Vietnam MoST Proposes Revised Controls On Imports Of Used Machinery And Production Lines

The consultation began on 12 August 2026 and closes on 21 August. The draft proposes a commencement date of 5 September 2026, but it remains non-binding unless and until the ministry adopts the circular.

What Would Change

The draft would replace or update the existing administrative framework used to determine whether second-hand production equipment can enter Vietnam. It retains an age-based approach but combines it with technical performance, resource-consumption and inspection requirements.

Used machinery and equipment falling mainly within Harmonized System Chapters 84 and 85 would generally need to be no more than 10 years old. The annex allows 15 years only for HS 8419.35 woodworking equipment and 20 years for specified mechanical-engineering, woodworking and pulp-and-paper headings. It does not create a general 15-year or 20-year option.

For imported technology lines, the draft sets performance-based conditions. A line would need at least 85% of its original design capacity. Its consumption of raw materials, materials or energy could not exceed design consumption by more than 15%.

The technology would also need to be in use at three or more production facilities in countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Scope And Exemptions

The proposal focuses on used machinery, equipment and technology lines imported for manufacturing and production in Vietnam. It would directly affect equipment procurement, customs documentation and pre-shipment inspection arrangements.

The draft excludes, among other cases, transit, trans-shipment, merchanting, temporary import for re-export, repair and maintenance contracts, specified transactions in export-processing or non-tariff zones, and equipment unavailable domestically for research and technology development.

It also excludes security and defence uses and machinery governed by product-quality or specialist sectoral rules.

Over-age machinery may still have a route to case-specific approval where it satisfies the 85% remaining-capacity and 15% consumption tests. This means age alone may not determine admissibility, but importers would need credible technical evidence.

Why The Proposal Matters

The proposed rules could influence both factory investment and the regional resale value of industrial assets. Sellers may need to provide more detailed design, operating and maintenance records, while buyers may face delays where documentation is incomplete or inspection bodies cannot verify performance.

The draft also makes equipment provenance operationally important. For machinery made in a G7 country or South Korea, an original, legalised manufacturer confirmation may establish the year and applicable standards. Otherwise, a certificate from a ministry-designated inspection body is required.

This creates a tighter evidence chain between machinery selection, contracting, shipment and customs clearance. Contracts that leave technical-document or failed-inspection risk undefined may expose both buyer and seller to delay and cost.

What Businesses Should Do

Vietnamese manufacturers should identify planned purchases of used machinery and classify each item or line against the relevant HS code. They should confirm age, original design capacity, actual output and resource consumption before shipment.

Exporters should assemble technical specifications, refurbishment histories and evidence of comparable OECD use. Contracts should allocate responsibility for inspection evidence, port storage, customs delay and return or remediation if equipment does not qualify.

Interested stakeholders have until 21 August to comment. Responses should focus on provisions that create technical ambiguity, unrealistic documentation demands or insufficient lead time.

As of 14 August, the ministry record still showed an open consultation. No final circular, withdrawal or replacement had been published. Existing inspection-body designations and certificates would remain valid until expiry, while pending exceptional-import applications would continue under Decision 18/2019.

Businesses should review planned second-hand equipment shipments now, but they should not present the 10-year limit or 5 September date as binding until a final circular is adopted.