CIRCULAR

ON GOODS CLASSIFICATION AND GOODS ANALYSIS FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF EXPORTED AND IMPORTED GOODS

Pursuant to the Law on Customs No. 54/2014/QH13;

Pursuant to the Law on Export and Import Duties No. 107/2016/QH13;

Pursuant to the Law on amendments to certain articles of the Law on Bidding; the Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment; the Law on Customs; the Law on Value Added Tax; the Law on Export and Import Duties; the Law on Investment; the Law on Public Investment; and the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets No. 90/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Commercial Law No. 36/2005/QH11;

Pursuant to the Law on Product and Goods Quality No. 55/2007/QH12, amended by Law No. 35/2018/QH14 and Law No. 78/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP elaborating and providing measures for implementation of the Law on Customs on customs procedures, inspection, supervision and control, amended by Decree No. 167/2025/ND-CP;

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Pursuant to Decree No. 20/2006/ND-CP elaborating the Commercial Law on commercial inspection services, amended by Decree No. 125/2014/ND-CP;

Pursuant to Decree No. 69/2018/ND-CP of the Government elaborating certain articles of the Law on Foreign Trade Management;

Pursuant to Decree No. 29/2025/ND-CP on the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance, amended by Decree No. 166/2025/ND-CP;

Pursuant to the Protocol on the Implementation of the ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature;

At the proposal of the Director of the Customs Department;

The Minister of Finance hereby issues a Circular on goods classification and goods analysis for the classification of exported and imported goods.

Article 1. Scope and regulated entities

1. This Circular provides regulations on goods classification, goods analysis for the classification of exported and imported goods, and the development and use of the database on Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods.

2. The regulated entities under this Circular are declarants, customs authorities, customs officers and other organizations and individuals when carrying out tasks related to goods classification, goods analysis for the classification of exported and imported goods, and the development and use of the database on Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods.

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For the purposes of this Circular, the following terms shall be construed as follows:

1. "International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS Convention)" means the Convention adopted by the Customs Cooperation Council, now known as the World Customs Organization (WCO), on June 14, 1983 in Brussels, Kingdom of Belgium, on the "Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System."

2. "Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System of the World Customs Organization (hereinafter referred to as the Harmonized System)" means a system comprising a nomenclature of headings and subheadings with their associated HS codes, Legal Notes to Sections, Chapters and Subheadings, and the General Rules for the Interpretation of the Harmonized System.

3. "Harmonized System Nomenclature of the World Customs Organization (hereinafter referred to as the HS Nomenclature)" means a systematic arrangement of headings (4-digit codes), subheadings (6-digit codes), and Legal Notes to Sections, Chapters and Subheadings, corresponding to the names, descriptions and HS codes of goods.

4. "General Rules for the Interpretation of the Harmonized System" means the general rules for interpreting the Harmonized System for the purpose of classifying goods into a specific heading or subheading.

5. "Legal Notes" means the provisions explaining the sections, chapters and subheadings appended to the beginning of each Section and Chapter of the HS Nomenclature.

6. "ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (hereinafter referred to as the AHTN)" means the goods nomenclature of ASEAN member countries, developed on the basis of the Harmonized System of the World Customs Organization.

7. "Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized System" means the general and detailed explanations of the scope and content of the Sections, Chapters, Headings and Subheadings of the HS Nomenclature.

8. "Supplementary Explanatory Notes to the AHTN (SEN)" means the annex to the Protocol on the Implementation of the AHTN that explains the scope and content of the subheadings in the Nomenclature, developed by ASEAN member countries.

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10. "Goods analysis" means the use of technical machinery and equipment by the customs verification authority to analyze samples of exported and imported goods for the purposes of:

a) Determining the composition, structure, physical and chemical properties, and use of goods as the basis for classifying goods in accordance with Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods;

b) Inspecting and assessing the technical criteria of goods, and determining the quality standards for goods against national standards, technical regulations issued by state management authorities or international standards, to provide the requesting unit with a basis for deciding on the customs clearance of goods.

11. "Expert assessment and testing of goods" means the commissioning by the customs authority of an expert assessment and testing at expert assessment and testing organizations in accordance with the law, in order to determine the structure, composition, physical and chemical properties, and use of goods at the request of the customs authority, for the purpose of determining the name and HS code of exported and imported goods.

Article 3. Goods analysis for the classification of goods

1. Where the customs authority has insufficient grounds to verify the accuracy of the declarant's goods classification, the customs authority shall carry out goods analysis and expert assessment in accordance with clause 5 of Article 29 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP elaborating and providing measures for implementation of the Law on Customs on customs procedures, inspection, supervision and control, amended by clause 15 of Article 1 of Decree No. 167/2025/ND-CP.

2. Where the customs verification authority does not have the capacity to analyze certain technical parameters or where confirmatory analysis is required, the expert assessment and testing services of expert assessment and testing organizations in accordance with the law shall be used as the basis for carrying out the analysis.

3. For the purpose of classifying goods, the declarant may use expert assessment services of expert assessment organizations in accordance with the law, or the database on Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods, to determine information on the composition, physical and chemical properties, features and use of exported and imported goods, and shall be legally responsible for the accuracy and legality of the documents provided.

Article 4. Principles of goods classification

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2. Classification of exported and imported goods shall comply with:

a) Article 26 of the Law on Customs No. 54/2014/QH13; Article 16 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP;

b) Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods;

c) The Export Tariff Schedule and the Import Tariff Schedule;

d) The six General Rules for the Interpretation of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System;

e) The guidance in this Circular.

Article 5. Use of classification results

1. The results of goods classification shall be used to apply goods management policies on the basis of compliance with the applicable requirements on conditions, procedures and documentation in respect of the List of goods prohibited from export and subject to temporary suspension of export; the List of goods prohibited from import and subject to temporary suspension of import; the List of goods subject to export and import licensing by the competent state authority; and the List of goods subject to specialized inspection, in force at the time of registration of the customs declaration.

2. The results of goods classification shall be used to apply the duty rate to a type of goods on the basis of the provisions of the Tariff Schedules applicable to exported and imported goods in force at the time of registration of the customs declaration, and the conditions, procedures and application documents for the application of the duty rates prescribed in the legal normative documents on duties applicable to exported and imported goods.

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1. Where goods classification has been carried out in accordance with Article 4 of this Circular but a unique HS code under Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods cannot be determined, the following documents shall be used:

a) Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized System;

b) WCO Compendium of Classification Opinions;

c) Supplementary Explanatory Notes to the AHTN;

d) The database on Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods.

2. Where there is a discrepancy between the description of goods in Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods and the description of goods in the HS Nomenclature or the AHTN, the description of goods in the HS Nomenclature or the AHTN shall be directly applied for classification and classification guidance in accordance with the principle of applying international treaties to which Vietnam is a party.

3. Where, after applying the provisions of Article 4 and clause 1 of Article 6 of this Circular, there are still insufficient grounds to determine the name and description of goods under Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods, the criteria, standards and technical regulations issued by the competent authority, organization or unit in accordance with the law may be used as the basis for determining the name, description and HS code of goods under Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods.

4. Where the HS code of goods in the list of goods subject to specialized management differs from the HS code determined under Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods, Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods and customs law shall apply.

5. For complex goods that are difficult to classify, where the Director of the Customs Department, on the basis of opinions of a Ministry or ministerial-level agency with specialized management authority, or the HS Committee of the World Customs Organization, or the ASEAN Technical Committee on Goods Classification, issues an amendment or classification guidance document that affects the customs declaration process in relation to the HS code and duty rate and the efficiency of business operations of the declarant or taxpayer, goods classification shall be applied from the date of issuance of the amendment or classification guidance document.

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Where goods are composite machines (comprising two or more machines) or combinations of machines falling within Chapters 84, 85 and 90 of Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods, imported from one or more sources, in multiple shipments, and cleared through one or more different customs units, the declarant may choose to classify each machine or item of equipment separately, or to classify in accordance with Notes 3, 4 and 5 to Section XVI of Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods.

Where the declarant chooses to classify in accordance with Notes 3, 4 and 5 to Section XVI of Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods, the procedures shall be governed by the guidance in Article 9 below.

Article 8. Classification of machinery and equipment in unassembled or disassembled form

Goods that are machinery and equipment in unassembled or disassembled form, typically for packing, storage or transport purposes, shall be classified in accordance with General Rule 2(a) for the Interpretation of the Harmonized System.

Where goods are imported from one or more sources, in multiple shipments, and cleared through one or more different customs units, the declarant and the customs authority shall follow the guidance in Article 9 below.

Article 9. Application documents and procedures for goods classified under Article 7 and Article 8

1. Documents for registration of the List:

a) A list of machinery and equipment; parts and components of machinery and equipment (in accordance with Form No. 01/ĐKDMTB/2025 in Appendix V issued together with Circular No. 121/2025/TT-BTC on amendments to certain articles of the Circulars on customs procedures, customs inspection and supervision, export duty, import duty and tax administration for exported and imported goods);

b) A deduction tracking form (in accordance with Form No. 02/PTDTL-DMTB/2025 in Appendix V issued together with Circular No. 121/2025/TT-BTC).

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a) The declarant shall declare all data fields through the Customs Electronic Data Processing System; where the System does not yet have the function to receive the data fields, the declarant shall submit digitally signed scanned copies of the documents comprising the application, or submit the application documents directly to the customs authority.

b) The declarant shall submit the List registration application as prescribed in clause 1 of this Article prior to the registration of the customs declaration for the first imported shipment, to the customs authority most convenient for declarant.

c) Where the List has already been registered but the declarant needs to amend or supplement it, the declarant shall submit the amended or supplemented List and deduction tracking form to the customs authority where the List was registered, prior to the registration of the customs declaration for the first imported shipment or prior to the registration of the customs declaration for the next imported shipment with amendments or supplements to the List.

d) Where the declarant has lost the List, the declarant shall submit a written request to the customs authority where the List was registered for re-issuance of the List.

Where the deduction tracking form has been lost, the declarant shall prepare a new deduction tracking form, self-declare and be legally responsible for the number of customs declarations and the quantities of machinery and equipment, or parts and components in the List that have already been imported, and submit it to the customs authority handling the import procedures for the next shipment.

3. Procedures for the customs authority:

a) Receipt of List registration applications

a.1) The customs authority shall receive and examine the List registration application or the amended or supplemented List submitted by the declarant in accordance with clauses 1 and 2 of this Article. Where the List registration application or the application for amendment or supplementation of the List complies with the applicable requirements, within 3 working days, the customs authority shall confirm the List and the deduction tracking form, retain one original copy of the List, and deliver to the declarant one original copy of the List together with one original copy of the deduction tracking form.

a.2) Where the declarant has lost the List or the deduction tracking form:

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Where the deduction tracking form has been lost, the customs authority handling the import procedures for the next shipment shall receive and examine the information self-declared on the new deduction tracking form prepared by the declarant, cross-check against information in the customs authority's system, and confirm the deduction tracking form for the machinery and equipment or parts and components not yet imported.

b) Inspection during import procedures

b.1) In addition to the prescribed customs procedures, the customs authority handling the import procedures shall, on the basis of the customs documents, inspect and cross-check against the registered List and the deduction tracking form to carry out classification and progressive deduction of the machinery and equipment or parts and components actually imported, confirm the quantities progressively deducted, and retain one photocopy of the List and one photocopy of the deduction tracking form after progressive deduction in the customs documents.

b.2) Where the declarant carries out import procedures at a customs authority other than the customs authority where the List was registered, the customs authority handling the import procedures shall receive one original copy of the List together with the deduction tracking form presented by the declarant, and follow the guidance in point b.1 of clause 3 of this Article.

b.3) Upon completion of the total import quantity, the customs authority handling the procedures for the final shipment shall confirm "All goods under List No. ....have been imported" on the deduction tracking form, retain one original copy, and provide one photocopy to the declarant. Where the customs authority handling the procedures for the final shipment is not the authority that issued the deduction tracking form, it shall retain one photocopy and send one original copy to the customs authority that issued the deduction tracking form.

The customs authority that issued the deduction tracking form shall carry out inspection of cleared goods in accordance with risk management principles.

4. The customs authority where the List is registered and the deduction tracking form is issued shall organize classification and risk assessment for Lists for which importation has not been completed within the registered timeframe, in order to carry out inspection of the classification of cleared goods in accordance with the regulations.

5. Supplementary declarations (if any) shall be governed by the regulations of the Ministry of Finance on customs procedures; customs inspection and supervision; export duty, import duty and tax administration for exported and imported goods.

Article 10. Analysis request documents

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1. Documents for the request for goods analysis and classification:

a) A request for analysis of exported and imported goods cum goods sampling record (in accordance with Form No. 01/PYCPT/2026 in the Appendix issued together with this Circular). One request for analysis of exported and imported goods cum goods sampling record shall be prepared for each type of goods.

b) A record of reference numbers and dates of customs documents relating to the goods sample, in accordance with Form No. 05/PGTL/2026 in the Appendix issued together with this Circular (for cases where paper customs declarations are used).

c) The goods sample requested for analysis.

d) Technical documentation of the goods or a composition analysis report (for cases where such information cannot be retrieved from the system).

Where no technical documentation or composition analysis report is available, the customs authority sending the documents must state the reasons in item 12 of Form No. 01/PYCPT/2026.

2. Documents for the request for inspection and assessment of technical criteria of goods

To be governed by the provisions of point a of clause 5 of Article 29 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC on customs procedures; customs inspection and supervision; export duty, import duty and tax administration for exported and imported goods, amended by Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC and Circular No. 121/2025/TT-BTC.

Article 11. Goods samples for analysis

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2. Sampling of goods.

a) Exported and imported goods must be sampled for analysis in accordance with clause 5 of Article 29 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP, amended by Decree No. 167/2025/ND-CP. When taking samples, a request for analysis of exported and imported goods cum goods sampling record must be prepared in accordance with the provisions of Article 10 above.

Samples must be taken from the actual shipment requiring analysis and must be representative; they must be sufficient in quantity and weight to serve the purposes of commissioning an expert assessment or resolving complaints. A representative of the declarant must be present when taking samples. The samples must be signed by all parties and each sample must be separately sealed. When samples are handed over, a handover record must be prepared and signed by all parties.

Where samples are taken in the absence of the declarant, the customs authority shall take samples in the presence of a representative of at least one of the following: a port, warehouse or yard operating enterprise; a state authority in the border gate area; or a representative of a transport enterprise, and the witnessing parties shall sign to confirm the sampling.

b) Number of samples: two samples.

Where the declarant imports only one sample, sampling shall not be carried out.

c) Sample delivery and receipt: The customs authority requesting the analysis shall send samples directly or by postal service to the customs verification authority .

Samples shall only have legal validity when the seal remains intact.

3. Use of goods samples.

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b) Retention of samples: For a period of 120 days from the date of issuance of the classification result notification and the notification of inspection and technical criteria assessment result, except for special types of goods such as hazardous goods, goods that have deteriorated or goods that cannot be retained for the above period.

Within 120 days from the date of issuance of the classification result notification and the notification of inspection and technical criteria assessment result, where the declarant disagrees with the analysis result and requests an expert assessment at organizations with the relevant function as prescribed by law, or lodges a complaint relating to the analysis and classification results, the customs verification authority shall retain the samples until a complaint resolution decision has been issued.

c) Return of samples.

Where the declarant requests the return of samples, the customs verification authority shall prepare a record of return of samples received for analysis for the declarant (in accordance with Form No. 03/BBTLMHH/2026 in the Appendix issued together with this Circular) and shall not be responsible for the quality of the goods in respect of the returned samples, as such samples will have been affected by the analysis process. Where samples are returned while still within the sample retention period as prescribed in point b of clause 3 of this Article, and the declarant has accepted the analysis results, the declarant shall not be entitled to lodge a complaint about the analysis results.

d) Destruction of analyzed goods samples.

The customs authority shall destroy samples whose retention period has expired in accordance with the regulations, samples of hazardous goods, samples of deteriorated goods or samples that can no longer be retained. The sample destruction record must clearly state the condition of the retained samples and the reasons for destruction. The destruction decision and the sample destruction record shall be retained in accordance with the regulations on records retention.

4. The Director of the Customs Department shall provide specific guidance on the technical procedures for sampling and destruction of samples.

5. Where the customs authority sends samples to commission an expert assessment and testing at expert assessment and testing organizations, the customs authority shall prepare the documents and carry out the procedures for sending samples for expert assessment and testing in accordance with the law.

Article 12. Classification result notification and notification of inspection and technical criteria assessment result

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2. The Director of Customs Sub-Department of Goods Verification shall be responsible for organizing the implementation and ensuring consistency in the issuance of the classification result notification and the notification of inspection and technical criteria assessment result.

3. Within 5 working days, or in cases where the analysis time depends on the requirements of the technical analysis process or the goods samples are complex, within 20 working days from the date of receipt of the complete analysis request documents and samples, the Head of the Customs Verification Team shall issue the classification result notification (in accordance with Form No. 04/TBKQPTPL/2026 in the Appendix issued together with this Circular) and the notification of inspection and technical criteria assessment result (in accordance with Form No. 43-KQKTDG/KDHQ in Appendix I issued together with Circular No. 121/2025/TT-BTC).

Where goods are complex and difficult to classify and the customs authority needs to seek opinions from a Ministry or ministerial-level agency with specialized management authority, or the HS Committee of the World Customs Organization, or the ASEAN Technical Committee on Goods Classification, or must carry out verification at the manufacturing facility in accordance with clause 5a of Article 29 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC, amended by Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC and Circular No. 121/2025/TT-BTC, the customs verification authority shall issue the classification result notification within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the written response or the verification results at the manufacturing facility.

4. Where the customs verification authority sends samples to commission an expert assessment and testing at expert assessment and testing organizations, within 5 working days, or in cases where the goods samples are complex and additional time is required, within 8 working days from the date of receipt of the expert assessment and testing results, the Head of the Customs Verification Team shall issue the classification result notification.

5. The issuance and use of the notification of inspection and technical criteria assessment result shall be governed by the provisions of point a of clause 5 of Article 29 of Circular No. 38/2015/TT-BTC, amended by Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC and Circular No. 121/2025/TT-BTC.

6. The classification result notification and the notification of inspection and technical criteria assessment result serve as the basis for determining the duty rate and applying goods management policies, and shall be updated in the customs authority's database. The classification result notification shall be made publicly available on the Customs Department's electronic information portal (except for the appendix to the classification result notification).

7. Where the declarant disagrees with the classification result notification, the declarant may lodge a complaint in accordance with the Law on Complaints No. 02/2011/QH13, or commission an expert assessment in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP.

Article 13. Sources of information for the development of the database on Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods

1. The HS Convention and its annexes.

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3. The List of goods prohibited from export and prohibited from import; the List of goods subject to export and import licensing and conditions; the List of goods subject to specialized management for export and import, as prescribed in Decree No. 69/2018/ND-CP elaborating certain articles of the Law on Foreign Trade Management.

4. Guidance documents on goods classification issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Customs Department.

5. Advance ruling on tariff classification result notifications; classification result notifications; analysis result notifications with HS codes; and notifications of inspection and technical criteria assessment results.

6. Documents on the resolution of complaints relating to goods classification and duty rate application issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Customs Department.

Article 14. Authority for collection, updating and amendment of the database on Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods

1. The Customs Department shall organize the collection, updating and amendment of the database on Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods in accordance with Article 18 of Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP, ensuring completeness, comprehensiveness, centralization, consistency and timely updating, ensuring information security, and enabling connectivity, sharing and data synchronization with national databases in accordance with the regulations.

2. Information in the database shall be supplemented and updated where the sources of information prescribed in Article 13 of this Circular change.

3. The Customs Department shall make the information prescribed in Article 13 of this Circular publicly available on the Customs Department's electronic information portal for use by declarants, relevant state management authorities, customs authorities at all levels and customs officers, and shall synchronize the lists prescribed in Article 13 of this Circular into the common electronic catalog of the finance sector for use by finance sector units, declarants, relevant state management authorities, customs authorities at all levels and customs officers.

Article 15. Entry into force

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This Circular replaces Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC of January 30, 2015 of the Minister of Finance providing guidance on goods classification and goods analysis for the classification of goods, and analysis for quality inspection and food safety inspection of exported and imported goods, and Circular No. 17/2021/TT-BTC of February 26, 2021 of the Minister of Finance on amendments to certain articles of Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC.

2. Where the legal normative documents referenced in this Circular are amended, supplemented or replaced by other legal normative documents, the amending, or replacing documents shall apply.

Article 16. Transitional provisions

1. Where goods covered by a registered customs declaration have been sampled for goods analysis, expert assessment and testing but no results have been obtained by the date this Circular comes into force, the regulations of the relevant documents in force at the time of registration of the customs declaration shall apply.

The classification of goods, sampling, sending of samples, retention of analysis samples, carrying out of goods analysis, classification, expert assessment and testing shall continue to be governed by the law applicable prior to the date this Circular comes into force.

2. Where composite machines or combinations of machines in Chapters 84, 85 and 90 and separate parts and components are imported pursuant to a List registered prior to the effective date of this Circular, the provisions of Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC shall continue to apply until all goods in the List have been imported.

Article 17. Implementation

1. The Director of the Customs Department shall, pursuant to this Circular, issue the procedure for goods classification and duty rate application for exported and imported goods; the procedure for analysis and classification, and for inspection and assessment of technical criteria of exported and imported goods; and regulations on development, collection and updating of the database; and shall provide adequate physical infrastructure, equipment and human resources to effectively carry out the goods analysis tasks for exported and imported goods; guide customs units to apply the Circular consistently, facilitating export and import activities, and effectively discharging state management responsibilities in customs.

2. Customs authorities, declarants, taxpayers and related organizations and individuals shall be responsible for carrying out goods classification, goods analysis for the classification of goods, the database on Vietnam’s list of exported and imported goods, and the application of information technology in management, in strict compliance with current regulations and the guidance in this Circular. Where difficulties or obstacles arise during implementation, customs authorities, declarants, taxpayers and related organizations and individuals shall report and reflect to the Ministry of Finance (Customs Department) for timely consideration and guidance on resolution.

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PP. MINISTER
DEPUTY MINISTER




Nguyen Duc Chi