Origin criteria by FTA and C/O form

There is no single set of rules of origin shared by every export market. Each free trade agreement (FTA) and each C/O form corresponds to its own set of rules, laid down in a separate circular of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, with its own criteria, its own thresholds and its own calculation method. As a result, the same product, from the same production line and the same source of materials, can qualify as originating under one agreement and not under another.

This page answers three questions: Which agreement does your market come under? Which legal instrument sets out the rules and criteria for determining Vietnamese origin under the agreement you intend to use? What do the sets of rules for determining origin under the different agreements have in common, and where do they differ?

• Each free trade agreement and each C/O form has its own set of rules of origin, laid down in a separate circular of the Ministry of Industry and Trade; the same product can qualify as originating under one agreement and not under another.
• The product-specific rules of an agreement are found in the appendix to the implementing circular for that agreement, under the HS code of the finished product at the six-digit level; a product that has no rule of its own comes under the general rule.
• Four circulars issued in 2025 and 2026 have replaced, or laid down for the first time, the rules of origin of AANZFTA (Circular 44/2025/TT-BCT), AKFTA (Circular 49/2025/TT-BCT), EVFTA (Circular 14/2026/TT-BCT) and VN-UAE CEPA (Circular 24/2026/TT-BCT). A criteria table for these four agreements that still cites the old circular number can no longer be used.
• The general rule differs between agreements: RVC 40% or change in tariff heading (ATIGA, AJCEP, AANZFTA, VCFTA), RVC 40% (ACFTA), RVC 35% combined with change in tariff subheading (AIFTA); CPTPP has no general rule.
• EVFTA and UKVFTA calculate on the ex-works price (EXW), not on the FOB value as the other agreements do.
• ACFTA and AIFTA do not yet provide for the de minimis rule; this rule and the cumulation rule must be checked agreement by agreement and must not be inferred from Article 11 of Decree 31/2018/ND-CP.
• Where a market is covered by more than one agreement (China, Japan, South Korea), you need to check each agreement in turn and then compare both whether the criterion can be met and the preferential rate of duty.

The rules for determining the origin of goods differ from one agreement to another in three respects.

The origin criterion applicable to the HS code of the product. Each agreement has a List of Product-Specific Rules, which is searched by the HS code of the product. For the same HS code, it may well be that one agreement allows a choice between change in tariff classification and value content, another requires both to be met at the same time, and a third requires a specific working or processing operation.

The threshold and the formula for calculating value content. It is not only the percentage figure that is prescribed differently; the calculation method may differ as well. Some agreements calculate on the FOB value, others on the ex-works price (EXW). For the same consignment, a change of denominator in the calculation can completely change whether a C/O is issued.

The de minimis threshold and the cumulation rule. These are two secondary rules, but they are precisely what allows many plans that looked unworkable to qualify or, conversely, what causes a plan that looked likely to obtain a C/O to fail.

In the reference table below, the fourth column tells you which instrument to open. To find the rules of origin of an agreement, the place to look is not the agreement itself; you must go to the Ministry of Industry and Trade circular implementing that agreement. That Ministry of Industry and Trade implementing circular is where the List of Product-Specific Rules is found.

The three markets of Laos, Cambodia and Cuba are covered by bilateral trade arrangements and ordinary trade agreements, not by a free trade agreement (FTA). For these three rows, the Agreement column gives the name of the country instead of an FTA abbreviation.

The two markets of South Korea and Japan each have more than one option because they are covered by more than one free trade agreement (FTA), so the fourth column cites two different instruments. This is exactly the situation described in section 6, step 6.

Most of the guides currently circulating online have not yet been updated on this point.

• AANZFTA: Circular 44/2025/TT-BCT of 7 July 2025 replaces Circular 31/2015/TT-BCT. The circular has been in force since 22 August 2025, but it applies only to the member countries for which the Second Protocol has entered into force, and in practice that application started on 12 October 2025. For the remaining countries, the old provisions continue to apply.
• AKFTA: Circular 49/2025/TT-BCT of 9 September 2025, in force from 1 May 2026, replaces Circular 20/2014/TT-BCT and its amending instruments.
• EVFTA: Circular 14/2026/TT-BCT of 25 March 2026, in force from 10 May 2026, replaces Circular 11/2020/TT-BCT.
• VN-UAE CEPA: Circular 24/2026/TT-BCT of 5 May 2026 is the first instrument on the rules of origin of this agreement.

How to check for yourself: before using a criteria table found online, compare the circular number cited in that table with the fourth column of the table in section 2. A different number means that the table is out of date.

The general rule sits alongside the product-specific rules: it applies to products for which the List of Product-Specific Rules contains no rule of their own. A product that has a rule of its own follows that rule; a product that has none comes under the general rule.

The point to note in the last line for EVFTA and UKVFTA: the denominator of the formula is the ex-works price, not the FOB value as in the other FTAs. A company used to calculating on the FOB value can very easily get a wrong result when it switches to these two agreements.

The EVFTA tolerance, under Article 8 of Circular 14/2026/TT-BCT. This agreement does not use a single figure, and the basis of calculation is the ex-works price, not the FOB value.

The tolerance must be read together with a ceiling: applying the tolerance does not allow the value or weight of non-originating materials to exceed the maximum percentage prescribed in Appendix II to the circular. In other words, if the product-specific rule for the product already sets a maximum percentage of non-originating materials, Article 8 cannot be used to exceed that percentage.

Three points follow from this table. First, the two agreements most widely used for goods going to China and India do not yet provide for de minimis, so even a small proportion of materials that do not meet the change in tariff classification criterion is enough for the whole consignment to lose originating status. Second, the cumulation rule is why you should know, before finalising the purchase order, whether the materials supplier is located in a party to the agreement or outside it. Third, a percentage threshold means something only together with its denominator, so the threshold must be read together with the calculation method to establish exactly which denominator the percentage relates to.

The provisions on the de minimis rule must be checked agreement by agreement. Do not generalise from Article 11 of Decree 31/2018/ND-CP, or from the rule of one FTA, to all FTAs. For RCEP, EVFTA and every other agreement, reach a conclusion only after checking the exact provision and the product-specific rules that apply.

• Confirm the destination market and the agreement the buyer wants to use.
• Determine the HS code of the finished product to at least the six-digit level.
• Open the circular in the fourth column of the table in section 2, find the List of Product-Specific Rules appendix to that same circular, then find the product in it by HS code. If the product has a rule of its own, follow that rule; if not, follow the general rule. Note that many circulars have had their appendix replaced by a later amending circular, so you must open the appendix currently in force, not the appendix to the original text.
• Check the criterion you have found against the actual materials and production process at the factory.
• If the criterion is not met, go on to consider de minimis and cumulation before reaching a conclusion.
• If the market is covered by more than one agreement, repeat from step 3 for each agreement and then compare the results, both on whether the criterion can be met and on the preferential rate of duty.

Step 6 is the step most often skipped. The three major markets for Vietnamese goods all have more than one option: China has ACFTA and RCEP; Japan has AJCEP, VJEPA, RCEP and CPTPP; South Korea has AKFTA, VKFTA and RCEP. The form that is easiest to qualify for is not necessarily the form that gives the greatest duty advantage.

The tables in section 2 and section 5 are reviewed in successive rounds. Before relying on a row to make a decision, check it against the original text of the corresponding circular.

If your destination market is covered by more than one agreement, you can send me the HS code of the finished product, the importing country and the list of imported materials with their HS codes. I will check the criterion of each agreement that applies to that HS code and tell you clearly which form can be obtained and which form gives the better preferential rate of duty in the importing country.

What I do here is origin documentation and customs procedures work, within the scope of the professional certificates I hold; it is not legal advice on a specific matter.

Contact form

• Conditions for goods to be of Vietnamese origin. Wholly obtained, substantial transformation, and the operations that do not count.
• Input materials, material usage per unit and production process when applying for a C/O. The three types of supporting evidence for the origin criterion.
• Origin of goods and the certificate of origin (C/O) for goods produced in Vietnam. The overview page for this whole topic.

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 as someone who prepares these applications myself. Client details in the examples have been anonymised.