Update note: Decree 85/2019/ND-CP expired on 15/10/2026 and was replaced by Decree 336/2026/ND-CP dated 22/8/2026 of the Government (effective from 15/10/2026) on the implementation of administrative procedures for exported, imported and in-transit goods, and for exiting, entering and transit transport means under the National Single Window mechanism and the ASEAN Single Window mechanism. This article has been updated to the new text.
Missing just one document can leave an import consignment stuck at the port for days. Conversely, preparing documents the law no longer requires only wastes time and money. This article lists the complete import customs dossier under the current regulations — Article 24 of the Customs Law 54/2014/QH13 and Article 16 of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC (as amended by clause 4, Article 1 of Circular 121/2025/TT-BTC, effective 01/02/2026) — with a checklist distinguishing mandatory documents from case-specific ones.
What does an import customs dossier include?
Article 24 of the Customs Law provides that a customs dossier comprises: (a) the customs declaration or a substitute document; (b) related documents that, depending on each case, the customs declarant must submit or present — including the goods sale contract, commercial invoice, transport document, certificate of origin, export/import licence, written notice of the specialised inspection result or exemption from specialised inspection, and other related documents. The phrase “depending on each case” is key: not every consignment needs every document.
Documents may be in paper or electronic form, both having legal validity; electronic documents must ensure integrity and format under the law on electronic transactions (Article 24.2). Licences and specialised inspection results already submitted electronically through the National Single Window do not need to be submitted in paper (Article 24.3; Decree 336/2026/ND-CP).
Key point: Decree 336/2026 does not change the dossier composition
Decree 336/2026/ND-CP only changes the channel for carrying out procedures (the National Single Window portal, electronic documents) — it does not change the competence, conditions, dossier composition, procedures, time limits or state management responsibilities under specialised laws (Article 13.5). In other words, the National Single Window mechanism is the electronic channel for submitting documents, while the import customs dossier composition remains fully governed by Article 24 of the Customs Law and Article 16 of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC.
The practical consequence for businesses: the 9-group document checklist below is unchanged; only the submission method changes (electronic via the National Single Window portal) and how state agencies return results.
Detailed checklist: 9 groups of documents (Article 16 of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC, new version)
Under Article 16, clause 2 of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC (as amended by Circular 121/2025/TT-BTC, effective 01/02/2026), the customs dossier for imported goods comprises:
| No. | Document | Mandatory / case-specific |
| — | — | — |
| 1 | Customs declaration | Mandatory — electronic declaration is the principle |
| 2 | Commercial invoice or a document of equivalent value | Only where the buyer must pay the seller; not required for goods imported to perform processing contracts for foreign traders (and other cases as regulated) |
| 3 | Transport document (sea, air or rail waybill or equivalent document) | Mandatory |
| 4 | Customs value declaration | As per the rules on customs valuation |
| 5 | Import licence | Where the goods require a licence |
| 6 | Notice of exemption from specialised inspection / specialised inspection result | Where the goods are subject to specialised inspection |
| 7 | Certificate of origin (C/O) | Only where the declarant wishes to enjoy special preferential tax rates under FTAs (EVFTA, CPTPP, RCEP, ACFTA…); goods subject to ordinary MFN rates do not need a C/O |
| 8 | Entrustment contract | In cases of entrusted import |
| 9 | FDI enterprise’s document for exercising the right of import: Investment certificate for goods purchase/sale activities with registered right of import (or equivalent document) | FDI enterprises exercising the right of import — submitted once at first at the same customs authority; declared in the “Licence number” box (point m, clause 2, Article 16, added by Circular 121/2025/TT-BTC; Official Dispatch 6737/CHQ-GSQL dated 27/01/2026 of the Customs Department) |
International and ASEAN electronic documents: same validity as paper documents
A noteworthy new feature of Decree 336/2026/ND-CP is a complete legal framework for cross-border electronic documents:
- Legal validity equal to paper documents: information and electronic documents exchanged under international agreements/treaties have the same legal validity as paper documents when (1) they fully satisfy the conditions of the agreement/treaty, (2) they are recognised as having the same validity as paper documents in the agreement/treaty, and (3) they satisfy the electronic document conditions at clause 3, Article 14 of the Decree (Article 45).
- Used for customs clearance: information and electronic documents exchanged through the ASEAN Single Window mechanism are used by the customs authority to clear exported, imported and in-transit goods, and are exchanged and shared with the managing ministries/sectors (Article 46.3).
- Scope of application: relevant ministries coordinate the exchange of information on electronic certificates of origin, electronic quarantine certificates, transport documents and other related commercial documents with ASEAN member states and other countries/territories through the Portal (Article 47.2).
Practical meaning for import dossiers: electronic C/Os (e-C/Os) and electronic quarantine certificates exchanged through the ASEAN Single Window mechanism or under international treaties to which Vietnam is a party may be used directly in the customs dossier, without the declarant having to submit the paper version. This reinforces the existing rule of Circular 121/2025/TT-BTC: documents need not be submitted where they have already been sent by the competent authority of the exporting country in electronic form through the ASEAN Single Window portal or an exchange portal under an international treaty to which Vietnam is a party [TO BE VERIFIED: the actual scope and list of treaties/countries where electronic document exchange has been implemented at the time of writing].
Documents removed from the list
Compared with the previous rules, the current import dossier removes: the import contract, the inspection certificate, written prior determinations of commodity codes/customs values, and the catch-all phrase “other documents”. Businesses should review any old checklists still circulating internally — many checklists online still list these removed documents.
Is a packing list mandatory?
No. A packing list is not on the mandatory list of Article 16 — it is a document supporting physical inspection and customs value declaration in the practice of forwarders; it should not be “legalised” as a mandatory requirement in internal procedures.
When and in what form must the dossier be submitted?
On the timing of document submission (Article 25.3 of the Customs Law; Article 18 of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC): in electronic customs declaration, the declarant only has to submit paper documents when the customs authority conducts a dossier inspection or physical inspection; documents already available on the National Single Window system do not need to be submitted. A new point of Circular 121/2025/TT-BTC (effective 01/02/2026): documents need not be submitted where they have been issued on the National Single Window portal, the online public service portal, or sent in electronic form by the competent authority of the exporting country through the ASEAN Single Window portal or an exchange portal under an international treaty to which Vietnam is a party.
Under Decree 336/2026/ND-CP, documents in administrative dossiers under the National Single Window mechanism are electronic documents and paper documents (Article 14.1); electronic documents must satisfy the conditions on format templates, legal validity under the law on electronic transactions, the requirements of specialised laws, and bear a digital signature where the procedure requires one (Article 14.3). Paper documents may still be submitted where a specialised law requires the paper version, or where the Portal/specialised processing system encounters an incident (Article 14.4).
New point on system access: users register an account and a digital signature on the National Single Window portal or use an electronic identification account issued through the national identification application VNeID to register and access the system (Article 11.1). [TO BE VERIFIED: whether the Ministry of Finance has published the List of procedures and application timeline under the National Single Window mechanism (Article 10.1.a) at the time of writing.]
Note on technical transition: the Decree does not separately regulate the fate of dossiers submitted before 15/10/2026. Article 49.1 only provides a technical grace period of up to 01 year (until 15/10/2027) for ministries’ specialised processing systems that have not yet met the result-feedback standards; which procedures apply and when follows the announcement of the Minister of Finance (Article 49.2).
Distinguishing: the dossier submitted to customs vs. the records kept by the business
These two categories are often conflated. Article 16a of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC (amended by clause 6, Article 1 of Circular 39/2018/TT-BTC and clause 5, Article 1 of Circular 121/2025/TT-BTC, effective 01/02/2026) regulates the list of records the customs declarant must keep at the business, including: the customs declaration; export/import licences and deduction tracking slips; specialised inspection registration papers; specialised inspection certificates; sale contracts (including processing contracts and appendices); documents satisfying the conditions for export/import under investment law; commercial invoices; bills of lading… The storage list (Article 16a) differs from the list of documents submitted to the customs authority (Article 16) — they must not be conflated when building internal procedures.
Common mistakes when preparing documents
- “A C/O is mandatory for every consignment” — wrong. A C/O is only required where the business wishes to enjoy special preferential tax rates under FTAs; goods subject to ordinary MFN rates do not need one.
- “Electronic declaration means all paper documents must be submitted immediately” — wrong. Submission is only required when the customs authority inspects the dossier or conducts a physical inspection; documents already on the National Single Window/ASEAN portal are exempt.
- Goods subject to specialised inspection without a notice of result/exemption — the goods will not be cleared (Article 37.4 of the Customs Law). This is the “death trap” for many consignments of food, cosmetics, electrical equipment and children’s toys.
- Value discrepancies on the invoice — grounds for tax assessment and penalties under Article 10 of Decree 169/2026/ND-CP (depending on the stage of detection: during clearance, within 60 days no penalty, beyond 60 days a 10% penalty, and if detected by the authority a 20% penalty). [TO BE VERIFIED: the content of Article 10 of Decree 169/2026/ND-CP at the time of writing — quoted verbatim from the previous draft.]
- FDI enterprises exercising the right of import (rule applicable from 01/02/2026): many businesses have not yet updated point m, clause 2, Article 16, leading to difficulties in carrying out procedures.
Businesses that need to build a standard document checklist for each import type (trading, processing, export production, export processing enterprises) may contact the lawyer team of FLAT Law Firm via the contact page for support.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum import customs dossier?
The customs declaration, the transport document and the commercial invoice (where the buyer must pay the seller) are the three core documents. The remaining documents apply “depending on each case” under Article 24 of the Customs Law.
Does Decree 336/2026/ND-CP change the dossier list?
No. Article 13.5 of Decree 336/2026/ND-CP provides that carrying out procedures under the National Single Window mechanism and the ASEAN Single Window mechanism does not change the competence, conditions, dossier composition, procedures or time limits under specialised laws. The Decree only changes the channel (electronic via the Portal); the 9-group document list under Article 16 of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC remains unchanged.
Is a C/O mandatory for imported goods?
No. A C/O is only needed where the business wishes to enjoy special preferential tax rates under free trade agreements (EVFTA, CPTPP, RCEP, ACFTA…).
Does an electronic C/O (e-C/O) have the same validity as the paper version?
Yes, when the conditions are met: (1) exchanged under an international agreement/treaty to which Vietnam is a party, (2) recognised as having the same validity as a paper document in that agreement/treaty, and (3) satisfying the electronic document conditions at clause 3, Article 14 of Decree 336/2026/ND-CP (Article 45). The customs authority uses electronic documents exchanged through the ASEAN Single Window mechanism for clearance (Article 46.3).
Does electronic declaration require immediate submission of paper documents?
No. Paper documents are only submitted when the customs authority conducts a dossier inspection or physical inspection; documents already on the National Single Window system or the ASEAN Single Window portal do not need to be submitted.
Is a packing list a mandatory document?
No. A packing list is not on the mandatory list of Article 16 of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC — it is a supporting document under professional practice.
The information above is for reference only and does not constitute legal advice.
Information is for reference only and does not constitute legal advice. Content has been quality-reviewed by the AI Legal Council and has not been approved by a licensed lawyer.
