How to Import From Vietnam

Quick Answer

Why Vietnam Sits on So Many Sourcing Lists

Vietnam has moved from a low-cost alternative to a mainstream manufacturing base. World Bank data shows merchandise exports growing from roughly one hundred billion dollars in 2010 to well over three hundred and fifty billion dollars in recent years, driven by foreign investment in electronics, textiles and furniture, alongside a large domestic small and medium manufacturer base.

For a buyer, that produces three practical advantages.

Depth of supply. For most product categories there are multiple factories, not one. That gives you negotiating room and a second source when a factory is at capacity.

Trade agreement coverage. Vietnam is a party to a wide network of trade agreements, including the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement and a free trade agreement with the European Union. Preferential duty rates at destination depend on a valid certificate of origin, which is why the paperwork matters as much as the price.

Established export logistics. The country has a mature freight forwarding sector, regular container services from major ports, and a customs authority that publishes procedures and tariff information. The learning curve for a first-time importer is shorter than in markets where documentation is informal.

What Vietnam does not offer is a shortcut around the fundamentals. A factory that cannot show you its registration, its production line and its quality process is not a safer bet because it is in a different country.

Start With the Product and the Code

Before you contact a supplier, define the product precisely. Material, dimensions, weight, finish, packaging, voltage, certification requirements and target price all belong in a specification document. A supplier who receives a vague request will quote a vague product, and the sample that arrives will be a version of what they already make.

Classify the goods at the same time. The HS code determines the duty rate at destination, whether a permit or standard applies, and whether a preferential rate is available. The Vietnam Trade Portal publishes tariff schedules, procedures and documentation requirements, and it is a better starting point than a supplier's claim about how the goods are classified.

Getting the code wrong is expensive in both directions. Too generic a code can attract a higher rate. Too specific a code can trigger a certification requirement that the product does not meet.

Finding and Verifying a Supplier

Vietnam has a large number of trading companies that present themselves as manufacturers. Some are legitimate and add real value in consolidation and quality control. Others simply mark up a factory price and disappear when a problem appears.

Verification follows the same pattern used in any sourcing market.

• Check the business registration. The company name, tax code and registered address should match across the registration certificate, the invoice and the bank account. Vietnam's national business registration portal and the trade portal are the reference points.
• Confirm whether the company manufactures or trades. Ask for the production address and a video walkthrough of the line. A trading company will not be able to show a line that runs your product.
• Ask for export history. Which markets, which buyers, which product lines, and how long. A supplier that has exported to regulated markets has usually learned the documentation discipline those markets require.
• Request certifications that match your product. ISO 9001 for quality systems, social compliance audits for labour standards, and product specific certificates for electrical goods, food contact materials or children's products.
• Check references. Ask for two customers you can contact, ideally outside the supplier's home market.
• Run a paid sample through the full process. Not a free sample sent by courier, but an order processed the way a real order would be, including the commercial invoice and the payment route.

The last point matters more than the others. A supplier's behaviour on a small paid order predicts their behaviour on a container.

Reading the Quotation and Choosing the Incoterm

A quotation that says only "price per unit" is not a quotation. Ask for the full structure: unit price, minimum order quantity, lead time, packaging, port of loading, Incoterm, payment terms and validity.

The Incoterm decides who pays for what between the factory gate and your door. Three appear most often in Vietnamese quotations.

EXW (Ex Works). The supplier's obligation ends at their premises. You pay for inland transport, export clearance, freight and import clearance. It is the cheapest line on the quote and the most work for you.

FOB (Free On Board). The supplier delivers to the named port and clears export. You pay ocean freight and everything after it. This is the most common structure for container shipments because it keeps control of freight with the buyer.

CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight). The supplier pays freight and insurance to the destination port. It simplifies the quote and reduces your control over the shipping line and the insurance terms. CIF is convenient for a first shipment and usually more expensive over time.

Whichever term you choose, make sure the invoice, the packing list and the bill of lading all reference it consistently. A CIF invoice with an FOB bill of lading creates a question at customs that takes days to answer.

Samples, Quality Control and Pre Shipment Inspection

A sample confirms the product. It does not confirm the production run. The gap between a hand finished sample and a container produced at speed is where most quality disputes begin.

Build three checkpoints into the order:

1. Pre production sample. Approved in writing, with photographs, measurements and the packaging artwork. This becomes the reference standard.
2. During production inspection. A third party inspector visits once a meaningful share of the order is complete. The inspection checks quantity, specification, labelling and packing.
3. Pre shipment inspection. A sample is drawn from the finished lot and checked against the approved standard before the container is sealed.

The cost of an inspection is small relative to the cost of a container that fails on arrival. If a supplier resists an inspection, treat that as information about how the order will go.

Structuring the Payment

Payment terms in Vietnamese manufacturing usually follow one of three patterns.

Deposit and balance. A deposit of around thirty percent on order confirmation, with the balance due before shipment or against a copy of the bill of lading. This is the most common structure for a first order.

Letter of credit. The bank pays against compliant documents rather than against the goods. It protects both sides, costs a fee, and requires the documents to be exactly right. Discrepancies are the main source of delay.

Open account. Payment after shipment, usually on thirty or sixty day terms. Suppliers offer this to established buyers with a track record, and it is the goal to work towards rather than the starting point.

Whatever the structure, the payment leg needs the same rigour as the commercial terms. The beneficiary name must match the invoice, the amount must match the tranche, and the reference must let the supplier match the payment to the order.

Three public sources are worth bookmarking before a first order. The Vietnam Trade Portal publishes tariff schedules, procedures and the documents a shipment needs. Vietnam Customs publishes clearance rules and the declaration process. The US International Trade Administration country guide summarises market entry and import requirements for buyers in the United States. They tell you what the rule is. They do not price the payment, which is why the transfer route and its fee belong in the landed cost calculation next to freight and duty.

Shipping From Vietnam

Container services leave from a small number of main gateways. Cai Mep and Cat Lai serve the south, Hai Phong serves the north, and Da Nang covers the central region. The port you use should follow the factory location, not the other way round, because inland haulage across the country can cost more than the ocean leg.

Three shipping decisions affect the landed cost:

• Full container or shared container. A full container is cheaper per unit once volume justifies it. Less than container load suits smaller orders but adds consolidation time and handling risk.
• Direct service or transhipment. A direct service is faster and less prone to damage. A transhipment route is often cheaper and adds a week or more.
• Port of discharge and inland leg. The cheapest ocean rate can be the most expensive total if the destination port is far from your warehouse.

Documents and Certificates of Origin

A clean Vietnamese export shipment usually travels with:

• Commercial invoice, matching the order and the payment.
• Packing list, with carton counts, weights and dimensions.
• Bill of lading or airway bill.
• Certificate of origin, in the form required by the destination and the trade agreement being claimed.
• Product certificates where the destination requires them, such as electrical safety, food contact or phytosanitary certificates for agricultural goods.
• Insurance certificate where the Incoterm places cover with the seller.

The certificate of origin is the document most often treated as an afterthought and most often responsible for a duty surprise. A preferential rate is only available if the origin document is valid, correctly completed and issued by an authorised body. If the certificate is missing or wrong, the goods are assessed at the standard rate and the difference is payable on arrival.

Duty and Landed Cost

The price on the invoice is not the cost of the goods. Build the landed cost before you place the order:

• Unit price multiplied by quantity.
• Inland transport to the port and export handling.
• Ocean or air freight.
• Insurance.
• Import duty at the destination rate for the HS code.
• Value added tax or equivalent, where applicable.
• Port charges, terminal handling and clearance fees.
• Inland delivery to your warehouse.
• The cost of the payment itself, including any exchange rate margin.

Importers who compare suppliers on unit price alone routinely discover that the cheaper quote was cheaper only because it excluded freight, insurance or a certificate the other supplier included.

DapsyPay is used by importers for the payments that sit around the main order: the sample fee, the tooling charge, the inspection invoice, the freight balance and the final settlement when the supplier prefers a direct bank transfer rather than a letter of credit. The platform runs on conventional international rails such as SEPA and ACH and pays into the supplier's bank account, with no amount limits and no per transfer ceiling that forces a payment to be split. Bulk runs handle a month of supplier invoices in one batch, and the fee is disclosed before confirmation rather than buried in the exchange rate.

The practical advantage is a payment record that matches the commercial documents. When a supplier claims a balance is outstanding, or a customs broker asks for proof of payment, the file answers the question without a search through personal messages.

Common Mistakes

• Paying a deposit before verifying the company. Registration, address and bank account name should match before money moves.
• Accepting a quotation without an Incoterm. The price is not comparable until the delivery point is defined.
• Skipping the pre shipment inspection. The sample proves the product, not the production run.
• Ignoring the certificate of origin. The duty rate depends on it.
• Using a different description on the invoice and the packing list. Consistency is what makes clearance routine.
• Splitting payments to stay under a provider limit. It creates a compliance problem and a reconciliation problem at the same time.
• Forgetting the ancillary invoices. Tooling, inspection and freight are part of the cost and need their own records.
• Paying a final balance before documents are checked. Check the bill of lading and the certificate before releasing the balance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Vietnam rewards preparation. The manufacturing base is deep, the logistics are established and the documentation is predictable, which means the difference between a smooth import and an expensive one is mostly the work done before the deposit.

Verify the supplier, define the product and the code, fix the Incoterm in writing, inspect before shipment and pay against documents. The rest is arithmetic: a landed cost that includes freight, duty and the payment itself. For the payment leg, DapsyPay keeps the supplier transfer and its reference in one place, so the reconciliation against the order is a matching exercise rather than an investigation.

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