Importing machinery into Vietnam raises two practical issues: whether the machine is allowed in, and how much it costs once duty and taxes are added. Vietnam limits the age and condition of used machines, so a machine that is too old or in poor condition cannot be imported. For a new factory, the cost depends on whether the project can import its equipment duty-free. This guide covers both, together with who can act as importer and how customs clearance works in practice. It is written for manufacturers setting up a factory in Vietnam and for suppliers who sell machines to Vietnamese customers.
Vietnamese import rules change often, and the details depend on the type of machine and on your investment project. Confirm them with a customs broker or an advisor before you buy and again before you ship.
Who can import machinery into Vietnam?
The importer is normally your Vietnamese company, but it can also be your local distributor, if you sell through that company. For used machinery, customs asks for a copy of the importer’s latest Enterprise Registration Certificate, stamped with the company seal. In our experience, a foreign company with no Vietnamese entity usually cannot import for itself, so the Vietnamese customer or a local partner acts as importer.
The importer carries the duty, the declaration and any dispute with customs. Before you quote, ask your buyer which company will be the importer.
Can you import used machinery into Vietnam?
Yes, but only within the limits of Decision 18/2019/QD-TTg. It covers used machinery, equipment and technological lines in HS Chapters 84 and 85 that are imported for production, and Decision 28/2022/QD-TTg amended it. The main rules are these:
Age of a single machine: It must not be more than 10 years old, counted from the year of manufacture to the year of import. Listed metalworking and mechanical engineering items can be up to 20 years old, and some sectors allow 20 to 25 years under the amended decision.
Technological lines: A line is two or more machines connected at a fixed site. It must keep at least 85% of its design capacity and use no more than 15% above its design consumption of materials or energy.
Older machines: The Ministry of Science and Technology can approve an over-age machine if it passes the same 85% and 15% tests and you show it is needed for production in Vietnam.
Own production only: The machine must serve the importer’s own production, and it cannot be one the exporting country has declared discarded because it is obsolete, of poor quality or polluting. A trader that imports used machines for resale should take legal advice first.
Standards: The machine must meet the Vietnamese national technical regulations on safety, energy efficiency and environmental protection.
Proof of condition: For machines made in a G7 country or Korea, you can use the manufacturer’s certificate, which states the year of manufacture and the standards applied. It must be legalized and translated into Vietnamese. Otherwise you need an inspection certificate from a licensed assessment organization, and the Ministry of Science and Technology publishes the list of these organizations on its website.
For a technological line, the assessment must take place in the exporting country while the line is running. The original decision gave the certificate a validity of 6 months for a machine and 18 months for a line, so check the current validity before you book the assessment.
Customs receives the certificate together with the importer’s registration certificate and the standard import documents. Get the certificate before the machine ships, not after it arrives.
Safety and technical requirements for imported machinery
Some machines need a safety inspection once they are installed. Circular 36/2019/TT-BLDTBXH lists the machinery with strict occupational safety requirements, which includes boilers, pressure vessels, cranes, forklifts rated at 1,000 kg or more, and elevators.
The user of such a machine must choose a qualified safety inspection organization, and Circular 16/2017 requires the user to declare the machine to the provincial labor authority together with the inspection result. Ministries were reorganized in 2025, so ask your installer which authority now receives the declaration and when the first inspection is due. An elevator or a pressure vessel that sits on site and cannot be used costs money.
Import duty and HS codes for machinery in Vietnam
The importer classifies the machine under an HS code (the customs tariff code) and calculates the duty. Customs can challenge the code after clearance, so settle it before you order. Name the machine on the invoice by model and function, and state its year of manufacture. For used machinery, customs compares the invoice with the certificate, so the year and the serial number must agree.
Duty rates differ by code. For a supplier in the EU, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) matters most. According to the European Commission, Vietnam removed 65% of its duties on EU goods on the day the agreement entered into force and will remove the rest by 2030. Vietnam’s duties on EU machinery, which ran as high as 35%, were removed for most lines when the agreement took effect in 2020, and for the rest by August 2025.
To claim the agreement rate, the exporter needs proof of origin. This is a statement on origin on the invoice or another commercial document, made out by an exporter registered in the REX system. For consignments under €6,000, any exporter can make the statement, and it stays valid for 12 months. A supplier from a country with no agreement with Vietnam pays the standard rate for its code.
Import VAT is charged on top of duty. The VAT rules have changed in recent years, so ask your tax advisor for the current rate and the conditions for claiming it back.
Import duty exemption for machinery in an investment project
There are two routes that matter for a factory project. Both are explained below.
Standard payment: You pay the duty rate for each machine. It is the simplest route, and for EU machinery the EVFTA rate may already be zero.
Duty exemption for investment projects: A factory project that is entitled to investment incentives can import the machinery and equipment for its fixed assets free of duty. The exemption also covers special-use vehicles used directly in production and building materials that cannot be sourced in Vietnam.
The first thing to confirm is whether your project qualifies. Vietnam recently replaced its investment incentive rules, and the special incentives now depend on capital thresholds and on continued compliance. Ask your investment advisor before you put a zero duty in the budget. If only part of the project qualifies, only the goods allocated and accounted for separately to that part are exempt, and a project that later fails the conditions has to repay the duty with interest.
Customs must be notified of the duty-exempt goods before they are imported. The notification rules were also revised recently, so ask your broker for the current form and deadline, especially if a full line arrives in several shipments.
Export processing enterprises and other special regimes have their own customs treatment, which this guide does not cover.
Customs clearance and documents for imported machinery
The importer files the customs declaration electronically. A risk system sorts each declaration into a green, yellow or red channel, and goods in the red channel are physically inspected by customs. Customs says importers with a good compliance record face fewer document and physical checks. In our experience, high-value machinery, used machinery and anything with a debatable HS code is more likely to be checked.
Have these documents ready before the vessel arrives:
- the commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading or airway bill;
- the statement on origin, if you claim the EVFTA rate;
- for used machinery, the importer’s registration certificate and the inspection or manufacturer certificate;
- for goods under the duty exemption, the list of exempt goods and the supply contract.
The importer’s name and the machine description should be identical on every document, including the certificate.
Machinery commonly enters through Hai Phong in the north and the ports around Ho Chi Minh City (Cat Lai and Cai Mep). Choose the port that suits your site and use a broker who handles machinery there regularly. If customs sends a declaration to the yellow or red channel, the cargo waits at the port while documents or goods are checked, so keep the certificates in the file before the ship arrives.
Landed cost of imported machinery in Vietnam
Add up the cost from the supplier’s factory gate to your production line: machine price, freight and insurance, import duty (zero if the EVFTA rate or the exemption applies), import VAT, port and handling charges, the broker’s fee, transport to the site, and installation and commissioning. Add an allowance for storage if clearance is delayed. For used machinery, add the cost of the assessment certificate. If the machine needs a safety inspection, add that as well.
Import VAT is paid when the goods clear, so plan the cash for it until you recover it.
Checklist for importing machinery into Vietnam
- Before the purchase order: name the importer, ask your investment advisor whether the project is entitled to incentives under the 2026 rules, and settle the HS codes.
- For used machinery: check the age limit, and the 85% and 15% tests if it is a line. Book the assessment in the exporting country early, because the certificate has a limited validity.
- In the contract: make the price terms match the duty route, especially for a bid or subcontract.
- Before shipping: notify the list of duty-exempt goods if you use the exemption, and prepare the EVFTA statement on origin.
- After arrival: arrange the safety inspection for listed machines such as boilers, pressure vessels, cranes and elevators.
Selling machinery to Vietnamese customers: what suppliers need to know
Quote on terms where the buyer clears customs, such as DAP. DDP would make you the declarant in Vietnam, which a supplier without a Vietnamese entity generally cannot do. Put the HS code, the year of manufacture and the serial numbers on the invoice, and for used equipment, send the certificate with the shipment.
Demo machines and trade fair exhibits: Vietnam customs accepts ATA Carnets issued under the Istanbul Convention, including for goods shown at exhibitions, fairs and meetings. Under Decree 64/2020/ND-CP, temporarily admitted goods can stay for up to 12 months, within the validity of the carnet. The decree covers goods shown at events, including machinery on display. It does not ban a later sale, but after the event the goods must be re-exported or go through the procedures for domestic sale. A demonstration at a customer’s plant is not an event in this sense, so ask customs before you ship.
Spare parts follow the same process as the machine, each with its own HS code.
Where we can help
Our team is based in Vietnam. We help manufacturers check whether a factory project can use the duty exemption, arrange the assessment of used machines, and find customs brokers and installers.
If you are planning a machine shipment to Vietnam, contact us. If you are also looking at India, see our guide to importing machinery to India.
