Vietnam Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in vietnam, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Customs Regulations
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Certain goods to be exported or imported are subject to customs inspection and specialized inspection before being cleared at customs stations. The customs inspection covers specifications, quantity, and volume. The specialized inspection is based on Vietnamese national technical regulations/standards except for pharmaceuticals and should be carried out by border inspection agencies or qualified certification bodies. Imported goods subject to specialized inspection include petroleum products, fertilizers, electronic and electrical products, food and beverages, feed ingredients, pesticides, seeds, veterinary drugs, machinery and equipment, steel, and pharmaceuticals. Importers should be aware that this list may be altered from time to time. Imported pharmaceuticals, for example, must go through random lab tests on sample batches performed by Vietnamese officials. Since January 1998, all imported drugs must have instructions on product use, dosage, and expiration dates printed in Vietnamese and inserted in packages.

Vietnam implemented the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement through the 2006 Customs Law and related regulations, which significantly improved its customs valuation process. Despite this positive step, U.S. exporters continue to have concerns about other aspects of the customs clearance process, citing inefficiency, unclear rules and regulations, red tape, and corruption as the most common issues. The U.S. continues to work with Vietnam to monitor implementation of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement. 

In 2014, Customs Law No. 54/2014/QH13 was adopted to replace Law No. 29/2001/QH10 and Law No. 42/2005/QH11 on amendments. The revised law regulates the implementation of a national singular form in customs operation that applied risk management principles, new regulations on the establishment of the Customs Department, the authorization of the Customs Authorities to determine the origin of goods, specifying the conditions to be an agent of customs procedures, duration for customs authorities to do customs clearance, new regulations on customs declaration, and more.

The Vietnam National Assembly then promulgated two related laws in late 2014 and 2018. Law No. 71/2014/QH13 dated November 26, 2014, provides amendments to Tax Laws. Law No. 35/2018/QH14 dated November 20, 2018, stipulates amendments to some articles concerning planning of 37 laws.


 

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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