Revealing the Dark Secrets of Vietnam Customs Clearance!

In the past two years, the Vietnamese market has suddenly become a "hot cake" in the foreign trade circle. Mr. Zhang's export volume of hardware accessories has tripled in half a year, and Ms. Li is overwhelmed with clothing orders. But do you know? The inspection rate of the Vietnamese customs is as high as 25%, and a single document error may cost you tens of thousands of yuan in freight! Today, we are going to reveal the key aspects of export Vietnam procedure agency.

Vietnam updated its import and export tax laws in 2023, and these changes have caused many enterprises to suffer hidden losses:

• The HS CODE's first 6 digits must be reflected in the certificate of origin, 2 more digits than in China
• For electronic equipment, an additional Vietnam Standard Certification (QCVN) needs to be applied for
• For food - contact materials, a microbiological test report must be provided

Ms. Wang's ceramic tableware was once detained at Ho Chi Minh Port for 15 days due to the lack of a heavy - metal dissolution test, generating a demurrage fee of 2000 yuan per day.

When choosing export agency services, it is recommended to follow this process for review:

• Confirm the code (3 letters + 7 digits) registered by the agent with the Vietnamese customs
• Verify whether it has the qualification to handle ATA carnets
• Request to provide the customs clearance records of the latest 3 similar products
• Confirm whether there is a Vietnamese - language document review service

The case of Zhongshitong shows that professional agents can shorten the average customs clearance time from 7 days to 48 hours.

In addition to the regular customs declaration fees, these hidden expenses should be budgeted in advance:

• Vietnam port operation fee (THC) is about 1200 yuan per 20 - foot container
• Anti - dumping deposit (up to 35% for some steel products)
• Vietnam - localized label printing cost
• Third - party inspection fee (random sampling rate of 15%)
• Document notarization and certification fee (commercial invoices require double certification)

The latest revelation from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam indicates that the following may be implemented next year:

• An electronic certificate - of - origin traceability system will be launched for some agricultural products
• Textiles need to provide a full - supply - chain environmental protection certificate
• The import tariff for auto parts will be reduced by 3 - 5 percentage points

Is it a problem with the format of the certificate of origin? Or is it stuck in the Vietnam Standard Certification? Welcome to share your practical experience in the comment section. Forward this article to 3 peers, and you can get a free electronic version of the Vietnam Customs Clearance Document Checklist (including Chinese - Vietnamese bilingual templates). Next time, we will explain in detail how to avoid trade barriers through transshipment in Vietnam. Stay tuned!