Custom Duties and Import-Export Regulations

Vietnam's rise as a China+1 manufacturing hub has always come with a compliance question mark. Since mid-2025, it has come with a pricing one too.

Contributing Advisor

Luy Doan

Manager, Tax

Vietnamese-origin exports to the United States are currently subject to a 12.5 percent Section 301 tariff, layered on top of standard MFN duty rates, the outcome of a fast-moving 13 months that took Washington from a 46 percent threatened rate, to a 20 percent bilateral framework, to a 10 percent stopgap, to the current country-specific regime. Separately, goods that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) determines were routed through Vietnam to disguise a different country of origin face a non-negotiable 40 percent transshipment penalty, with no mitigation or remission available.

For investors weighing Vietnam against other relocation destinations, that gap between "genuinely made in Vietnam" and "transhipped through Vietnam" turns customs classification and rules-of-origin documentation from a back-office task into a direct line item on the cost sheet.

What are your options for importing and exporting?

Foreign companies have two realistic ways to move goods across Vietnam's border, and the right one depends less on preference than on volume, timeline, and how long you intend to stay.

Option 1: Establish your own trading entity. Setting up a Vietnamese company with an import-export code and, where applicable, a trading license gives you direct control over customs declarations, supplier relationships, and long-term tax planning. It suits businesses planning sustained volume or a physical presence in Vietnam.

Option 2: Use an Importer of Record (IOR). Under Vietnam's Law on Foreign Trade Management, imported goods must be declared by a Vietnamese trader or a foreign trader with a legally established presence, so without an entity, a foreign company cannot act as importer itself. An IOR takes on that legal responsibility on your behalf, handling classification, licensing, and customs declarations under an Entrusted Import Service Contract.

Many companies use both in sequence: an IOR to import equipment or test products while the entity is being registered, then a transition to direct importing once the entity and its licenses are in place.

How is the US tariff shift changing the calculation?

The past year has seen Vietnam's US tariff* exposure move through four distinct regimes:

• July 2025: A bilateral framework set a 20 percent reciprocal tariff on Vietnamese-origin goods and a 40 percent transshipment penalty.
• February 2026: The US Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA-based tariff authority underpinning that framework, and the rate dropped to a flat 10 percent under the Trade Act's Section 122.
• 24 July 2026: Section 122's statutory 150-day limit expired. The same day, the US Trade Representative finalized Section 301 tariffs stemming from a forced-labor enforcement investigation covering 60 trading partners, Vietnam now sits in the 12.5 percent tier, with product-specific exemptions.
• Ongoing: The 40 percent transshipment penalty has persisted through each of these transitions and continues to apply to goods CBP determines were routed through Vietnam to obscure a different origin, a designation with no mitigation and no remission.

*This is a genuinely fast-moving area of trade policy. Treat the rates above as current at the time of writing and confirm the latest position before finalizing sourcing or pricing decisions.

The practical implication: for a company confident its Vietnam-made goods are exactly that, the current cost structure is workable, and still meaningfully better than a year ago. The exposure sits with supply chains that blend Vietnamese and third-country inputs, where CBP's substantial transformation test, not your invoice, determines which of those two numbers applies.

How do you protect your business from rules-of-origin and transshipment risk?

Preferential and standard tariff treatment both hinge on where a product is deemed to originate, and that determination now carries direct financial consequences beyond the immediate duty rate.

For exports into the EU, the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) offers substantial tariff reductions, but only for goods meeting defined rules of origin: wholly obtained goods, goods meeting a substantial transformation threshold, or goods satisfying product-specific rules tied to HS classification. Simple assembly of imported components rarely qualifies.

For exports into the US, the standard is stricter still. CBP's current enforcement posture treats assembly of near-complete components, for example, a laptop whose motherboard, display, and chassis all arrive pre-made from a third country, as retaining the origin of those components, not becoming Vietnamese-origin through final assembly.

Common origin documentation gaps to close before your next audit or shipment:

• Bill-of-materials records that don't clearly trace input origin by supplier.
• Certificates of origin issued without matching production and sourcing records.
• Reliance on a single "final assembly" step to justify Vietnam origin.
• No periodic supplier verification process for components sourced from higher-tariff origins.

Which compliance requirements are most often overlook?

Several changes to Vietnam's domestic trade framework since mid-2025 catch foreign investors off guard because they were still recent when many due-diligence checklists were written.

Commonly missed steps beyond the above:

• Confirming whether a product needs sector-specific import approval (cosmetics, ICT equipment, cryptographic products, and food for young children all carry separate registration requirements)
• Reassessing HS classification after any change in supplier, bill of materials, or manufacturing step
• Treating restricted and prohibited goods lists as a one-time check rather than something to revisit as product lines change

Does your company qualify for priority customs?

Vietnam's version of Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) status, priority customs treatment, offers real advantages: fewer inspections, faster clearance, and the ability to submit incomplete declarations with a 30-day window to complete them.

Applicants also need two years of clean customs and tax compliance (reduced from three), adherence to Vietnamese Accounting Standards, and a documented supply chain management system. A separate, simplified pathway now exists for newly incorporated high-tech, semiconductor, and R&D enterprises, which can qualify without meeting the standard turnover or compliance-history requirements.

For everyone else, which is to say, most mid-market entrants, these thresholds are simply out of reach. That leaves a real compliance-support gap: companies too small for AEO status but still exposed to the same classification, origin, and documentation risks as larger importers. This is precisely where a broker relationship, an IOR arrangement, or a standing customs advisory retainer tends to do the most good.

How long does it take to become import/export ready?

Individually, each registration step in Vietnam looks manageable. Added together, they set the real timeline for your first compliant shipment.

• Establishing a foreign-invested trading entity: typically, 2 to 3 months for enterprise and investment registration.
• Obtaining a trading license (where required for the relevant goods): a further 1 to 3 months.
• Registering for an import-export code and customs system access: largely automatic once the entity is registered, but should be confirmed before your first declaration.

Realistic planning range: 4 to 6 months from decision to first compliant shipment when establishing your own entity, versus days to a few weeks when routing through an IOR while the entity is being set up.

Companies that plan around the individual steps, rather than the combined timeline, are consistently the ones surprised by delayed launches.

Where does local advisory support make a difference?

Most of the risk in this article isn't a knowledge gap, it's a documentation and timing gap. Specialist support tends to matter most in a few specific places:

• Entity and trading license setup , sequencing registration correctly to avoid the gap between incorporation and being legally able to trade.
• Tariff and customs classification advisory , HS code review, origin verification, and tariff engineering ahead of a shipment, not after a penalty notice.
• Supply chain and rules-of-origin due diligence , mapping your bill of materials against both EVFTA and US substantial-transformation standards before a customs audit forces the question.
• VAT and indirect tax advisory , applying the correct 8 percent versus 10 percent treatment, and managing refund claims under the post-2025 rules.
• Importer of Record services , for companies that need to import before, or instead of, establishing a Vietnamese entity.

Managing tax in Vietnam is critical for FDI companies to stay compliant with local regulations, GST requirements, and global standards such as IFRS, navigate complex filings, and apply correct tax treatments. A well-structured tax process helps to avoid penalties and stay 100% compliant.

Luy Doan

Assistant Manager, Tax

Talk to an expert at luy.doan@dezshira.com

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