The question of how large a security deposit an international multimodal transport business must post comes from the old regime, and the current answer has changed fundamentally. Under Decree 87/2009/ND-CP as amended by Decree 144/2018/ND-CP, the State no longer requires a fixed cash deposit paid into a blocked account; instead, the enterprise must maintain minimum assets equivalent to SDR 80,000 or hold an equivalent guarantee, together with multimodal transport operator liability insurance or a substitute guarantee. This article explains the current financial mechanism, the licensing procedure for international multimodal transport, and the conditions for releasing the guarantee when operations cease.
Legal Basis
Multimodal transport business is governed by Decree 87/2009/ND-CP, amended and supplemented by Decree 144/2018/ND-CP. Decree 144/2018 is the instrument that fundamentally changed the financial condition: an international multimodal transport enterprise must maintain minimum assets worth the equivalent of SDR 80,000 or hold an equivalent guarantee, and must carry professional liability insurance of a multimodal transport operator or an equivalent guarantee for that liability. The international multimodal transport business license is issued by the Ministry of Transport — an authority that now rests with the Ministry of Construction after the 2025 apparatus reorganization — with a term of five years. Domestic multimodal transport does not apply this separate financial condition but follows the law of each component transport mode.
The Financial Security Amount: SDR 80,000 in Two Forms
The central figure of the current regime is SDR 80,000, the International Monetary Fund’s unit of account, equivalent to roughly over USD 100,000 depending on the SDR exchange rate at each point in time. The enterprise may choose one of two evidence forms: maintaining minimum assets equivalent to SDR 80,000 as shown in its financial statements and asset records, or presenting a credit institution guarantee of equivalent value. Alongside the minimum-asset layer sits the liability insurance layer: the multimodal transport operator is liable to the cargo owner across the entire multi-modal journey under the multimodal transport document, so it must hold liability insurance or an equivalent guarantee to secure compensation capacity when cargo is lost or damaged on any leg. The two layers are independent: holding SDR 80,000 in assets does not replace liability insurance, and vice versa.
Licensing Procedure and the Guarantee’s Role in the Dossier
The dossier for an international multimodal transport business license is filed with the Ministry of Construction and comprises the application, corporate legal documents, financial-condition evidence — financial statements showing minimum assets or a guarantee instrument equivalent to SDR 80,000 — and the liability insurance contract or instrument. Where the dossier is incomplete, the licensing authority notifies in writing within three working days; where the dossier is complete and valid, the license is issued within five working days. The guarantee instrument used in the dossier must remain valid throughout the license term; if the operator changes the guaranteeing institution or the guarantee value falls below the SDR 80,000 equivalent through exchange-rate movement, it must top up promptly, because this is a license-maintenance condition, not merely a condition at the moment of issuance.
Refund and Release of the Guarantee: Timing and Conditions
Because the current regime no longer involves a cash deposit paid to the State, the refund concept applies to releasing the bank guarantee and ending the minimum-asset maintenance duty. The guarantee is released when the enterprise ceases international multimodal transport business or the license expires without renewal, provided the enterprise has completed every obligation arising from multimodal transport documents it issued — including cargo compensation, payment to component carriers and duties toward authorities. If a claim or compensation case is still being processed, the guaranteeing institution has grounds to retain the corresponding value until the case ends, because the guarantee is precisely the security source for those unpaid obligations. The enterprise should proactively notify cessation to the licensing authority and the guaranteeing partner in sequence: stop issuing new transport documents, reconcile all documents in circulation, settle obligations in full, and only then request release of the guarantee.
Using a Bank Guarantee Instead of a Deposit: Permitted and Common
The direct answer is yes: current law designs the guarantee as a complete substitute for evidencing assets in cash and existing property, so the enterprise is not forced to freeze cash equivalent to SDR 80,000. In practice, the bank guarantee is the common choice of FDI multimodal operators because it does not lock working capital, costs only an issuance fee computed on value and term, and adjusts easily when the SDR rate moves. What the enterprise must control is continuity: a guarantee expiring mid-license, a credit institution changing issuance conditions, or a guarantee value slipping below the threshold through exchange rates can each drop the enterprise into non-compliance with license-maintenance conditions. The guarantee renewal calendar should therefore be set a safe buffer before expiry and tied to the same review milestone as liability insurance renewal.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much security must a multimodal transport operator provide?
Under the current regime in Decree 87/2009/ND-CP as amended by Decree 144/2018/ND-CP, there is no longer a fixed cash deposit. An international multimodal transport operator must maintain minimum assets equivalent to SDR 80,000 or hold an equivalent guarantee, and must carry multimodal transport operator liability insurance or an equivalent guarantee. This is a condition for obtaining and maintaining the international multimodal transport business license, which has a five-year term.
What is the security procedure?
The enterprise files with the Ministry of Construction — the authority succeeding the Ministry of Transport after the 2025 reorganization — a dossier comprising the application, corporate legal documents, evidence of minimum assets or a guarantee instrument equivalent to SDR 80,000, and liability insurance. An incomplete dossier is notified for supplementation within three working days; a complete and valid dossier is licensed within five working days. If the guarantee form is chosen, the credit institution’s guarantee instrument is the financial-condition evidence filed with the dossier.
When is the security refunded?
The guarantee is released and the minimum-asset maintenance duty ends when the enterprise ceases international multimodal transport business or the license expires without renewal, provided all obligations arising from issued multimodal transport documents have been completed: cargo compensation, payment to component carriers and duties toward authorities. If a compensation case or complaint is still pending, the corresponding part of the guarantee may be retained until the case closes.
Can a bank guarantee replace the cash deposit?
Yes. A credit institution guarantee equivalent to SDR 80,000 is one of the two forms of financial-condition evidence accepted by Decree 87/2009/ND-CP as amended by Decree 144/2018/ND-CP, fully replacing proof by existing assets; the enterprise need not freeze cash. In practice FDI operators usually choose the guarantee because it does not lock working capital and costs only an issuance fee, but they must keep the guarantee continuously valid and ensure its value does not fall below the SDR threshold through exchange-rate movement during the license term.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council