iMoney: What taxes are incurred when carrying goods from abroad?

Hand-carried goods are understood as goods brought from abroad to Vietnam by hand-carried goods such as: relatives abroad, traveling abroad and carrying them as luggage and bringing them back, airline staff buying goods in the host country and bringing them back, some individuals or companies providing services to buy goods and ship them back to Vietnam...

Carry-on sales are a legal form of business when the goods sold meet all the conditions prescribed by law. Some conditions include ensuring the correct quantity and type of goods when completing customs procedures; goods are not on the list of prohibited or temporarily suspended imports according to the provisions of law; goods have invoices and accompanying documents and comply with the provisions of law on invoice management....

According to Lawyer Pham Ngoc Hai, Deputy Director of Thang Long Legal Consulting Center, Central Committee of Vietnam Lawyers Association, to comply with the law, luggage and goods brought from abroad are only exempt from tax if they meet the conditions for import and export tax exemption according to Article 16 of the Law on Export Tax and Import Tax 2016 and more specifically Decree 134/2016 of the Government .

iMoney: Xách tay hàng từ nước ngoài về phải chịu những loại thuế gì? - 1 — Goods advertised as hand-carried goods are displayed for sale on Nguyen Son Street ( Hanoi ) (Photo: Hanh Vu).

Specifically, people entering the country with a passport or a document in lieu of a passport (except for a travel document used for exit and entry) issued by a competent state agency of Vietnam or a foreign country, with carry-on luggage, luggage sent before or after the trip, are exempt from import tax for each entry according to the following norms:

- Wine from 20 degrees or higher: 1.5 liters or wine under 20 degrees: 2 liters or alcoholic beverages, beer: 3 liters.

For alcohol, if the entrant brings a whole bottle, jar, bottle, or can (hereinafter referred to as bottle) with a capacity larger than the prescribed capacity but not exceeding 1 liter, the whole bottle is exempt from tax. In case it exceeds 1 liter, the excess portion must be taxed according to the provisions of law;

- Cigarettes: 200 cigarettes or shredded tobacco: 250 grams or cigars: 20 cigarettes;

- Personal belongings with quantity and type suitable for the purpose of the trip;

- Items other than the goods specified in points a, b, and c of this clause (not included in the List of goods prohibited from import, temporarily suspended from import, or conditionally imported) with a total customs value not exceeding 10 million VND;

In case of exceeding the taxable limit, the entrant can choose items to be exempted from tax in case the luggage includes many items.

Currently, imported goods from foreign countries to Vietnam will have to pay the following taxes and fees:

- Import tax

- Value Added Tax (VAT)

- Customs fees

- For some special items, goods may be subject to additional taxes such as: special consumption tax, self-defense tax, anti-subsidy tax, anti-dumping tax, environmental protection tax, etc.

Based on the above regulations, if you carry goods by hand and ensure that you have all the conditions for import, stamps, documents and pay all taxes and fees as prescribed, you will not have to sell smuggled goods and will not be punished.

In case of selling hand-carried goods without invoices, accompanying documents as prescribed, without customs procedures... these are cases determined to be smuggled goods.

According to Article 15 of Decree 98/2020 of the Government, the act of trading in smuggled goods can be subject to an administrative fine of VND 500,000 to VND 50 million. The fine can be doubled in some special cases.

In case of serious violations, those who smuggle goods with a high value of VND 100 million or more, or less than VND 100 million but have a criminal record for crimes against economic management order or goods that are relics, antiques or objects of historical or cultural value, may be prosecuted for criminal liability for smuggling under Article 188 of the Penal Code. Violators may be fined from VND 50 million to a maximum of VND 5 billion or imprisoned from 6 months, up to a maximum of 20 years in prison.

For commercial legal entities committing this crime, they can be fined up to 15 billion VND and may have their operations suspended.

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