Consolidated Circular No. 70/2026/VBHN-TT-BCT: Unified Rules Implementing the Law on Foreign Trade Management and Decree 69/2018/ND-CP

Overview

Consolidated Circular No. 70/2026/VBHN-TT-BCT (signed August 3, 2026, published in Official Gazette issue 469 on August 11, 2026) merges Circular No. 12/2018/TT-BCT dated June 15, 2018 with six subsequent amending circulars into a single text reflecting the current rules on foreign trade management. It is a reference tool, not an independent legal instrument.

The constituent circulars are:

• Circular 12/2018/TT-BCT (original, effective June 15, 2018)
• Circular 42/2019/TT-BCT (periodic reporting regime, effective February 5, 2020)
• Circular 08/2023/TT-BCT (HS-code list of banned imports, effective May 16, 2023)
• Circular 38/2025/TT-BCT (administrative procedure decentralization, effective July 1, 2025)
• Circular 15/2026/TT-BCT (amending Circular 38/2025, effective April 10, 2026)
• Circular 26/2026/TT-BCT (decentralization and procedure simplification, effective May 29, 2026)
• Circular 41/2026/TT-BCT (scrap materials and used goods subject to a temporary-import ban, effective September 5, 2026 through December 31, 2029)

Scope

Applies to Vietnamese traders and organizations/individuals engaged in foreign trade activities under the Law on Foreign Trade Management.

List of banned imports

Appendix I lists, by HS code, categories of used consumer goods, medical devices, and vehicles banned from import (e.g. household plastic goods, bathroom fixtures, rubber products, leather goods, luggage and bags, and other categories). Application rule: if only a 2-, 4-, or 6-digit code is listed, all 8-digit codes within that group/subgroup are banned; if an 8-digit code is listed, only that specific code is banned. Used parts and components of banned goods are also banned.

Licenses and application forms

• Certificate of Free Sale (CFS): application form in Appendix III, used to meet importing-country requirements.
• Temporary-import re-export / temporary-export re-import / transshipment business license: application form in Appendix IV; implementation report form in Appendix V.
• Temporary-import re-export business code: application form in Appendix VI, deposit confirmation form in Appendix VII, quarterly report form in Appendix VIII (due before the 10th of the first month of the following quarter, submitted to the Import-Export Department, 54 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi).
• Cargo transit permit: application form in Appendix IX; transit goods from countries sharing a border with Vietnam and having a transit agreement follow that agreement instead.
• License to manufacture/process military uniforms for export, or to import uniform samples: application forms in Appendices X and XI.

Several sub-clauses in these articles have been repealed through successive amendments (for example, Article 4 on the list of goods subject to a temporary-import ban was repealed effective September 5, 2026 under Circular 41/2026/TT-BCT).

Import tariff-rate quota goods

Goods managed under import tariff-rate quotas (Article 11): refined/raw sugar (HS 1701), salt (HS 2501), raw tobacco material (HS 2401), and poultry eggs (HS 0407, excluding fertilized hatching eggs under certain specific 8-digit codes).

Annual quota decisions: the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development decides and notifies MOIT of the salt, poultry-egg, and sugar quota volumes (by November 15 each year); MOIT itself decides the raw tobacco quota (also by November 15).

Tariff rates: imports within the quota enjoy the in-quota tariff rate; imports exceeding the quota are subject to the out-of-quota rate.

Eligibility for an import license under quota:

• Raw tobacco: traders holding a cigarette-manufacturing license issued by MOIT.
• Salt: traders with a confirmed production need from the relevant specialized agency.
• Poultry eggs: any trader with an import need.
• Refined/raw sugar: per MOIT's annual guidance issued in coordination with the Ministries of Agriculture and Finance.

Application dossier and process: a registration application on the form in Appendix XIII plus an investment/business registration certificate, submitted directly, by post, or online to the Import-Export Department of MOIT. If the dossier is incomplete, the agency requests supplementation within 3 working days. The license must be issued within 10 working days from the quota-allocation date and receipt of a complete valid dossier; a refusal must be given in writing with reasons.

Reporting obligations: traders must file quarterly reports before the 10th of the first month of the following quarter using the form in Appendix XIV; before September 30 each year, traders must submit a full-year import-capacity assessment report (replacing the Q3 report) to request a quota increase/decrease or to return unused quota for reallocation.

Transitional provisions and effect

Licenses and certificates issued before the effective date of each amending circular remain valid until their stated expiry. Because this is a consolidated text, the actual effective date of each provision follows the effective date of the original or amending circular in which it appears (ranging from 2018 to 2026) - there is no single effective date for the consolidated document as a whole.