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Vietnam

Your Vietnam cheat sheet that covers customs clearance and import duties for your eCommerce international shipping needs, eCommerce insights, and more

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Vietnam's B2C Customs Clearance Info and eCommerce Insights

Vietnam Flag
IDVN
CapitalHanoi
Official LanguageVietnamese
CurrencyVietnamese Dong (VND)
Population Size97.3 million

Vietnam’s eCommerce Market

Vietnam’s eCommerce market value is US$3.3 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to US$4.4 billion by 2024.

Increasing use of smartphones, the rise of internet penetration as well as Vietnam’s young and tech-savvy population are driving the growth in this sector. Within the region, Vietnam has the highest growth in mobile traffic, presenting attractive growth opportunities for eCommerce businesses.

 

Customs & regulations

Import Duty and Taxes
Shipment value below VND 1 million
Tax0%
Shipment value above VND 1 million
Value-Added Tax0%
Import Duties5-30%

You may check the tariff amount for your commodity here.

Please note that certain types of items will be subject to different taxes, such as the Special Sales Tax and Environment Protection Tax.

The Special Sales Tax applies to certain commodities and services, with commodities including cigarettes, liquor, beer, automobiles having less than 24 seats, motorcycles, airplanes, boats, petrol, air-conditioners up to 90,000 BTU, playing cards, and votive papers as mentioned by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The Environment Protection Tax applies to the production and importation of certain goods deemed detrimental to the environment, the most significant of which are petroleum and coal. For more information, you can refer to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ tax information or Vietnam’s Law in English.

Restricted and Forbidden Goods

Restricted items that must meet certain conditions before going through customs clearance:

  • Cigarettes, cigars, and tobacco

  • Liquor, and more

Prohibited items that cannot be imported into the market:

  • Military technical equipment and firecrackers

  • Narcotic drugs

  • Endangered wildlife products

This list may change depending on government regulations. Visit official customs page for the latest version.

Documentation

Documents required by Vietnam’s customs clearance include:

1. Packing List

This gives product details, shipment volume in kilogram or cubic meter, and serves as a checklist to ensure shipment has been packed correctly or not.

2. Commercial Invoice

This gives total shipment value usually in US dollar. Helps to determine the import duties and taxes, and eligibility of shipment.

If you are shipping without a logistics partner that can clear customs on your behalf, you may need to include the following shipping documentation as well:

  • Certificate of origin
  • Bill of lading or airway bill
  • Insurance policy
  • Other relevant permits, licenses, and certificates

Additional information

Payment preferences

Among Vietnamese eCommerce shoppers who pay using digital means, 34% of them would opt to pay by card, whereas 22% would pay by bank transfer and another 19% would pay using a digital wallet. Cash on delivery still plays a role in Vietnam’s eCommerce market, with 19% of Vietnam’s eCommerce shoppers using this payment method.

ECommerce sellers who wish to enter this market may want to consider offering various forms of payment to attract more customers.

Non-working days in 2020

Saturday, Sunday and public holidays are non-working days. Please expect shipment delays on these days.

List of public holidays:

DateHoliday
Jan 1New Year’s Day
Jan 23Tet Holiday
Jan 24Tet Eve
Jan 25Tet Nguyen Dan
Jan 26-29Tet Holiday
Apr 2Hung Kings Temple Festival
Apr 30Reunification Day
May 1International Labour Day
Sep 2National Day

Market Opportunities

Popular eCommerce Item Categories
  1. Fashion apparel & footwear
  2. Books, music, stationery
  3. Electronics
  4. Cosmetics & personal care
  5. Home appliances
Popular Shopping Seasons
Event NameEvent Period
Lunar New Year (Tet)Feb 15
Online FridaySep 7
Singles DayNov 11
Black Friday4th Friday in Nov
Cyber MondayMonday after Black Friday
Popular Shipping Destinations
EXPORTS
RankMarket
1United States
2China
3Japan
4South Korea
5Hong Kong
IMPORTS
RankMarket
1China
2South Korea
3Japan
4Taipei
5Thailand
Sources:

Worldometers (2020) | Statista (2020) | Tech in Asia (2018)Vietnam Online (2018) | JP Morgan (2019)Office Holidays (2020) | Vietnam Investment Review (2018) | Euromonitor International (2017) | VnExpress (2018) | Frost & Sullivan “South East Asia Transportation and Logistics Market” (2017)

Updated as of 30 Jan 2020.

                               
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