HS codes, customs value and import duty

An enterprise preparing to import an item for the first time usually needs to know the amount of duty and tax payable before it signs the purchase contract. That amount depends on three bases. They are the commodity code (HS code), the customs value and the duty rate. This page answers three questions: under which rules the commodity code of an item is determined, under which conditions each of the three import duty rates applies, and in which order import duty and value-added tax are calculated. The duty rate of each individual code, excise tax, environmental protection tax, trade remedy duties, duty exemption and duty refund are outside the scope of this page.

• An item has only one commodity code under Vietnam's Nomenclature of Exports and Imports.
• The commodity code is determined under the Nomenclature and the six General Rules issued with Circular No. 31/2022/TT-BTC dated 8 June 2022 of the Minister of Finance, effective from 1 December 2022.
• The customs declarant may request an advance ruling on the commodity code. The dossier is submitted to the Department of Vietnam Customs at least 60 days before the consignment is imported; the written notice of the result is valid for a maximum of 03 years.
• There are three import duty rates: preferential, special preferential and ordinary. The ordinary rate equals 150% of the preferential rate of the corresponding item.
• The dutiable value for import duty is the customs value; the time of duty calculation is the time of registration of the customs declaration.
• The taxable price for value-added tax on imported goods already includes import duty.
• The customs authority assesses the tax when it has sufficient evidence that the declared value, commodity code or origin of the goods does not match the facts (Point đ, Clause 1, Article 25 of the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15).

Classification of goods means determining the name and commodity code of goods under Vietnam's Nomenclature of Exports and Imports on the basis of their characteristics, composition, structure, physical and chemical properties, use, packing and other attributes (Clause 16, Article 4 of the Law on Customs No. 54/2014/QH13). The commodity code is the basis for calculating duty and for applying goods management policies (Clause 1, Article 26). A wrong code leads to two discrepancies at once: the duty rate, and the management policy applied to the consignment, such as a licence or a specialised inspection.

The first principle is in Clause 1, Article 4 of Circular No. 85/2026/TT-BTC dated 30 June 2026 of the Minister of Finance on the classification of goods and the analysis of exported and imported goods for classification: an item has only one commodity code. The Nomenclature is Appendix I, and the six General Rules are Appendix II, of Circular No. 31/2022/TT-BTC.

Where the above principles have been applied and a single commodity code still cannot be determined, the classifier uses the four materials in Clause 1, Article 6 of Circular No. 85/2026/TT-BTC: the Explanatory Notes to the HS Nomenclature, the Compendium of Classification Opinions of the World Customs Organization, the Supplementary Explanatory Notes to the ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN), and the Database on Vietnam's Nomenclature of Exports and Imports. Where the description of goods in Vietnam's Nomenclature differs from the description in the HS Nomenclature or the AHTN, the description in the HS Nomenclature or the AHTN applies directly (Clause 2, Article 6).

The declared code is not yet the final result. During customs inspection, the customs authority determines the commodity code on the basis of the customs dossier, the result of the physical inspection of goods or the result of analysis or assessment. Where it does not accept the declared code, the customs authority has the right to take samples of the goods in the presence of the customs declarant for analysis or to solicit an expert assessment, and to decide the code; a customs declarant who disagrees has the right to lodge a complaint or initiate a lawsuit (Clause 5, Article 26 of the Law on Customs No. 54/2014/QH13). The Notice of Analysis and Classification Results is issued within 05 working days, or within 20 working days where the analysis time depends on the technical analysis procedure or the sample is complex, from the date of receipt of the complete dossier and the sample for analysis (Clause 3, Article 12 of Circular No. 85/2026/TT-BTC).

In import files for materials, an error in the commodity code usually starts from one habit: the HS code is declared by following the previous consignment without rechecking. That code is then used again when the enterprise assesses the change in tariff classification criterion to apply for a C/O for the finished product, as the page Importing into Vietnam sets out. I recommend that an enterprise fix the HS code and the description of each material when the purchase contract is signed, or at the latest before the time of import. An item has only one commodity code.

If you are preparing to import an item for the first time and are not sure of its commodity code, you may send me the technical documents or catalogue of the goods, a description of their use and the code you intend to declare. I will reply which General Rule applies to that item and which documents should be in the file before the customs declaration is registered.

What I do here is origin-document and customs-procedure work under the certificates I hold, not legal advice on a case.

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The customs declarant has the right to request the customs authority to give an advance ruling on the commodity code for goods to be imported (Article 18 and Article 28 of the Law on Customs No. 54/2014/QH13). The procedure has five steps under Article 24 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP dated 21 January 2015 of the Government, as amended and supplemented by Decree No. 167/2025/ND-CP (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP).

1. Prepare the dossier: the request on form No. 01/XĐTMS/NVTHQ; technical documents comprising the composition analysis, catalogue and images of the goods; a sample of the goods, if any (Clause 1, Article 7 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC, as amended by Circular No. 121/2025/TT-BTC).
2. Submit the complete dossier to the Department of Vietnam Customs at least 60 days before the consignment is imported (Point a, Clause 2, Article 24).
3. Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of the request, the Department of Vietnam Customs issues a written refusal if the dossier does not meet the conditions, the goods are awaiting the result of handling by a state management agency, or written guidance on the commodity code of the goods already exists (Point a, Clause 3, Article 24).
4. The written notice of the result is issued within 30 days from the date of receipt of the complete dossier, or 60 days for complex cases requiring verification and clarification (Point b, Clause 3, Article 24).
5. A customs declarant who disagrees with the result may request a review within 60 days from the date of the written notice (Clause 3, Article 28 of the Law on Customs No. 54/2014/QH13). The Department of Vietnam Customs replies within 10 working days, or 30 days for complex cases (Clause 5, Article 24).

The written notice of the advance ruling result is the basis for the customs declaration and is valid for a maximum of 03 years from the date of signing. The notice does not apply where the goods or the dossier actually imported differ from the sample or the dossier submitted with the request, and it ceases to be valid when the regulations on which it was based are amended, supplemented or replaced (Clause 4 and Clause 6, Article 24). The 60-day limit places this procedure in the contract negotiation stage, not in the stage when the goods have already arrived at the border gate.

The same commodity code may be subject to three different duty rates, depending on the origin of the goods and the documents proving that origin. The basis is Clause 3, Article 5 of the Law on Export Duty and Import Duty No. 107/2016/QH13.

Points a and b also apply to goods imported from a non-tariff zone into the domestic market where the corresponding origin condition is met. The specific duty rate of an item is taken from the tariff schedule in force at the time of registration of the declaration (Clause 2, Article 5 of Circular No. 85/2026/TT-BTC). The conditions for a proof of origin to be accepted belong to the section Checking C/O and preferential rates for imports.

The dutiable value for import duty is the customs value as provided in the Law on Customs (Clause 1, Article 8 of Law No. 107/2016/QH13). The six methods for determining the customs value and the consultation sequence are in the article Customs value and value consultation in Vietnam.

The time of calculation of import duty is the time of registration of the customs declaration (Clause 2, Article 8 of Law No. 107/2016/QH13). The amount of import duty is determined on the basis of the dutiable value and the percentage duty rate of each item at that time (Clause 1, Article 5).

The taxable price for value-added tax on imported goods is the dutiable value for import duty plus import duty, plus any additional import duties, excise tax and environmental protection tax (Point b, Clause 1, Article 7 of the Law on Value-Added Tax No. 48/2024/QH15). The time of determination of value-added tax on imported goods is the time of determination of import duty (Clause 2, Article 15 of Decree No. 181/2025/ND-CP).

An example with assumed figures: a consignment has a customs value of VND 1,000,000,000, an import duty rate of 10% and a value-added tax rate of 10%, and is not subject to excise tax or environmental protection tax. Import duty is VND 100,000,000. The taxable price for value-added tax is VND 1,100,000,000. Value-added tax is VND 110,000,000. A discrepancy in the commodity code or in the value therefore changes both amounts. As at 6 October 2026, a value-added tax rate of 8% applies to a number of items under a tax reduction policy; the rate for each item needs to be checked at the time of registration of the customs declaration.

Imported goods subject to duty must have the duty paid before customs clearance or release of goods. Where a credit institution guarantees the amount of duty payable, the goods are cleared or released, the guarantee period is a maximum of 30 days from the date of registration of the customs declaration, and the taxpayer must pay late payment interest (Clause 1, Article 9 of Law No. 107/2016/QH13).

Clause 1, Article 25 of the Law on Tax Administration No. 108/2025/QH15, effective from 1 July 2026, provides for nine cases, from Point a to Point i, in which the customs authority assesses the tax on exported and imported goods. Point đ is the case where the customs authority has sufficient evidence and grounds to determine that the declared value, commodity code or origin of the goods does not match the facts and affects the amount of tax payable. The technical documents and a record of the reason for choosing the code therefore need to be kept with the customs dossier of the consignment.

The status of validity in the table was checked on 6 October 2026. Amending documents are listed in separate rows.

• Importing into Vietnam. The four groups of work for an import consignment and the time limit for each group.
• The import document set: six places it drifts apart. The data fields to cross-check between documents before the customs declaration is registered.
• Origin criteria by FTA and C/O form. The role of the HS code in the change in tariff classification criterion.

Hoàng Ngọc Quang (QuangLogi)

Registered customs-broker staff member assigned an identification number by Vietnam Customs under Official Letter No. 249/GSQL-TH dated 20 February 2025.
Customs declaration professional certificate No. 165/2018/KHQ-HN.
Vice Director of GIANG TO VIEN DUONG INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT Co., Ltd. (Luchi Vietnam).
Member of the Vietnam Association for Logistics Manpower Development (VALOMA) under Admission Decision No. 1003/QD-BCH.
Trained as a lawyer in Course IX of the lawyer training programme for international integration at the Judicial Academy.
More than ten years handling documents and customs procedures on the China-Vietnam-Cambodia corridor, including C/O applications for goods exported from Vietnam and C/O files for goods imported from China.
About the author

I write from the perspective of a practitioner who directly prepares the files. Customer information in all examples is anonymised.