Customs & Global Trade Alert | April 2025 | Enhanced scrutiny of the origin of goods and guidelines for goods ownership transfer within bonded warehouses

         1. Enhanced scrutiny of the origin of exported goods  

As mentioned in our previous Customs & Global Trade Alert, the US has imposed additional reciprocal/baseline taxes on Vietnamese goods destined for the US. The origin of goods is a critical matter that the government and businesses should pay attention to. 

Recently, the Prime Minister emphasized the need to combat counterfeit goods labeled as originating from Vietnam for export to other countries. In response, the National Steering Committee 389 on combating smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods, along with the Department of Customs and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, released Letter No. 38/VPTT-TH dated 10 April 2025, Letter 571/CHQ-GSQL dated 26 March 2025, Directive 09/CT-BCT dated 15 April 2025 respectively, to provide detailed measures. The main measures are outlined below: 

• Enhanced monitoring: Strengthen the monitoring and detection of acts involving counterfeit goods labeled as originating from Vietnam. Focus on risk assessments to identify high-risk businesses and products for enhanced measures. 
• Certification control: Conduct thorough governance and verification during the handling process of granting Certificates of Origin (C/O) for exported goods, especially in cases of significant increases in C/O applications. 
• Increased origin verification: Stimulate on-site origin verifications to ensure businesses adhere to origin regulations. 
• Intensified customs procedures: Enhance the inspection of export goods susceptible to fraudulent activities before approving customs clearance. 
• Robust customs audit: Initiate customs audits focused on the origin of goods for high-risk businesses and products that may be susceptible to fraudulent activities. 

        2. Goods ownership transfer within bonded warehouses

Following a previous consultation with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Department of Customs, on 14 April 2025, provided guidelines in Official Letter No. 1937/CHQ-GSQL regarding ownership transfer within bonded warehouses (Letter 1937). 

The Letter 1937 states that foreign-invested companies (FDI) should adhere to Article 63 of the Customs Law, Article 83 of Decree 08/2015 (and its amendments), and Clause 8, Article 91 of Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC (and its amendments) for exercising title transfer within bonded warehouses. The Letter clarifies previous concerns regarding the permissibility of FDI to conduct these activities within bonded warehouses.