Transit goods pay no import duty in Vietnam, but the State does not let that tax duty float unsecured: the cargo owner must post a guarantee matching the shipment’s expected tax liability, issued by a commercial bank or as a cash deposit, released only when customs confirms the goods have left the territory in full. The transit guarantee is the financial lock that keeps the transit route from becoming a smuggling channel.
Guarantee amount: matched to the shipment’s expected tax duty, not a universal fixed rate
Tax management and customs law set no single percentage of the ‘guarantee equals 30% of cargo value’ kind for every transit shipment. The guarantee amount is determined by the expected tax of the shipment itself: customs bases it on the goods’ value, code, import duty rate and corresponding import-stage VAT to fix the secured sum; that entire contingent liability must be covered by a credit institution’s guarantee letter or a cash deposit under the Law on Tax Administration 108/2025/QH15 and customs law on transit goods.
In practice, two shipments of equal value but different goods can carry entirely different guarantee amounts, because the duty rate is the deciding variable; the cargo owner should ask the processing customs office to fix the secured amount in writing on the specific shipment file rather than estimate from a previous shipment’s experience. The guarantee must remain valid for the entire transit journey on Vietnamese territory plus the post-exit file-handling buffer customs requires.
Which banks may guarantee, and the guarantee forms
Tax payment guarantees are issued by credit institutions permitted to perform guarantee business under credit institution law — in practice, commercial banks operating in Vietnam with electronic guarantee-data connection to customs. The guarantee letter must follow the prescribed form, state the secured obligation, maximum amount and validity, and be transmitted electronically into the customs system so the processing office can check and reconcile it at the border gate; a paper guarantee outside the system is no longer how electronic customs procedure operates.
Instead of a guarantee letter, the cargo owner may post a cash deposit (paying money into the managing authority’s account as customs instructs) — legally simple but locking the enterprise’s real capital for the whole journey. For logistics firms running transit regularly, setting an aggregate guarantee facility at one commercial bank and issuing per-shipment guarantees within that facility is the standard operating structure, avoiding fresh guarantee files for every trip.
Release of the guarantee, and handling when goods are lost in transit
The guarantee is released when the secured obligation verifiably ends: the transit goods exit through the prescribed border gate, customs procedures complete, and customs confirms on the system that the shipment has left Vietnamese territory in full, with correct type and quantity. The guarantee letter then expires by its terms and the bank facility is restored to the cargo owner; for a cash deposit, the owner completes the refund procedure under tax administration rules once customs confirms no obligation remains.
If goods are lost, short or substituted during transit on Vietnamese territory, the part that can no longer exit is treated as brought into Vietnam outside the regime: customs assesses tax on that part and demands the financial obligation be performed, including calling the guarantor bank to pay under the guarantee letter if the owner does not pay. The guarantor, after paying, recovers the full sum plus costs from the cargo owner under the guarantee contract. Depending on its nature, losing transit goods can also draw customs administrative penalties and, where there is deliberate carriage of prohibited goods or tax evasion, criminal handling — the guarantee settles the tax money, it never erases conduct liability.
Frequently asked questions
How much guarantee is required for goods in transit?
There is no universal fixed percentage: the guarantee matches the shipment’s own expected tax, fixed by customs from the goods’ value, code and rates (import duty and import-stage VAT) under the Law on Tax Administration 108/2025/QH15 and customs law. Two shipments of equal value but different goods can carry different guarantee amounts because their rates differ.
Which banks may guarantee transit goods?
Credit institutions permitted to perform guarantee business — in practice commercial banks in Vietnam with electronic guarantee-data connection to customs. The letter must follow the prescribed form, state the obligation, maximum sum and validity, and be transmitted into the customs system; alternatively the owner may post a cash deposit with the managing authority instead of a letter.
When is the guarantee released?
When the goods exit through the prescribed gate, procedures complete, and customs confirms on the system that the shipment left the territory in full with correct type and quantity: the letter expires, the bank facility is restored; a cash deposit is refunded under tax administration procedure.
How is the guarantee handled if goods are lost during transit?
The lost or short part is tax-assessed as brought into Vietnam outside the regime; customs demands payment from the owner and, failing that, calls the guarantor bank under the guarantee letter; the bank pays and then recovers from the owner. Losing transit goods can also draw customs penalties or criminal handling depending on its nature.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council