The second-life EV battery market is heating up globally, but in Vietnam the import door for used batteries is far narrower than commercial expectations: a used battery stands between two prohibition regimes — the waste import ban and a permitted scrap import list that does not name batteries. This article analyses that legal position precisely.
Legal basis
- Law on Environmental Protection 72/2020/QH14: importing waste in any form is prohibited; hazardous waste — the group spent and damaged batteries belong to — is strictly managed from collection and transport to treatment.
- Decision 13/2023/QD-TTg issuing the list of scrap permitted for import from abroad as production materials: this list does not include used or spent batteries, so used batteries have no import route as scrap.
- Law on Environmental Protection, Article 54 on extended producer responsibility (EPR): organisations and individuals manufacturing or importing batteries bear responsibility for collecting and recycling discarded products at prescribed ratios and roadmaps — the regime applying to batteries placed on the Vietnamese market.
Can used EV batteries be imported into Vietnam?
In principle, not through ordinary channels, because both lawful import routes for used goods are closed to batteries. The first route — import as scrap for recycling materials — is absolutely closed: the law prohibits waste import, and the permitted scrap import list under Decision 13/2023/QD-TTg does not list used batteries; a used battery consignment declared as scrap will be refused clearance and handled as prohibited imports, with the enterprise facing forced re-export or destruction plus sanctions. The second route — import as used goods retaining use value (second-life) — sits under the used-goods import management regime and requires proving the consignment is not waste: each battery cell and pack must retain actual usability for the declared purpose, be uniform and carry quality and safety inspection records; in management practice, used lithium batteries removed from EVs find the goods-versus-waste boundary very hard to cross because of non-uniformity and fire risk, so an enterprise should not build a business model on the assumption of smooth used battery imports. The lawful channel that is open and policy-encouraged is importing new batteries and new cells as production inputs domestically, or investing in a recycling plant treating domestically arising spent batteries under the EPR regime — the domestic supply will grow quickly with the scale of the Vietnamese EV fleet.
Is there an exemption for used batteries for energy storage?
There is no separate exemption regime for the energy storage purpose. The common commercial argument — an EV battery retaining 70 to 80 percent capacity still serves static storage well (second-life BESS) — is a technically correct argument but creates no legal exception: import law looks at the nature of the consignment at import time (new goods, used goods or waste), not at the post-import use purpose, to grant exemptions. Used batteries imported for a storage project must pass the same control gate as every other used battery consignment, and once in operation, a storage system built with used batteries must also fully satisfy fire safety conditions for lithium battery stores and corresponding EPR and insurance responsibilities. The practical consequence is that second-life BESS projects in Vietnam are currently feasible mainly with domestically arising used battery supply (recovered from the domestic fleet through EPR channels) rather than imported supply; a project enterprise should lock domestic supply and battery origin traceability files from the start, because origin traceability is the condition distinguishing lawful second-life batteries from smuggled waste batteries when the authority inspects.
How is used battery quality inspected?
For every battery consignment considered for import or reuse, quality inspection is the step deciding legality and safety, in three layers. The first layer is classification inspection at the border and on files: customs and specialised inspection authorities reconcile the goods declaration with the actual state of the consignment to determine whether it is goods or waste — cracked, leaking, swollen, scorched or non-uniformly mixed batteries are signs of waste classification and import refusal. The second layer is technical battery quality assessment: measuring remaining capacity and state of health (SOH), checking voltage and internal resistance of each cell or pack, detecting faulty cells and thermal safety risks — only packs meeting the technical threshold of the reuse purpose enter a storage system, and failing packs must move to the hazardous waste treatment channel. The third layer is operational control: second-life batteries in a BESS must be monitored by a battery management system, with a more conservative charge-discharge range than new batteries and within the fire plan of the facility. The enterprise must retain this entire inspection file because it is the main legal evidence when quality and environment authorities post-check the battery source in a storage system.
Recommendations for enterprises interested in second-life batteries
Three compliance directions: do not build a model on imported used battery supply without a written feasibility confirmation of the authority for the specific consignment; prioritise domestically recovered battery supply through the EPR mechanism and origin traceability contracts with the original battery manufacturers and importers; and design the sorting and SOH inspection system together with the hazardous waste channel for failing batteries right into the plant plan. The second-life market in Vietnam will be large, but the advantage belongs to enterprises building on lawful supply rather than legally risky imported supply.
Frequently asked questions
Can used EV batteries be imported into Vietnam?
Not through the scrap channel: the Law on Environmental Protection bans waste import and the permitted scrap import list at Decision 13/2023/QD-TTg contains no used batteries. Import as used goods requires proving the consignment is not waste, is uniform and passes quality and safety inspection — a boundary very hard to cross in practice for vehicle-removed lithium batteries, so this is not a smooth commercial channel.
Is there an exemption for used batteries used for energy storage?
There is no exemption by use purpose: used batteries imported for a storage project bear the same import control regime, and a used-battery storage system must also meet battery store fire safety, EPR and insurance requirements like a new battery system. Second-life BESS projects in Vietnam are feasible mainly on domestically recovered supply through EPR channels with origin traceability.
How is used battery quality inspected?
In three layers: classification and file inspection at the border to determine goods or waste (broken, leaking or swollen batteries classify as waste); technical assessment of remaining capacity, SOH, voltage and internal resistance and faulty cell detection before reuse; and operational monitoring by a battery management system with a conservative charge-discharge range. The full inspection file must be retained for post-checks.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council