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Import/Export

United Kingdom to Vietnam

Country or Territory Regulations Topics:

Import Documentation

To enable clearance for CITES shipments, please ensure CITES Certificate is forwarded by Express service.

High value shipments (invoice value more than 1 million VND) imported into VN related to food stuff or supplementary products should have state certificate of health and safety for clearance.

Consignees have to obtain it from Institute of Hygiene and Public Health and submit to customs to get approval for release. (B2C shipments  or Personal consignees  are not approved for this certificate).
Without the certificate, the shipments will be returned to origin or abandoned, up to decision from shipper/receiver.

For charges made for Export Shipments from United Kingdom to the destination country or territory, please refer to Brokerage Services and Charges-Export Shipments with United Kingdom as the destination.

Driving Licenses

Valid Driving Licenses can be shipped as documents. The description must clearly state 'driving license'. Shipping driving licenses require the approval of the UK customs authorities. A delay of minimum one day has to be calculated.

Please check the import related information if driving licenses are allowed for importation.

Mobile phones to all destinations from United Kingdom can be delayed on export due to security checks from government bodies.

Goods under IATA Special Provisions A67 require a MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet).

It is not required for all, however shipments can be held by local authority in United Arab Emirates after screening due to lack of MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) or NON DG (Dangerous Goods) declaration letter from the shipper resulting to misconnections and impacting end-to-end service.

It would be advisable for all shipments originating, transiting and terminating for UAE to have MSDS or NON DG declaration from shipper enclosed in the shipment and copies to be uploaded in IDIS.

Packing list is not mandatory required.
Export procedure ex United Kingdom

A formal electronic export declaration must be sent to customs authorities by the exporter or their representative. Customs authorities grant the release for export and issue an Export Accompanying Document (EAD) with a unique Movement Reference Number (MRN). UPS operated simplified procedures allowing export formalities to be completed upto 14 days after export.

Informal Declarations
An informal declaration is possible for shipments up to a national threshold. The informal declaration is based on the invoice value and is restricted to shipments not subject to prohibitions and restrictions (for example, embargo regulations) or special export procedures (for example, temporary export). The informal clearance will be done by UPS at the point of exit.

National Requirements
Shipments up to a value of 873.00 GBP can be declared informally on the basis of the invoice.

The EORI (European Union Registration and Identification) number needs to be included with the Invoice for any shipment with value exceeding 873.00 GBP. The EORI number can be obtained by the shipper using website link: www.gov.uk/EORI

UPS service
UPS offers the service to prepare export declarations on behalf of the exporter without additional fees.

Export Documentation

Valid passports can be shipped as documents. The description must clearly state 'passport'. Shipping passports require the approval of the UK customs authorities. A delay of minimum one day has to be calculated.

Please check the import related information if passports are allowed for importation.

Clearance Information

Import duty and tax are calculated based on C&F value. Taxable (Import Tax, VAT or Special Consumption Tax) amount is based on the total value of FOB invoice value plus Freight charge (based on public import rate of Express saver).

Customs will revaluate the shipment value if the value declared is deemed to be incorrect.

Requirement of providing Consignees Personal Identity Card No. before arrival for all B2C/C2C shipments
**All B2C/C2C shipments has to declare the Personal Identity Card No. of Consignee

Effective from October 15th 2019, Vietnam Customs Authority has revised the declaration process per requirements of Circular Number 56/2019/TT-BTC. As per the new process, VAT tax code is required for customs declaration of both for low value and high value shipments, and detail declaration (or invoice line declaration) will also be required for low value shipments.
UPS cannot deliver to a P.O. Box address. All packages require a consignee's contact name and complete street address including apartment, suite or unit number if applicable. The consignee's telephone number should be provided if known.

Areas Served

Service is provided to and from some cities in the country or territory.
UPS cannot deliver to a P.O. Box address. All packages require a consignee's contact name and complete street address including apartment, suite or unit number if applicable. The consignee's telephone number should be provided if known.

Sunday, and official holidays.
Spring +0700/ Fall +0700
Vietnamese
Dong(VND)

Billing Options

  • Shipping charges can be billed to the shipper, receiver or a third party.
  • If VN Shipper selects F/C Billing terms, both the shipper and the consignee must have a valid UPS account number.
  • When billing to a third party, the third party's name, country or territory and account number are required.
  • Duties and taxes can be billed to the shipper, receiver or a third party.
  • When billing a third party, the third party's name, country or territory and account number are required.
  • If the duties and taxes are billed to an account outside of the destination country or territory, a "Duty and Tax Forwarding" surcharge will be applied.
  • Please note the following third party billing exceptions:
    • Shipments to and from the same country or territory (domestic shipments) cannot be billed to third party payors in other countries or territories. For example, shipments from Mexico to Mexico or Canada to Canada cannot be billed to a third party payor in the U.S. This rule does not apply to UPS domestic services in European Union countries or territories as well as to UPS domestic services in the United Kingdom.For example, shipments from Germany to Germany can be billed to a third party payor in the U.S. (as long as the payor is a business and has a VAT or Tax/EIN ID on file with UPS).
  • When paying by credit card, check, or cash, only the shipper can be billed the shipping charges
  • The freight and duties can be billed to the shipper or a third party
  • The taxes can be billed to the receiver or a third party
  • A surcharge will be applied for the SDV billing option

Commodity Specific Stipulations

There are special stipulations on the following commodities when shipping to Vietnam. If you plan to ship one of the commodities listed below, be sure to adhere to the following stipulations in order to avoid delays and holds at customs.

Bank Cards which are requested to be sent out of the United Kingdom should be declared for referral to HMRC and await their approval to send.
Shipments of books must be censored by the Department of Communication & Information
Shipments of brochures are subject to censorship by the Department of Communication & Information.
Shipments of business cards are subject to censorship.
Shipments of calendars require Import license from local Ministry of Communication & Information Department and are subject to censorship. Bikini swimsuit calendars are prohibited.
Shipments of Catalogs are subject to censorship by the Communication & Information Department.
Shipments of chemicals, either in powder or liquid form require Chemical Analysis (CA) or Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).

The importer must have a license to import chemicals from the Department of Chemical Substance, and each shipment must be declared for chemicals on Vietnam National Single Window.

An import license from Ministry of Police is required for clearance.
Import license is required for all cosmetic shipments except personal gifts with value less than 1,000,000 VND.
Shipments of credit cards require a declaration of credit line and an Import License.
An invoice is required for all shipments containing a CD-Rom/Disk. Invoice should indicate the value of the recording media (eg. CDR/DVD) & the intellectual/statistical value of the software/data separately. Shipments of CDs are subject to censorship by the Department of Culture and Sports, depending on the contents of the CD-Rom/Disk, which the department decides whether to be allowed to import or not.

Intercompany Data on CD-Rom/Disk
Shipments of Intercompany Data on CD-Rom/Disk are subject to censorship by the Department of Culture and Sports.

Any Dairy products, Fresh milk, yogurt, butter, cheese, canned milk, powder milk, milk cake etc. are quarantine products and need "phytosannitary certificate".
Shipments of discs are subject to censorship by the Department of Culture and Sports, depending on the contents of the CD-Rom/Disk, which the department decides whether to be allowed to import or not.
Shipments of diskettes are subject to censorship by the Department of Culture and Sports.
Vietnam imposes a ban on the importation of second-hand consumer goods, including "family used electronic and electrical equipment".
Shipments of films are subject to censorship by Film department, the Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism.

High value shipments (invoice value more than 1 million VND) imported into VN related to food stuff or supplementary products should have state certificate of health and safety for clearance.

Consignees have to obtain it from Institute of Hygiene and Public Health and submit to customs to get approval for release. (B2C shipments or Personal consignees are not approved for this certificate).
Without the certificate, the shipments will be returned to origin or abandoned, up to decision from shipper/receiver.

Shipments of Intercompany Data on CD-Rom/Disk are subject to censorship by the Cultural Checking Department.
Shipments of logo labels are subject to censorship  An intellectual property document requirement for Customs Clearance

An intellectual property document is a document which effecting the transfer of the ownership of intellectual property from the owner to the receiver.

Shipments of magazines must be censored by the Department of Communication & Information.
Medical equipment requires Import License from the Ministry of Health or the Medical Classification Paper
Shipments of medicine require registration and permission from the Drug Administration Of VietNam These shipments also require an import license from the consignee.

For individual : They must provide an import license from Department of health

Shipments of films are subject to censorship by Film department, the Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism.
Shipments of newspapers are subject to censorship by the Department of Communication & Information.
Shipments of newspapers are subject to censorship by the Department of Communication & Information.
Shipments of paintings must be censored by the Department of Culture and Sports.
Shipments of price/paper tags are subject to censorship and require an Import License => Shipments of price/paper tags doesnt need to check cultural content.
Passports which are requested to be sent out of the United Kingdom should be declared for referral to HMRC and await their approval to send.
Shipments of photographs are subject to censorship.
Shipments of publications are subject to censorship by the Department of Communication & Information.
A detailed invoice is required on all shipments containing radios & radio equipment

An import license is required if Radio contains wireless transmitter and receiver equipment with a frequency band between 9 kHz and 400 GHz and capacity of 60 mW or more subject to declaration and certification of conformity

Shipments of slides are subject to censorship by the Department of Communication & Information.
Shipments of tapes are subject to censorship by the Department of Culture and Sports.
Shipment of toys is subject to quality inspection at Department Quality Measurement Standards, for both B2B and B2C shipments regardless of quantity.

Sextoys
All forms of sextoys are prohibited

Shipments of Unmanned Flying Objects such as kites, radio control aircrafts, fire balloons, flycam and etc. require permission from Department of Operations - The Ministry of Defense.

Gift Exemptions

1000000.00 Dong VND
individual-to-individual
per shipment

This gift exemption applies for Vietnamese consignees only. If the consignee is not Vietnamese, the consignee will be charged the following:

  • Import duty of 0 to more than 100 percent (excludes Special Consumption Tax).
  • Value-added tax (V.A.T.) of 5 or 10 percent subject to different items

In addition to a detailed description of each item, write additional comments of "gift shipment" on the invoice and in the Special Instructions box of the UPS Waybill to insure a proper assessment of duties and taxes.

Invoice Requirements

Non-document shipments to Vietnam must include the original invoice.

Unit of quantity of each item must be stated in invoice.

All invoices accompanying merchandise into Vietnam must be declared in U.S. dollars. This enables Customs to correctly evaluate the value of the shipment for duty and taxes.

Invoice value should be declared clearly either in terms of FOB or C&F. Otherwise, the value will be taken as FOB value.

Import duty and tax are calculated based on C&F value. The consignee's telephone number, if available, should appear on the invoice.

UPS Paperless Invoice is available for small package exports from this country or territory.
UPS Paperless Invoice is accepted by Customs for small package imports into this country or territory.

Items Classified as Documents

The total weight of document shipment must be equal to or below 2 kgs. Otherwise it must be shipped as a non-document shipment. The destination country or territory considers the following items document shipments.

If criteria are listed, the shipment must meet this criteria to be considered a document shipment

Validated airline tickets are classified as documents. Blank airline tickets are classified as non-documents.
Charts related to geographic will be inspected by the Cultural Division.
Blank checks are prohibited. All other checks are classified as documents provided they are cancelled checks. All checks must be permitted by the State Bank of Viet Nam except blank checks.
Manuals are subject to censorship.

UPS can recommend which forms you need based on a few simple criteria. Forms can be completed online or printed. See which forms you need.

Prohibited or Restricted Commodities

In addition to the prohibited commodities listed here, it is prohibited to ship the following commodities to Vietnam.

An importer is a company/ enterprise: the license for mass production of alcohol or the license for alcohol distribution. The written confirmation of the declaration of food safety with the total volume not exceeding 3 liters/alcohol label. The imported alcohol mentioned above shall not be sold on the market.

An importer is a person : Personal wine collections are not allowed

Ammunitions and explosives.
ntique shipments are restricted from Europe, the Middle East and Africa and can only be shipped with an International Special Commodities (ISC) contract. Antiques are defined as a work of art, piece of furniture, decorative object, or silverware that is 100 years old or older. This contract will be required by the government before antique shipments is exported.
Artwork shipments are restricted from Europe, the Middle East and Africa and can only be shipped with an International Special Commodities (ISC) contract.

Paintings or other works of art can be accepted if the artist is still alive, the artwork is replaceable and an art dealer or gallery has appraised the artwork within the last year. If the declared value of the artwork is greater than $100.00 and there is a claim, the shipper must provide a copy of the original invoice, a bill of sale, or other proof certifying in writing the actual cost or replacement cost of the item.

Artwork includes the following: Original engravings, prints, lithographs, original sculptures, statuary.

The term "Artwork" does not apply to: architectural, engineering, industrial, topographical, commercial drawings, hand-painted or hand-decorated manufactured articles.

Artwork shipments are restricted from Europe, the Middle East and Africa and can only be shipped with an International Special Commodities (ISC) contract.

Paintings or other works of art can be accepted if the artist is still alive, the artwork is replaceable and an art dealer or gallery has appraised the artwork within the last year. If the declared value of the artwork is greater than $100.00 and there is a claim, the shipper must provide a copy of the original invoice, a bill of sale, or other proof certifying in writing the actual cost or replacement cost of the item.

Artwork includes the following: Original engravings, prints, lithographs, original sculptures, statuary.

The term "Artwork" does not apply to: architectural, engineering, industrial, topographical, commercial drawings, hand-painted or hand-decorated manufactured articles.

Used telephones are prohibited and are not allowed to be imported.

Shipment of cellular telephone is subject to quality inspection, for both B2B and B2C regardless of quantity.

Shipments of used clothing are prohibited. .
Documents related to National Security.
Shipments of medicine require registration and permission from the Drug Administration Of VietNam These shipments also require an import license from the consignee.
For individual : They must provide an import license from Department of health
Electronic Cigarettes can only be shipped with an International Special Commodities (ISC) contract.

Consignee must obtain the import license from VINATABA and Ministry of industry and Trade before arrival.

An Import License is required form Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Mobile phones to all destination countries from United Kingdom can be delayed on export due to security checks from government bodies.
Consignee must provide the original personal declaration form ( they can get it at at the Airport ), one copy passport, entry stamp pages and flight ticket

Note: arrival date is within 30 days of their shipment arrival

The content of the card must be checked at the Department of Culture and Sports, depending on the contents of the card, which the department decides whether to be allowed to import or not.
Importation of seeds requires an original Agricultural Certificate/Phytosanitary Certificate. This is a requirement by Vietnam Agriculture Control Department => The importer must have a license to import seeds from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and each shipment must have a phytosaniary certificate to carry out plant checking procedures.
Shipments of used audio/video computer products are prohibited.
Company / Individual must provide the import license from VINATABA and Ministry of industry and Trade and each shipment must have a phytosaniary certificate to carry out plant checking procedures.
All used items are prohibited to import into Vietnam.
All forms of weapons are prohibited.

Saturday Delivery

Saturday Delivery Available: Yes

Not available in all areas. Always check the international time in transit system for details of service availability within a country or territory.

Service Options

Always check Calculate Time and Cost for details of service availability and guarantee information within a country or territory. All Service Levels may not be available to or from every address within a country or territory.

  • UPS Express
  • UPS Worldwide Expedited
  • UPS Worldwide Express Plus
  • UPS Worldwide Express Saver
  • UPS WorldWide Express Freight
  • WorldWide Economy DDU

Special Clearance Requirements

Outward Processing Relief (goods exported from the UK for the purpose of repair)

The outward processing relief starts with the export from the UK and will be discharged with the re-importation of the repaired goods. Both steps need to be identified by UPS export or import operation. Repair Goods: Goods requiring Export from the UK for repair Invoice requirements:

  • Statement stating "Goods being sent for repair under Outward Processing Relief" should be clearly marked on the commercial invoice
  • Provide serial number of goods being sent for repair. If the goods are not serialized a statement to this effect must be made on the commercial invoice
  • Exporters authorized to export under OPR must include their authority number on all paperwork
  • Provide correct commercial value of goods as originally paid for not a nominal value for the goods.

Failure to provide any of the above information will result in shipments being delayed.

Repaired goods: Goods being re-exported returned after repair in the UK Invoice requirements:

  • Invoice should clearly state "Goods have been repaired under IPR"
  • Provide either IP authorization number or Import entry details
  • Provide full commercial value of goods plus cost of repair

Failure to provide any of the above information will result in shipments being delayed.

Value Limits


Private Shipments

  • 1000000.00 Dong (VND)
    1,000,000.00 Dong (based on C&F value) provided that the commodity shipped is not a controlled item.

    Non-document shipments (non-controlled commodity) with value below Deminimis Value will enter the country or territory duty free. Customs has the right to inspect these shipments.

Commercial Shipments

  • 1000000.00 Dong (VND)
    1,000,000.00 Dong (based on C&F value) provided that the commodity shipped is not controlled item.

    Non-document shipments (non-controlled commodity) with value below Deminimis Value will enter the country or territory duty free. Customs has the right to inspect these shipments.

Weight and Size Limits

70 kg (150 lbs.) per package
274.00 cm (107.9 in.)  per package
419.10 cm (165.0 in.)  per package
Length and girth combined


Convert metric quantity for weight, length, and area.

NOTE: Information provided by UPS is provided AS IS, may not be current, and does not constitute legal advice. In no event shall UPS be liable for any errors in the information, forms or features made available by UPS, or by any third party site linked to from UPS. Selection and completion of proper forms for any given shipment is the sole responsibility of the shipper. All shipments are subject to the UPS Terms and Conditions of Service in effect at the time of shipping for the country or territory of origin.
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