On August 26, 2026, the Customs Department issued Official Letter No. 20974/CHQ-GSQL guiding the procedures for bringing goods for preservation.
The details are as follows:
1. General principles on the retention of goods subject to specialized inspection
Goods subject to specialized inspection must be retained at the border checkpoint until customs clearance.
Where the law permits or the goods owner requests that the goods be brought to a location other than the border checkpoint for preservation, such location must satisfy the conditions for customs supervision and shall remain subject to the supervision of the customs authority until clearance is granted.
2. Dossier requesting permission to bring goods for preservation
Upon designation or request to bring goods for preservation, the customs declarant shall submit to the customs authority:
- A written request to bring the goods to the inspection location (in accordance with the criteria set out in Form No. 18, Appendix II issued together with Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC).
- The specialized inspection registration certificate confirmed by the specialized inspection authority.
SPECIAL NOTE: The customs declarant is not required to submit documents proving that the storage location satisfies the customs supervision conditions at the time of requesting to bring the goods for preservation.
3. Post-inspection mechanism
Within a maximum period of 30 days from the date of confirming the first shipment brought for preservation, the customs authority shall conduct a physical inspection of the storage location to confirm the supervision conditions.
The customs declarant is responsible for retaining and presenting, upon inspection request, the (currently valid) document evidencing the right to use the storage location as well as documents proving compliance with customs supervision conditions.
(Pursuant to Official Letter No. 20974/CHQ-GSQL dated August 26, 2026)
Related service: Customs clearance procedures
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