VIEN

Import & export, step by step

The order matters: most expensive mistakes are steps done too late — a permit after arrival, an origin criterion discovered after sourcing. Each step links to the tool for it.

Importing into Vietnam

  1. 1

    Determine the goods' HS code

    Everything downstream — duty, permits, specialised inspection — hangs on these 8 digits. Search by product name (AI suggestions included), check the 6 classification rules, see how customs classified similar goods in classification notices, and for certainty request an advance ruling before the first shipment.

  2. 2

    Check commodity policy BEFORE signing the contract

    Open the HS code page's Policy tab: is the item banned, licence-bound, subject to specialised inspection, quarantine or conformity declaration, and which ministry manages it — or filter by ministry on the commodity policy page. A permit sought after arrival means goods sitting at port on daily storage fees.

  3. 3

    Check trade-remedy warnings

    If the code carries anti-dumping/countervailing measures (steel, aluminium, sugar, yarn…), the code page shows the warning with per-exporter duty rates — supplier choice can swing the duty by tens of percentage points.

  4. 4

    Compute duty and pick the FTA route

    Use the tax calculator: enter the invoice price under its delivery term (EXW, FOB, CIF…) — it derives the customs value, then computes import duty + excise + environmental tax + VAT under each FTA schedule. The FTA rate applies only with the right C/O form issued in the exporting country — which agreement uses which form — and goods meeting the code's origin criterion. Put the C/O obligation in the contract.

  5. 5

    File the customs declaration (VNACCS) and channel assignment

    File electronically via VNACCS/ECUS before arrival or within 30 days of the goods reaching the border gate. The system assigns a channel: green — immediate clearance; yellow — document check; red — document and physical inspection. Declaring the right HS code, value and C/O from the start is the surest way into the green channel next time.

  6. 6

    Pay duty, clear customs, keep the file

    Duty payment (or a bank guarantee) is the clearance condition. Files remain auditable for 5 years after clearance — keep declarations, invoices, C/O, transport documents and permits; a wrong HS code found late still means back-collection plus late-payment penalties.

Exporting from Vietnam

  1. 1

    HS code and export duty

    Most exports carry 0% duty, but minerals, raw metals and some agricultural goods are dutiable — see the export-duty tab on the code page. CPTPP/EU/UK destinations have their own preferential export schedules.

  2. 2

    Export policy and the destination tariff

    Check for export bans, licences or quotas (Policy tab). Then look from the buyer's side: the code page shows the corresponding US and Japanese tariff lines — for Japan all four preference routes (VJEPA, AJCEP, CPTPP, RCEP) side by side — plus the subheading's trade values to size the market. For US-bound goods check the party too, not just the product: screen the buyer, bank and forwarder against the US restricted lists before signing.

  3. 3

    Qualify for origin and obtain the C/O

    Check the code's origin criterion under the agreement with the buyer's country (many textile FTAs require fabric-forward or yarn-forward production — decided at the sourcing stage). Then follow the C/O guide: file on eCoSys with the agreement's form.

  4. 4

    File the export declaration and hand over documents

    File on VNACCS as for imports (similar channelling, usually lighter). The document set for the buyer: invoice, packing list, bill of lading, C/O — one missing or inconsistent detail across documents gives the importing customs grounds to reject the C/O, costing the buyer the preference.

  5. 5

    Watch for trade remedies in the destination market

    Vietnamese exports increasingly face anti-dumping, countervailing and anti-circumvention investigations (steel, wood, solar, seafood…). For US-bound goods, check the Chapter 99 surcharge warning on the code page. When an investigation opens, cooperating with the authority usually earns an individual rate far below the country-wide one.

Framework guide under the Customs Law and Circulars 38/2015/TT-BTC & 39/2018/TT-BTC, for reference only — procedures for specific goods follow the legal documents cited on each HS code page.