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Regulatory Radar · Vietnam (Ministry of Finance; Customs Department) · Customs

Vietnam proposes cutting its duty-free limit for small imports to VND 100,000

Consultation · updated 15 September 2026 · reviewed 23 October 2026 · Southeast Asia

Article 29 of a draft decree detailing the Law on Export and Import Taxes would exempt a shipment from import or export duty only if its customs value is VND 100,000 or less, or the tax payable is VND 10,000 or less. Today, postal and express imports are exempt up to VND 1 million in value or VND 100,000 in tax, and other imports up to VND 500,000 or VND 50,000. The lower limits would apply to all channels, including post and express; gifts and border-resident trade are excluded. VAT on low-value express imports has applied since February 2025.

For a parcel Most cross-border e-commerce parcels into Vietnam that now enter duty-free under VND 1 million would start paying import duty on top of VAT, at a threshold of about US$3.8.

Key dates

  • Done15 Sep 2026

    Customs Department explains the proposal; the draft decree is still open for comments from ministries, agencies and associations, with no effective date Luật sư Việt Nam

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Who it hits

Foreign marketplacesCross-border sellersExpress and postal operators delivering in VietnamCustoms brokers

What to prepare

  • Model duty on Vietnamese inbound parcels between VND 100,000 and VND 1 million by product line
  • Check that HS codes and values on Vietnam-bound parcels are good enough for duty assessment, not only VAT
  • Follow the draft decree for an effective date and any transition period

Our reading

Customs justified the cut by order splitting and undervaluation, and the draft follows the 2025 removal of the VAT exemption, so adoption in some form is likely. No date has been set, and the final threshold could change after consultation.
End of de minimisASEAN rulebook

Sources

  1. Customs Department clarifies the proposal to lower the duty-exemption threshold for low-value imports · Luật sư Việt Nam · 2026-09-15
  2. Ministry proposes lowering tax exemption threshold to VNĐ100,000 for imports amid e-commerce boom · Viet Nam News · 2026-09-09

Information, not legal advice. Dates come from official texts or quality legal and trade press, and slip often: always check the current text before acting. Back to the full radar.

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