Discusses requirements for products entering the country/economy temporarily. including information on warranty and non-warranty items entering the country/economy for repair.
Last Published: 7/12/2018

MOIT Decision No. 2504/2005/QD-BTM, “Promulgating the Regulations on Management of Temporary Import for Re-export or Border-Gate Transfer of Goods Banned or Suspended from Import”, governs the regime for the temporary entry of goods for re-export.
According to Vietnam regulations, seven kinds of goods are banned from temporary import for re-export or border-gate transfer. The list includes: weapons, ammunitions, explosives (excluding industrial explosives subject to separate regulations); military technical equipment; antiques; narcotics of all kinds (excluding pre-substances subject to separate regulations); toxic chemicals of all kinds; wildlife and natural, rare and precious animals and plants; special-use codes of all kinds and code software programs used for the protection of state secrets; discarded materials and waste (excluding those permitted for import for use as raw materials for domestic production).

Regarding discarded materials and the procedure of temporary import for re-export of waste products, MOIT issued a decision document in 2008. According to that (7893/BCT-XNK), traders should add a “license of importing discarded materials and waste” to its documents when applying for approval to temporarily import waste goods for re-export. The import country issues this license.

Circular No 126/2011/TT-BTC (issued in 2011) amends Circular No. 165/2010/TT-BTC (issued by MoF in 2010) that guides customs procedures for export, import, temporary import for re-export and border-gate transfer; import of materials for production and mixture; and import of materials for export processing of petrol and oil. This Circular is applied for all traders that possess petrol and oil export and import licensed may export, import, temporarily import for re-export and transfer from border gate to border gate petrol and oil and materials (except crude oil). The ministry is working on a proposal of abolishing the temporary import for re-export policy to submit to the government. The main purpose of the proposal is to prevent traders from taking advantage of the gap in the policy to import unqualified, hazardous, or even prohibited commodities to Vietnam and then never re-export them.

Prohibited & Restricted Imports
According to government of Vietnam Decree No. 12/2006/ND-CP (2006), Vietnam prohibits the commercial importation of the following goods: military weapons, arms and ammunition, explosive materials (not including industrial explosives); firecrackers; second-hand consumer goods; reactionary, depraved or superstitious cultural products or those harmful to aesthetical or personality education; right-hand drive motor vehicles; used spare parts for vehicles, used internal combustion engines of less than 30 horsepower; discarded materials and waste; asbestos materials under the amphibole group; toxic chemicals of table 1 (under international treaties); narcotics; certain types of children’s toys; various encryption devices and encryption software; polluting waste and scrap; and refrigerating equipment using chlorofluorocarbons. Restricted imports include imports subject to import licenses from MOIT, and are subject to special management and oversight by various ministries and agencies such as the Ministry of Health; Ministry of Culture and Information; Ministry of Information and Communications; The State Bank; Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and others. U.S. exporters should confer with their Vietnamese customers, agents, or distributors to determine whether an MOIT import license is required for their restricted goods.
 

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.


More Information

Vietnam Market Access Trade Development and Promotion Transport and Logistics Policy