in which:

3. Inspection of compliance with the law on environmental protection means an inspection by a competent authority of entities, except for the case where the inspection is conducted to handle administrative procedures specified in this Law. To be specific:

a) An unscheduled inspection without advance notice shall be carried out if there are grounds for presuming that an entity is suspected of violating the law on environmental protection or under decision of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment or President of provincial People’s Committee.

b) The Environmental Police shall conduct an inspection if an entity is suspected of conducting an criminal activity or violating the law in relation to environmental crimes; when there is a crime report or petition for prosecution or report on a violation against the law in relation to environmental crimes, and inform an environmental protection authority at the same level for cooperation; cooperate in inspecting the compliance with the law on environmental protection in other cases by entities according to the plan approved by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment or President of the provincial People’s Committee. On an annual basis, send a notification of results of environmental protection inspection and imposition of penalties for violations against the law on environmental protection to the environmental protection authority at the same level.

Best Regards!