Things to Consider when Exporting to Vietnam

Regulations to Consider when Exporting to Vietnam

When considering importing to Vietnam, it is important to understand and consider regulations of what can be exported from your country a well as what can be imported into Vietnam. There are regulations on both sides so you must be aware of these regulations and their impacts on your business.

The following lists some of the more common restrictions on imports into Vietnam. For more detailed information please contact trade authorities in both the exporting and the importing countries or work with a trading house familiar with Vietnam and your country.

Imports Restricted or Limited by the Ministry of Trade

The Ministry of Trade bans import of:

• Weapons
• Ammunition
• Explosives and military technical equipment
• Narcotics
• Toxic chemicals
• Pornography
• Firecrackers
• Cigars and cigarettes
• Used consumer goods
• Right-hand drive transport
• Used vehicles
• Products and materials containing asbestos

Several other commodities require import licences:

• Portland cement
• Construction sheet glass
• Refined vegetable oil
• Sugar
• Motorcycles, and
• Brand new passenger transport.

Imports Restricted or Limited by Other Ministries

The ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development and of Aquatic Resources also administer test permits and import licences for a number of goods, including veterinary drugs, animal feeds, fertilizers new to Vietnam, genetic material, and aquaculture feeds, materials, drugs and chemicals. In practice, most domestic livestock and meat products require import approval on a case-by-case by Vietnamese authorities. Canada and Vietnam have agreed on standardized veterinary certification to allow exports of certain products from Canada to Vietnam, including bovine semen, bovine embryos, breeding swine, porcine semen, day-old chicks/hatching eggs and day-old poults/hatching eggs. For more details, consult the Canadian Embassy.

Vietnam has a number of regulations on packaging of food products. For more information, please consult http://ats.agr.ca/asean/vietnam_label-e.htm.

The State Bank of Vietnam has the right to designate enterprises permitted to import specialty goods such as cash vans and currency paper and ink.

The Ministry of Telecommunications issues import permits for radio transmitters and radar equipment, and issues standard compatibility certificates for most other telecommunications equipment.

The Ministry of Culture must approve all publications and audio-visual products. All equipment for the printing industry requires an import permit.

The Ministry of Health is responsible for the registration and issue of test permits and import certification for most therapeutic products.

Other Regulations

Labelling: Government regulations require all consumer goods imported or produced for sale in the domestic market to bear labels which include the name of the good, the name and address of the traders responsible for the good, any relevant quality standard, production and expiry dates, ingredients, quantitative analyses, directions for use and maintenance instructions.

Language requirements: Information on labels of consumer products must be provided in Vietnamese although the font size of Vietnamese can be smaller.

Safety requirements: Importers of products that need to have safety certificates must apply for certificates before distributing them on the market. Safety regulations are available from the Directorate of Standards and Quality (http://www.tcvn.gov.vn). Currently, standards are voluntary unless mandated by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Safety standards applied in developed jurisdictions like Japan, Canada, the US and the EU are generally accepted.

The metric system is widely used and understood in Vietnam, although there is no official requirement to use it in packaging.

Conclusion

Most of the equipment that can’t be imported into Vietnam are logical items (weapons, pornography, narcotics) but it is important to understand that items that may seem common are not allowed or are restricted and require licences (Portland cement, cigarettes, sugar).

When working on your business case and developing your plans, don’t assume that what you want to export to Vietnam can be exported – you may be surprised. Make sure you get in touch with people who know the regulations and the restrictions, and build a solid relationship with your trading partners to stay on top of the market.