Goods to be included in import and export statistics of Vietnam

1. Goods traded or exchanged between Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals in the following forms:

a/ Goods imported or exported under goods purchase and sale contracts;

b/ Goods imported or exported in the form of importing materials for export production;

c/ Goods imported or exported to perform processing contracts concluded with foreign countries;

d/ Goods imported or exported for investment projects;

e/ Goods traded in the form of temporary import for re-export or temporary export for re-import (excluding those stated in Article 9 of this Circular);

f/ Goods brought from abroad into bonded warehouses and vice versa;

g/ Goods traded or bartered among border residents; goods imported or exported across the border without purchase and sale contracts;

h/ Goods of persons on entry or exit in excess of the prescribed personal baggage allowances which are dutiable;

i/ Good imported or exported in the form of loan or aid of Vietnamese and foreign governments or non-governmental organizations;

j/ Goods imported or exported which are movables of organizations or persons entering or leaving Vietnam.

2. Goods in some specific cases:

a/ Non-monetary gold: gold bars, bullions, powder, flakes... imported or exported by enterprises or commercial banks (excluding banks authorized by the State Bank) for commercial, processing, fashioning... purposes in accordance with law;

b/ Unissued banknotes, coins and securities not for circulation or not in circulation; collections of banknotes and coins;

c/ Returned goods;

d/ Goods under financial lease contracts whereby lessees assume benefits, responsibilities, risks... in relation to goods. For contracts containing unclear contents on these issues, the lease term of 12 months or longer will be based on;

e/ Gifts and presents of organizations and individuals;

f/ Goods sent abroad for display at exhibitions and fairs; commercial samples; educational and training materials; breeding animals; animals and instruments for circus and art performances, sports competitions; transporting vehicles which are then sold or donated abroad, and foreign goods imported into Vietnam for the above purposes but then not re-exported;

g/ Magnetic tapes and discs, CD-ROMs and other media recorded with sounds, images or data or computer software for general use purposes or normal commercial purposes (excluding those produced upon request or order);

h/ Electricity, water, petrol, crude oil and gas;

i/ Goods imported or exported via e-commerce: The exchange of information, placement of orders, conclusion of commercial contracts and payment with foreign countries are carried out through the Internet but goods are brought into or taken out of Vietnam's territory and go through normal customs procedures;

j/ Goods bartered among countries and territories without payment;

k/ Goods dispatched or received by post or express delivery service;

l/ Goods supplied to aircraft, vessels and other vehicles in international trips.

Goods to be excluded from import and export statistics of Vietnam

1. Goods crossing Vietnam's territory simply for transportation, including goods in transit and transshipped goods.

2. Goods temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import within given periods of time, such as goods for display at exhibitions and fairs; commercial samples; educational and training materials; breeding animals; animals and instruments for circus and art performances, sports competitions; transporting means which enter then leave Vietnam and vice versa.

3. Goods bought or sold at duty-free shops.

4. Goods brought from the domestic market into bonded warehouses pending export. Goods brought from bonded warehouses into the domestic market.

5. Goods exported or imported on spot.

6. Goods transferred among industrial parks, export-processing zones, hi-tech parks and economic zones and between these parks or zones and the domestic market (because they are already included in statistics when they enter or leave the customs territory).

7. Goods in some special cases:

a/ Monetary gold: gold imported and exported by the Slate Bank of Vietnam for national monetary reserve and balance (monetary gold under sub-heading 7108.20 in the import tariff);

b/ Coins in circulation, and issued banknotes and checks in circulation;

c/ Governmental goods delivered to or received from diplomatic representative missions and embassies;

d/ Goods under operational lease or charter contracts of a term of under 12 months (aircraft, vessel, machinery, equipment...);

e/ Goods being machinery and equipment temporarily imported for re-export or temporarily exported for re-import for work construction and investment projects;

f/ Goods used as carrying means or tools, such as empty containers, barrels, bottles... solely for goods carriage purposes;

g/ Digital products and contents exchanged in e-commerce (e.g. movies, music and software applications... downloaded or uploaded);

h/ Goods brought into or taken out of Vietnam's customs territory for repair or maintenance which does not change the origin of such goods;

i/ Goods illegally entering or leaving Vietnam's customs territory.

Sources of import and export statistics

1. Import and export statistics of Vietnam shall be collected from the following sources:

a/ Import and export declaration forms; documents enclosed with customs dossiers, including bills of lading, value declarations, certificates of origin and other related documents;

b/ Import and export statistical reports of provincial-level Customs Departments, district-level Customs Departments and other units within the customs sector;

c/ Other additional information sources.

2. When converting data to serve statistical purposes (i.e. converting statistical values, quantities, units of calculation, currency used in statistics...), statistics-compiling organizations and individuals may not change customs operation information.

Time of import and export statistics

1. Time of statistics is the time customs offices accept registration of customs declaration forms.

2. For customs declaration forms registered once under which importations or exportations are multiple, the time of statistics is the time of registration of such declaration forms. Should arise any change compared to the registered declaration form in the course of importation or exportation, statistics will be adjusted based on the actual importation or exportation.

3. For cases of correction or adjustment of declaration forms or supplementation of customs dossiers during operational processes, the time of statistics is the time of declaration registration. Any changed contents shall be updated in operational information technology systems and relevant statistics shall be adjusted.

4. Replaced or cancelled declaration forms shall be excluded from previously compiled statistics.

5. Changed information referred to in Clauses 2, 3 and 4 of this Article shall be reflected in cumulative data of the current period and reported statistics of the period of adjustment.

Classifications of goods used in statistics

1. Imports and exports in Vietnam's statistics are classified according to the current export tariff and import tariffs.

2. The Standard International Trade Classifications (SITC) and other classifications recommended by the United Nations Statistics Division are used for economic analysis and other statistical purposes.

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