THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY No. 11/2026/QH16 | THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Independence - Freedom - Happiness |
LAW
Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of
the Law on Customs[1]
Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented under Resolution No. 203/2025/QH15;
The National Assembly promulgates the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Customs, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented by Law No. 71/2014/QH13, Law No. 35/2018/QH14, Law No. 07/2022/QH15, Law No. 90/2025/QH15, and Law No. 133/2025/QH15.
Article 1. To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Law on Customs
1. To amend, supplement and annul a number of clauses of Article 4 as follows:
a/ To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:
“3. National single-window mechanism means permission for customs declarants to send information and documents in the form of data messages for completion of customs procedures and procedures of state management agencies related to imported, exported and transited goods; means of transport on entry, exit or in transit through the national single-window information system. State management agencies shall decide to permit the import, export and transit of goods, and the entry, exit and transit of means of transport. Customs offices shall decide on customs clearance and release of goods based on information from the national single-window information system.”;
b/ To annul Clause 9;
c/ To amend and supplement Clause 10 as follows:
“10. Bonded warehouse means a warehouse or storing yard for storing goods for which customs procedures have been completed and which are stored pending their import or export into Vietnam; goods sent from abroad and stored pending their import into abroad or export Vietnam.”;
d/ To amend and supplement Clause 14 as follows:
“14. Customs declarants include goods owners; means of transport owners; means of transport drivers; postal service providers, international express delivery service providers; e-commerce platform operators; goods transit and transshipment service providers; customs procedure agents, and persons authorised by goods owners or means of transport owners to carry out customs procedures.”;
dd/ To add Clauses 27 and 28 below Clause 26 as follows:
“27. Compliance management means the systematic implementation by customs offices of professional measures and procedures to monitor, evaluate and support customs declarants and apply management measures appropriate to their levels of law compliance, with a view to facilitating import, export, entry, exit and transit activities and improving the effectiveness of the risk management in customs operations.
28. Duty-free goods trading location means a place for storing, selling, receiving and delivering imported or domestically produced goods to persons permitted purchase duty-free goods in accordance with law.”
2. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 8 as follows:
“2. The system of technical standards for electronic data interchange and the legal validity of documents in the form of data messages in carrying out electronic customs procedures must comply with the law on electronic transactions.”.
3. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 16 as follows:
“2. Customs inspection and supervision shall be carried out on the basis of applying the compliance management and risk management in order to ensure effective and efficient state management of customs and facilitate import, export, entry, exit and transit activities.”.
4. To add Article 16a below Article 16 as follows:
“Article 16a. Customs inspection and supervision of goods imported and exported via e-commerce platforms
1. Goods imported and exported via e-commerce platforms shall be subject to customs procedures, and submit to customs inspection and supervision.
2. Organisations and individuals in Vietnam purchasing or selling goods with foreign entities via e-commerce platforms shall undergo electronic identification and authentication. E-commerce platform operators shall connect to customs offices’ e-commerce data processing systems when performing electronic identification and authentication.
3. E-commerce platform operators, bonded warehouse operators, transport enterprises or their agents, and organisations and individuals involved in goods imported and exported via e-commerce platforms shall provide information related to goods to customs offices.
4. The Government shall detail this Article.”
5. To amend and supplement Article 17 as follow:
“Article 17. Risk management in customs operations
1. Customs offices shall carry out risk management in customs operations, including: collecting and processing customs information and data; analysing, cross-checking and verifying information and data in customs dossiers; compiling and managing risk dossiers and targeted dossiers; establishing and applying risk management criteria; monitoring and evaluating risks; identifying targets, detecting, forecasting and warning risks, and providing operational information; deciding on and organising the implementation of customs inspection and supervision measures, post-clearance inspection, and other operational activities appropriate to the level of risk and the level of law compliance.
2. Customs offices shall manage operational information systems, and apply digital technology, big data and artificial intelligence to carry out the risk management in customs operations.
3. The Government shall detail this Article.”
6. To add Article 17a below Article 17 as follows:
“Article 17a. Compliance management in customs management
1. Customs offices shall carry out compliance management in customs management, covering: collecting and processing customs information and data; building and managing compliance dossiers; monitoring and evaluating compliance; implementing measures to support customs declarants in voluntary law compliance and applying appropriate management measures according to the level of law compliance. Customs offices shall manage operational information systems, and apply digital technology, big data, and artificial intelligence to carry out the compliance management in the customs management.
2. Law-compliant customs declarants shall be considered for being given priority in carrying out customs procedures, and exemption from or reduction in the extent of customs inspection and supervision, post-customs clearance inspection, and other customs operations related to import, export, entry, exit and transit activities.
3. The Government shall detail this Article.”
7. To amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 18 as follows:
a/ To amend and supplement the introductory sentence in Clause 2 as follows:
“2. Customs declarants who are goods owners, means of transport owners, e-commerce platform operators, or goods transit and transshipment service providers have the following obligations:”;
b/ To amend and supplement Clause 3 as follows:
“3. Customs declarants who are customs procedure agents or other persons authorised by goods owners or means of transport owners shall perform the obligations specified in Points a, b, c, d, e and g, Clause 2 of this Article within the scope of authorisation. Customs declarants who are means of transport drivers shall perform the obligations specified in Points a, c, d, e and g, Clause 2 of this Article. Postal service providers and international express delivery service providers shall perform the obligations specified in Points a, b, c, d, e and g, Clause 2 of this Article.”
8. To amend and supplement Article 20 as follows:
“Article 20. Customs procedure agents
1. A customs procedure agent is an enterprise established and operating in accordance with law, acting on behalf of goods owners or means of transport owners to carry out customs procedures and other administrative procedures related to imported, exported and transited goods; means of transport on entry, exit or in transit.
2. A customs procedure agent may have customs procedure agency staff to make customs declarations.
3. The Minister of Finance shall specify the management and operation of customs procedure agents and customs procedure agency staff.”
9. To amend and supplement a number of articles and clauses of Article 22 as follows:
a/ To amend and supplement Point a, Clause 3 as follows:
“a/ Places of inspection at land border gates, international railway stations, international airports, international post offices, seaports and inland waterway ports where import, export, entry, exit and transit activities are carried out, and inland container depots;”
b/ To amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:
“4. Competent agencies, organisations and individuals, when planning and designing construction works related to land border-gate areas, international railway stations, international airports, seaports and inland waterway ports where import, export, entry, exit and transit activities are carried out, inland container depots, economic zones, industrial parks, non-tariff zones, free trade zones, and other locations where import, export, entry, exit and transit activities are carried out, shall arrange places for completion of customs procedures and storage locations for imported and exported goods that satisfy customs inspection and supervision requirements in accordance with this Law.”
c/ To add Clause 5 below Clause 4 as follows:
“5. The Government shall detail this Article.”.
10. To amend and supplement Article 24 and Article 25 as follows:
“Article 24. Customs dossiers
1. A customs dossier must comprise:
a/ A customs declaration or a document in substitution of a customs declaration. A customs declaration is valid for customs procedures within 15 days from the date of registration;
b/ Relevant documents.
On a case-by-case basis, customs declarants shall submit or produce goods purchase and sale contracts, commercial invoices, transport documents, certificates of origin of goods, import or export permits, notices of specialised inspection results or exemption from specialised inspection, and documents related to goods and means of transport in accordance with relevant laws.
2. Customs declarations and documents in customs dossiers may be documents in the form of data messages or paper documents. Documents in the form of data messages must ensure integrity and format in accordance with the law on e-transactions.
3. Customs dossiers shall be submitted or produced to customs offices via the customs electronic data processing system or at the headquarters of customs offices.
For customs dossier components issued by specialised state management agencies or specialised inspection organisations under the national single-window mechanism, customs declarants are not required to submit or produce them to customs offices.
4. The Government shall guide the implementation of the national single-window mechanism.
5. The Minister of Finance shall specify forms of customs declarations, the use of customs declarations and documents in substitution of customs declarations, and cases in which relevant documents specified in Clause 1 of this Article must be submitted or produced.
Article 25. Time limit for submission of customs dossiers
1. For exported goods, customs dossiers shall be submitted after goods are gathered at locations notified by customs declarants and within 4 hours before the exit of means of transport; for exported goods sent via express delivery services, customs dossiers shall be submitted within 2 hours before the exit of means of transport.
2. For imported goods, customs dossiers shall be submitted before the date goods arrive at border gates or within 30 days from the date goods arrive at border gates.
3. The time limit for submission of customs dossiers for means of transport must comply with Clause 2, Article 69 of this Law.
11. To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 26 as follows:
“4. The list of goods prohibited from import and export, the list of good imported or exported under permits or subject to conditions, and the list of goods subject to specialised inspection shall ensure the consistency in goods headings/subheadings in accordance with the Vietnam’s Nomenclature of Exports and Imports.
The Government shall detail this Clause.”
12. To amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 29 as follows:
a/ To amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:
“4. Customs declarants may make additional declarations in the following cases:
a/ For goods undergoing customs procedures: before customs offices notify the customs inspection;
b/ For goods already customs-cleared: within 60 days from the clearance date and prior to the time of decision on suspension of the goods flow passing through customs supervision areas, post-clearance inspection, or inspection and examination of customs-cleared goods, except where additional declared contents related to import or export permits; or specialised inspection regarding goods quality, health, culture, animal quarantine, plant quarantine, and food safety;
c/ Where customs declarants make additional declarations after the time limits specified in Points a and b of this Clause or upon request of customs offices, such cases shall be settled in accordance with the tax laws, the law on handling of administrative violations, and other relevant laws;
d/ Other cases of additional declaration.”;
b/ To add Clause 7 below Clause 6 as follows:
“7. The Minister of Finance shall detail this Article.”.
13. To amend and supplement Article 32 as follows:
“Article 32. Examination of customs dossiers
1. When examining customs dossiers, customs offices shall examine the accuracy, completeness and consistency of customs declaration contents with documents in customs dossiers, and the compliance with policies on goods management, tax policies for imported, exported goods and goods in transit, and other relevant regulations.
2. The examination of customs dossiers shall be carried out via the customs electronic data processing system or directly by customs officers.
3. The Minister of Finance shall detail this Article.”
14. To amend and supplement Point c, Clause 1, Article 33 as follows:
“c/ Goods in other special cases as decided by the Minister of Finance.”.
15. To add Clause 3 below Clause 2, Article 52 as follows:
“3. The Minister of Finance shall specify customs procedures, customs inspection and supervision for goods imported and exported via postal and express delivery services.”.
16. To amend and supplement a number of points and clauses of Article 58 as follows:
a/ To amend and supplement Clause 5 as follows:
“5. Port, warehouse and storing yard operators shall arrange port, warehouse and storing yard locations that meet customs supervision conditions for storing unclaimed goods; and shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, handling of unclaimed goods under Clause 6 of this Article.”;
b/ To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 6 as follows:
“b/ For environmentally polluting goods, means of transport owners, means of transport drivers or persons authorised by means of transport owners shall transport such goods out of the Vietnamese territory. In case means of transport owners, means of transport drivers or persons authorised by means of transport owners are unidentifiable, port, warehouse and storing yard operators shall destroy such goods, while customs offices shall assume the prime responsibility for supervising the destruction and coordinate with related agencies in carrying out the destruction in accordance with law.”;
c/ To add Clause 7 below Clause 6 as follows:
“7. The Minister of Finance shall guide the handling of unclaimed goods within customs operational areas.”
17. To amend and supplement the title of Section 5, Chapter III as follows:
“Section 5
CUSTOMS INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION OF GOODS AT BONDED WAREHOUSES, CONTAINER FREIGHT STATIONS, DUTY-FREE GOODS TRADING LOCATIONS, AND LOCATIONS FOR GATHERING, INSPECTING AND SUPERVISING Imported and exported GOODS”.
18. To amend and supplement Points 61, 62 and 63 as follows:
“Article 61. Goods stored in bonded warehouses and container freight stations, and goods sold at duty-free goods trading locations
1. Goods stored in bonded warehouses shall be kept for a period not exceeding 24 months from the date of consignment to the warehouses.
2. Goods brought into container freight stations include imported goods that have not yet undergone customs procedures, and exported goods that have completed customs procedures or for which customs declarations have been registered but physical inspection of goods shall be conducted at container freight stations.
Goods shall be stored at container freight stations for a period not exceeding 180 days from the date they are brought into the container freight stations.
3. Goods sold at duty-free goods trading locations shall be subject to customs inspection and supervision from the time customs procedures are carried out until they are sold, exported or handled in accordance with law.
Goods sold at duty-free goods trading locations shall be stored at duty-free shops or warehouses of duty-free goods trading enterprises that satisfy customs supervision requirements. The storage period of goods must not exceed 24 months from the date of completion of customs procedures.
Article 62. Bonded warehouses, container freight stations, locations for gathering, inspecting and supervising imported and exported goods, and duty-free goods trading locations
1. Bonded warehouses, container freight stations, and locations for gathering, inspecting and supervising imported and exported goods shall be established in areas where the following zones are located:
a/ Seaports; international airports; land border gates; international railway stations; inland waterway ports where import, export, entry, exit and transit activities are carried out; and inland container depots;
b/ Industrial parks, hi-tech parks, non-tariff zones, free trade zones, logistics centres, digital technology parks, industrial clusters, and other areas in accordance with law.
2. Duty-free goods trading locations shall be located:
a/ Within departure areas of international land border gates, international railway stations, seaports, and inland waterway ports where import, export, entry, exit and transit activities are carried out; and within departure areas and restricted areas of international airports;
b/ In other areas where duty-free goods trading locations are established in accordance with law.
3. Bonded warehouses, container freight stations, locations for gathering, inspecting and supervising imported and exported goods, and duty-free goods trading locations must satisfy requirements for customs inspection and supervision.
4. The Government shall specify:
a/ Customs procedures, customs inspection and supervision, and the establishment and operation of bonded warehouses, container freight stations, and locations for gathering, inspecting and supervising imported and exported goods;
b/ Services provided within bonded warehouses and container freight stations;
c/ Customs procedures, customs inspection and supervision, business operations, and standards of duty-free goods trading locations.
Article 63. Rights and obligations of bonded warehouse operators, container freight station operators, container freight service providers, goods owners, and duty-free goods trading enterprises
1. Bonded warehouse operators and owners of goods stored in bonded warehouses have the following rights and obligations:
a/ Bonded warehouse operators may perform contracts on receipt of goods to be stored in bonded warehouses, and move goods within bonded warehouses as agreed with goods owners.
Bonded warehouse operators shall comply with goods inspection requirements of customs offices;
b/ Goods owners may reinforce packaging, sort goods, take goods samples, and perform other tasks under the supervision by customs offices, and may transfer goods ownership. Goods transported from a bonded warehouse to another shall be subject to customs inspection and supervision in accordance with law.
2. Goods owners and container freight service providers have the following rights and obligations:
a/ Goods owners may transfer goods ownership, pack, repack, consolidate, repair, and preserve goods;
b/ Container freight service providers may split or consolidate shipments of multiple goods owners transported together in a single container, and arrange or rearrange stored goods.
3. Duty-free goods trading enterprises have the following rights and obligations:
a/ Duty-free goods trading enterprises may transport goods among their duty-free goods trading locations. Goods transported from a duty-free goods trading location to another shall be subject to customs inspection and supervision in accordance with law;
b/ Duty-free goods trading enterprises shall sell duty-free goods to eligible persons and within law-specified quantities.
4. Bonded warehouse operators, container freight station operators and duty-free goods trading enterprises shall implement accounting and statistical regimes, equip technical means and equipment for management of goods by electronic means, and connect customs offices for carrying out customs inspection and supervision in accordance with this Law.
5. Bonded warehouse operators, container freight station operators, container freight service providers, goods owners and duty-free goods trading enterprises shall strictly comply with regulations on operation of bonded warehouses, container freight stations and duty-free goods trading locations.”
19. To amend and supplement a number of clauses of Article 64 as follows:
a/ To amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:
“1. Goods transported under customs supervision include transited goods, transshipped goods, and goods in border-gate transfer.”;
b/ To add Clause 5 below Clause 4 as follows:
“5. The Government detail this Article.”.
20. To amend and supplement Article 65 as follows:
“Article 65. Transportation routes and period
1. Goods transported under customs supervision shall be transported along specified routes, through specified border gates, and within specified time limits.
2. Customs declarants shall notify customs offices of routes for goods transported under customs supervision in accordance with law.”.
21. To amend and supplement the title of Section 8, Chapter III as follows:
“Section 8
INSPECTION, SUPERVISION, SUSPENSION OF CUSTOMS PROCEDURE CLEARANCE FOR IMPORTED, EXPORTED AND TRANSITED GOODS RELATED TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS”.
22. To amend and supplement Clauses 2 and 3, Article 73 as follows:
“2. Customs offices shall decide to suspend customs procedures for imported or exported goods when intellectual property right holders or legally authorised persons submit written applications, proof of lawful holding of intellectual property rights, and evidence of intellectual property rights infringements, and have deposited a sum of money or provided guarantee documents of credit institutions as security for payment of damages and arising expenses in accordance with law due to groundless requests for suspension of customs procedures.
Customs offices shall proactively suspend customs procedures if, in the course of customs inspection, supervision and control, detecting clear grounds to suspect that imported, exported or transit goods are intellectual property counterfeit goods.
3. Provisions on suspension of customs procedures for imported, exported and transited goods showing signs of intellectual property rights infringement specified in this Law do not apply to humanitarian aid goods, personal effects, goods entitled to privileges and immunities, baggage, and gifts and donations within duty-free quotas.”
23. To amend and supplement Article 74 as follows:
“Article 74. Inspection and supervision, and suspension of customs procedures for imported, exported, and transited goods related to intellectual property rights
1. Procedures for requesting inspection and supervision of goods related to intellectual property rights:
a/ An intellectual property right holder shall, directly or through legally authorised persons, submit a dossier of request for inspection and supervision of goods related to intellectual property rights to a convenient regional customs office, and pay charges and fees in accordance with the law on charges and fees;
b/ The time limit for application of inspection and supervision measures for goods related to intellectual property rights is 2 years from the date the regional customs office accepts the request, and may be extended for another 2 years but must not exceed the duration of protection of the concerned intellectual property subject matter in accordance with the law on intellectual property;
c/ Within 10 working days after receiving a complete dossier of request for inspection and supervision, the regional customs office shall notify the intellectual property right holder or legally authorised person of the acceptance, request for dossier supplementation, or rejection of the dossier.
2. Suspension of customs procedures:
a/ During the period of application of inspection and supervision measures, if a goods shipment is detected to show signs of infringing upon intellectual property rights, the head of the customs office where customs procedures are carried out shall immediately notify such to the intellectual property right holder or the legally authorised person for the latter’s submission of a written request for suspension of customs procedures;
b/ In case the intellectual property right holder or the legally authorised person requests the suspension of customs procedures for goods showing signs of infringing upon intellectual property rights without having previously submitted a dossier of request for inspection and supervision, the customs office shall decide to suspend customs procedures if the intellectual property right holder or the legally authorised person satisfies the conditions specified in Clause 2, Article 73 of this Law and the regulations on dossiers of request for inspection and supervision of goods related to intellectual property rights;
c/ Within 2 working hours after receiving a complete dossier of request for suspension, the head of the customs office where customs procedures are carried out shall issue a decision on suspension or rejection clearly stating the reason therefor, and notify the intellectual property right holder or the legally authorised person of the decision. The time limit and procedures for applying the suspension of customs procedures must comply with the law on intellectual property;
d/ In case the customs office proactively suspends customs procedures, the head of the customs office where customs procedures are carried out shall issue a decision on suspension of customs procedures, and notify the customs declarant, the intellectual property right holder or the legally authorised person of the decision for the latter’s coordination in identifying and handling the violation in accordance with the law on intellectual property.
3. The Minister of Finance shall detail this Article.”.
24. To amend and supplement Article 77 as follows:
“Article 77. Post-customs clearance inspection
1. Post-customs clearance inspection means inspection activities carried out by customs offices regarding customs dossiers, accounting books, accounting documents, and other goods-related documents and data; and physical inspection of goods when necessary and where conditions permit after the goods have been customs-cleared.
2. Post-customs clearance inspection aims to assess the accuracy and truthfulness of contents of documents and dossiers declared, submitted or produced by customs declarants to customs offices; and to assess and enhance customs declarants’ compliance with the customs law and other relevant regulations on import and export management.
3. Post-customs clearance inspection shall be carried out at customs offices or offices of customs declarants.
Offices of customs declarants include their head offices, branches, stores and goods production and preservation establishments in accordance with relevant laws.
4. The time limit for post-customs clearance inspection is 5 years from the date of registration of the customs declaration to the date of issuance of the post-customs clearance inspection decision.
5. Post-customs clearance inspection shall be carried out on the basis of applying risk management, compliance management and digital technology.
6. The Government shall detail this Article.”.
25. To amend and supplement Articles 79 and 80 as follows:
“Article 79. Competence to decide on post-customs clearance inspection, post-customs clearance inspection time limit
1. Competence to decide on post-customs clearance inspection:
a/ The Director-General of the Customs Department and the Manager of the Branch for Post-Customs Clearance Inspection shall decide on post-customs clearance inspection nationwide;
b/ Heads of regional customs offices shall decide on post-customs clearance inspection in localities under their management.
In case of inspection of customs declarants not based in localities under their management, regional customs offices shall report the intended inspection to the Customs Department for consideration and assignment of other units to conduct inspection.
The inspection and assessment of law compliance of customs declarants must comply with annual post-customs clearance inspection plans issued by the Director-General of the Customs Department.
2. The time limit for post-customs clearance inspection shall be determined in the inspection decision but must not exceed 20 working days from the date of announcement of such decision. In case the scope of inspection is large and involves complicated contents, the inspection decision issuer may extend the inspection time limit once for no more than 20 working days.
3. The Government shall detail this Article.
Article 80. Order and procedures for post-customs clearance inspection
1. Order and procedures for post-customs clearance inspection:
a/ Preparing post-customs clearance inspection;
b/ Carrying out post-customs clearance inspection;
c/ Handling post-customs clearance inspection results.
2. The Government shall detail this Article.”.
26. To amend and supplement the title and Clause 1 of Article 81 as follows:
a/ To amend and supplement the title as follows:
“Article 81. Tasks and powers of customs officers in post-customs clearance inspection”;
b/ To amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows:
“1. The Director-General of the Customs Department, the Manager of the Branch for Post-Customs Clearance Inspection and heads of regional customs offices have the following tasks and powers:
a/ To issue inspection decisions and form inspection teams;
b/ To extend the inspection time limit; to modify, suspend or cancel inspection decisions;
c/ To issue inspection conclusions; to handle inspection results; and to decide on handling in accordance with law according to their competence or propose competent persons to decide on handling matters detected through inspection in accordance with law;
d/ To settle complaints and denunciations in accordance with law.”.
27. To amend and supplement Clause 5, Article 82 as follows:
“5. To request inspection team heads to produce inspection decisions and customs identity cards.”.
28. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 84 as follows:
“2. Customs offices shall, according to their decentralised functions and competence, perform tax administration jobs in accordance with the law on tax administration.”.
29. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 86 as follows:
“2. Customs value of exported goods means actual prices of such goods when they arrive at border gates of exportation, excluding international freight and insurance costs.”.
30. To amend and supplement Article 104 as follows:
“Article 104. Detailed provisions and implementation measures
The Government, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance shall detail the articles and clauses assigned to them in this Law and provide specific measures to organise and guide the implementation of this Law and other matters falling within their management and administration competence in accordance with law.”.
31. To replace and remove the following phrases and words:
a/ To replace to phrase “the General Director of Customs” in Clause 2, Article 13; Points c and g, Clause 3, Article 22; Clause 1, Article 44; and Clause 3, Article 57 with the phrase “the Director-General of the Customs Department”;
b/ To replace the phrase “the General Department of Customs” in Point a, Clause 1, Article 14; Clause 1, Article 84; Clause 3, Article 94; Clauses 1 and 3, Article 97; and Article 98 with the phrase “the Customs Department”;
c/ To replace the phrase “customs departments of provinces, inter-provinces and centrally run cities” in Point b, Clause 1, Article 14 with the phrase “regional customs offices”, and the phrase “customs sub-departments, customs control squads and equivalent units” in Point c, Clause 1, Article 14 with the phrase “border-gate customs offices and non-border-gate customs offices”;
d/ To replace the phrase “customs departments” in Clause 2, Article 22 with the phrase “regional customs offices”, and the phrase “customs sub-departments” in Clause 2 and Point b, Clause 3, Article 22 with the phrase “border-gate customs offices or non-border-gate customs offices”;
dd/ To replace the phrase “directors of customs sub-departments” in Clause 4, Article 35 with the phrase “heads of the customs offices where customs procedures are carried out”;
e/ To replace the phrase “border-gate customs sub-departments” in Clause 1, Article 46 with the phrase “border-gate customs offices”;
g/ To replace the phrase “postal service providers” in Clause 2, Article 52 and Clause 4, Article 89 with the phrase “enterprises engaged in the commercial provision of postal services”;
h/ To replace the phrase “directors of customs sub-departments” with the phrase “heads of border-gate customs offices or heads of non-border-gate customs offices”; the phrase “heads of control squads under the customs departments” with the phrase “heads of control squads under regional customs offices”; and the phrase “the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department” with the phrase “the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Branch”, and to remove the phrase “and heads of marine control flotillas” in Clause 1, Article 90;
i/ To remove the word “civil” and add the phrase “inland container depots;” after the phrase “entry and transit;” in Point a, Clause 1, Article 7;
k/ To remove the phrase “tax-suspension warehouses,” in Point a, Clause 1, Article 7; and Point dd, Clause 3, Article 22.
32. To annul Clause 2, Article 14; and Articles 47, 75, 76, 101 and 102.
Article 2. To amend and supplement a number of articles of relevant laws
1. To amend and supplement a number of articles of Law No. 50/2005/QH11 on Intellectual Property, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented by Law No. 36/2009/QH12, Law No. 42/2019/QH14, Law No. 07/2022/QH15, Law No. 93/2025/QH15, and Law No. 131/2025/QH15, as follows:
a/ To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 199 as follows:
“2. In case of necessity, competent state agencies may apply provisional urgent measures, measures to control imported, exported and transited goods related to intellectual property rights, or measures to prevent and secure the administrative sanctioning in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws.”;
b/ To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 200 as follows:
“4. The application of measures to control imported, exported and transited goods related to intellectual property rights falls under the competence of custom offices.”;
c/ To amend and supplement the title of Chapter XVIII as follows:
“Chapter XVIII
HANDLING OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS INFRINGEMENTS WITH ADMINISTRATIVE AND CRIMINAL MEASURES; CONTROL OF Imported, exported AND TRANSITED GOODS RELATED TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
d/ To amend and supplement the title of Section 2, Chapter XVIII as follows:
“Section 2
CONTROL OF Imported, exported AND TRANSITED GOODS RELATED TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS”;
dd/ To amend and supplement the title of Article 216 as follows:
“Article 216. Measures to control imported, exported and transited goods related to intellectual property rights”;
e/ To amend and supplement the lead sentence of Clause 1, Article 216 as follows:
“1. Measures to control imported, exported and transited goods related to intellectual property rights:”;
g/ To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 2, Article 216 as follows:
“b/ Customs offices shall take the initiative in suspending customs procedures in the course of inspection, supervision and control when detecting clear grounds to believe that imported, exported or transited goods are intellectual property counterfeit goods.”;
h/ To amend and supplement Clause 4, Article 218 as follows:
“4. In case a customs office takes the initiative in suspending customs procedures, it shall immediately notify the suspension to the intellectual property rights holder if it has contact information and to the importer, exporter or person performing the transit service.
Within 10 working days after the notification, if the intellectual property rights holder does not initiate a civil lawsuit and the customs office decides not to accept the case according to procedures for handling of administrative violations, the customs office shall resume carrying out customs procedures for the goods shipment.”.
2. To amend and supplement a number of articles of Law No. 99/2015/QH13 on Organisation of Criminal Investigation Bodies, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented by Law No. 02/2021/QH15, as follows:
a/ To amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 9 as follows:
“2. The customs offices tasked to conduct a number of investigating activities include the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Branch; the Branch for Post-Customs Clearance Inspection; regional customs offices and border-gate customs offices.”;
b/ To replace the phrase “the Director of the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department, Director of the Department for Post-Custom Clearance Inspection, directors of customs departments of the provinces, inter-provinces, and centrally-governed cities, and directors of border-gate customs sub-departments” in the lead sentence of Clauses 1 and 2, Article 33 with the phrase “the Manager of the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Branch, the Manager of the Branch for Post-Customs Clearance Inspection, heads of regional customs offices, and heads of border-gate customs offices”;
c/ To replace the phrase “the Deputy Directors of the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department, Deputy Directors of the Department for Post-Custom Clearance Inspection, deputy directors of customs departments of the provinces, inter-provinces, and centrally run cities, and deputy directors of border-gate customs sub-departments” in Clause 3, Article 33 with the phrase “the Deputy Managers of the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Branch, the Deputy Managers of the Branch for Post-Clearance Inspection, deputy heads of regional customs offices, and deputy heads of border-gate customs offices”;
d/ To replace the phrase “the Director and Deputy Directors of the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department, Director and Deputy Directors of the Department for Post-Custom Clearance Inspection, directors and deputy directors of customs departments, heads of the provinces, inter-provinces and centrally-governed cities, and heads and deputy heads of border-gate customs branches” in Clause 4, Article 33 with the phrase “the Manager and Deputy Managers of the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Branch; the Manager and Deputy Managers of the Branch for Post-Clearance Inspection; heads and deputy heads of regional customs offices; and heads and deputy heads of border-gate customs offices”.
3. To replace the phrase “directors and deputy directors of regional customs sub-departments; heads and deputy heads of border-gate customs teams” in Point b, Clause 2, Article 35 of Criminal Procedure Code No. 101/2015/QH13, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented by Law No. 02/2021/QH15, Law No. 34/2024/QH15, Law No. 59/2024/QH15, Law No. 99/2025/QH15, Law No. 103/2025/QH15, Law No. 105/2025/QH15, Law No. 106/2025/QH15 and Law No. 128/2025/QH15 with the phrase “heads and deputy heads of regional customs offices; heads and deputy heads of border-gate customs offices”.
4. To replace the phrase “regional customs sub-departments” in Point g, Clause 2, Article 11 of Law No. 117/2025/QH15 on Protection of State Secrets with the phrase “regional customs offices”.
5. To amend and supplement Point e, Clause 1, Article 123 of Law No. 15/2012/QH13 on Handling of Administrative Violations, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented by Law No. 54/2014/QH13, Law No. 18/2017/QH14, Law No. 67/2020/QH14, Law No. 09/2022/QH15, Law No. 11/2022/QH15, Law No. 56/2024/QH15, Law No. 88/2025/QH15, Law No. 116/2025/QH15, and Law No. 120/2025/QH15, as follows:
“e/ Heads of border-gate customs offices; heads of non-border-gate customs offices; heads of customs control teams under regional customs offices; and heads of anti-smuggling control teams under the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Branch;”.
Article 3. Implementation provisions
1. This Law takes effect on March 1, 2027.
2. In case another law provides for customs procedures, customs inspection, supervision and control, or the priority regime applicable to enterprises which are different from the provisions of Customs Law No. 54/2014/QH13, which has a number of articles amended and supplemented by Law No. 71/2014/QH13, Law No. 35/2018/QH14, Law No. 07/2022/QH15, Law No. 90/2025/QH15, and Law No. 133/2025/QH15 (below referred to as Customs Law No. 54/2014/QH13), and this Law, the provisions of Customs Law No. 54/2014/QH13 and this Law shall apply, except cases specified in the Law on Urban Development, the Capital Law and Resolutions of the National Assembly providing special and specific mechanisms and policies.
Article 4. Transitional provisions
1. Imported raw materials and supplies used for the production of export goods that are consigned into tax-suspension warehouses after the effective date of this Law, must comply with Section 5, Chapter III of Customs Law No. 54/2014/QH13 for a period of 6 months from the effective date of this Law.
2. In case goods are stored in bonded warehouses, container freight stations, duty-free shops or warehouses of duty-free goods trading enterprises under Articles 47 and 61 of Customs Law No. 54/2014/QH13, but the procedures for extension of their storage period are not yet carried out before the effective date of this Law, the storage period must comply with this Law and shall be calculated from the date the goods are consigned into the bonded warehouses, brought to the container freight stations, or for which customs procedures are completed for their consignment into the duty-free shops or warehouses of duty-free goods trading enterprises.
3. In case the inspection, supervision or suspension of customs procedures for exported or imported goods related to intellectual property rights is in progress before the effective date of this Law, such operation may continue to be carried out in accordance with Customs Law No. 54/2014/QH13.
4. The competence, order and procedures for post-customs clearance inspection that are being carried out under decisions issued before the effective date of this Law must comply with Customs Law No. 54/2014/QH13.-
This Law was passed on August 23, 2026, by the 16th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, at its first extraordinary session.-
President of the National Assembly
TRAN THANH MAN
Vietnamese
