Duty-free allowances for luggage

1. Each time a person immigrates under a passport or a passport substitute (except for laissez-passers) issued by a Vietnamese authority or foreign authority, he/she shall be granted duty-free allowance for his/her luggage, whether it is accompanied luggage or sent before or after his/her arrival:

a) 1.5 liters of alcohol of ≥20% ABV or 2.0 liters of alcohol of <20% ABV or 3.0 liters of other alcoholic drinks or beer.

If the traveler carries a bottle or can of alcohol whose volume exceeds the limit by not more than 01 liter, the whole bottle will be duty-free. If the volume exceeds the limit by more than 01 liter, the exceed amount shall be dutiable;

b) 200 cigarettes or 250 gram of shredded tobacco or 20 cigars;

c) Reasonable quantity and categories of personal belongings;

d) Other items other than those mentioned in Point a through c of this c (not on the List of goods banned from import, suspended from import or subject to conditional import) whose total customs value does not exceed VND 10,000,000;

Where the aforementioned allowance is exceeded, the traveler may decide which items are within the allowance and which are not.

2. Aircraft operators, attendants on international flights; train operators and attendants on international trains; officers and crewmembers on sea-going vessels; Vietnamese workers and drivers working in countries that shares land borders with Vietnam shall be granted the duty-free allowances mentioned in Point a, Point b and Point d of this Clause every 90 days instead of every time they enter Vietnam. The duty-free allowances mentioned in Point a and Point b Clause 1 of this Article do not apply to people aged under 18.

3. Each time a person emigrates under a passport or a passport substitute issued by a Vietnamese authority or foreign authority, his/her luggage shall be exempt from export duties without limit, whether it is accompanied luggage or sent before or after his/her departure, provided it is not on the List of goods banned from export, suspended from export or subject to conditional export.

4. The application for duty exemption is the customs dossier defined by customs law.

5. Procedures for granting duty exemption are specified in Article 31 of this Decree.

Article 7. Exemption of duties on belongings

1. The following organizations and individuals shall have their belongings defined in Clause 20 Article 4 of the Law on Customs Goods exempt from export and import duties as prescribed in Clause 2 Article 16 of the Law on Export and import duties:

a) Foreigners, Vietnamese citizens who reside overseas and work in Vietnam for at least 12 months;

b) Vietnamese organizations and citizens that operate or work oversea for at least 12 months and then return to Vietnam;

c) Vietnamese citizens who reside overseas and have applied for permanent residence registration in Vietnam for the first import of belongings.

2. Only 01 item/piece/set of each type of personal belongings of an organization or individual (used or new, excluding cars and motorcycles) shall be exempt from import duties.

Exemption of duties on belongings of an organization whose operating cost is covered by state budget exceeding the duty-free allowance shall be decided by the Ministry of Finance on a case-by-case basis.

3. Application for duty exemption:

a) A customs dossier defined by customs law;

b) 01 certified true copy of the work permit or an equivalent document issued by a competent authority if the applicant is foreigner or a Vietnamese citizen who resides oversea and works in Vietnam for at least 12 months;

c) 01 certified true copy of a document proving termination of the overseas operation or work if the applicant is a Vietnamese organization or citizen that operates or works overseas for at least 12 months and return to Vietnam afterwards;

d) 01 certified true copy of the passport bearing the seal of the immigration authority at the checkpoint, whether in the passport or a loose leaf visa, or another equivalent unexpired document bearing the seal of the immigration authority at the checkpoint if the applicant is a Vietnamese citizen who resides overseas and has applied for permanent residence registration in Vietnam;

dd) 01 notarized or certified true copy of the family register issued by a police authority which specifies the overseas address if the applicant is a Vietnamese citizen who resides overseas and has applied for permanent residence registration in Vietnam;

e) 01 original copy of the decision on exemption of duties issued by the Minister of Finance if the amount of personal belongings exceeds the duty-free allowance.

4. Procedures for granting duty exemption are specified in Article 31 of this Decree.