From 15 September 2026, the classification of exported and imported goods, and the analysis carried out to support that classification, are governed by Circular 85/2026/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance, replacing Circular 14/2015/TT-BTC and Circular 17/2021/TT-BTC. The new text keeps the familiar framework of principles but changes three things that affect companies directly: where technical standards sit in the determination of a code, the three routes to an analysis result, and the deadlines attached to sampling, sample retention and complaints. This article follows the sequence of a real consignment: determine the code, take samples, wait for the result, and deal with a result you do not accept.
1. Circular 85/2026 replaces two texts and changes three things
Circular 85/2026/TT-BTC of 30 June 2026 takes effect on 15 September 2026 and replaces Circular 14/2015/TT-BTC and Circular 17/2021/TT-BTC. It contains 17 articles and one annex with five forms.
| Item | Circular 14/2015/TT-BTC | Circular 85/2026/TT-BTC |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Classification, analysis for classification, analysis for quality and food safety inspection | Classification, analysis for classification, building and using the database of Vietnam’s export and import goods nomenclature |
| Definition of analysis | Tied to classification purposes | Split into two branches: determining composition, structure, physicochemical properties and use; and checking and assessing technical criteria |
| Basis for the code | The nomenclature and guidance documents | An added layer of criteria, standards and technical regulations issued by competent bodies |
| Notice deadline | Scattered across the text and its amendments | Consolidated in Article 12, split by three situations |
| Forms | Old set of forms | Five new forms with 2026 references |
One point deserves attention: Circular 85/2026 is no longer the text on analysis for quality inspection of imports. Quality inspection under Decree 37/2026/ND-CP and the technical regulations follows a separate route. This circular keeps only the analysis that serves classification, although its definition still opens the branch on checking and assessing technical criteria, and both branches share one sampling procedure.
2. One product, one code
Article 4 sets the foundation: a product has a single code under Vietnam’s export and import goods nomenclature. Classification must comply at the same time with Article 26 of Customs Law No. 54/2014/QH13, Article 16 of Decree 08/2015/ND-CP, the nomenclature, the export and import tariff schedules, the six General Rules for the interpretation of the Harmonized System, and the guidance in the circular itself.
Article 5 links the classification result to two consequences. First, it is the basis for applying goods management policy: prohibited exports and imports, suspended exports and imports, goods requiring a licence, and goods subject to specialised inspection, all according to what is in force at the time the declaration is registered. Second, it is the basis for the duty rate under the tariff schedules in force at the time the declaration is registered. That wording closes a long-running debate: a correct code that falls into a category requiring specialised inspection still requires that inspection.
3. Article 6: the order of lookup when the code is not settled
Article 6 keeps the old structure but arranges it in four steps, and this is the part to read before writing a letter to customs.
| Step | Document | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Explanatory Notes to the HS nomenclature | Determining the scope of a Section, Chapter, heading or subheading |
| 2 | WCO Compendium of Classification Opinions | Goods already covered by a classification decision adopted by the HS Committee |
| 3 | ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature supplementary notes (SEN) | Subheadings built by ASEAN that differ from the HS |
| 4 | Database of Vietnam’s export and import goods nomenclature | Checking earlier cases already determined and notified |
Three special situations follow immediately. Where the description in Vietnam’s nomenclature differs from the HS or AHTN description, the HS or AHTN description applies directly, under the principle of implementing treaties to which Vietnam is a party. Where goods carry a code in a specialised management nomenclature that differs from the code under Vietnam’s export and import nomenclature, the latter and customs law apply. Where a product is complex and hard to classify, the Director General of Customs issues a classification guidance document based on the opinion of the specialised ministry, the WCO HS Committee or the ASEAN technical group on classification, and classification follows from the date that document is issued.
The last provision is a frequent point of friction. When new guidance appears, goods already cleared under the earlier reading are not reopened, but the next consignment must follow it immediately. Companies importing the same model over many months should watch the customs website, where both analysis notices and guidance documents are published.
4. Technical standards become a basis for determining the code
Where the provisions of Article 4 and clause 1 of Article 6 of this Circular are not sufficient to determine the name and description of the goods under Vietnam’s export and import goods nomenclature, the criteria, standards and technical regulations issued by competent agencies, organisations or units in accordance with regulations may be used as the basis for determining the name, description and code under that nomenclature.
Clause 3, Article 6, Circular 85/2026/TT-BTC
This is the change with the largest consequences for companies in the testing industry. Previously, when the nomenclature description was not enough to settle a code, the only route was to seek an opinion or wait for guidance. Now national standards, technical regulations and criteria issued by competent bodies are a legal basis for determining the name and code. In other words, the measured result of one technical parameter can decide the code, and therefore the duty rate.
| Product | Parameter that decides the code | How the nomenclature splits it |
|---|---|---|
| Zircon powder | ZrO2 content, particle size | Only above the content and particle-size thresholds does it fall under the code for processed product; below them it is classified as ore |
| Fluorite concentrate | CaF2 content | Two separate codes, one for the range below 97 per cent and one above 97 per cent |
| White marble | Particle size and whiteness | Three codes for three particle-size ranges, each tied to a whiteness threshold |
| Unleaded motor gasoline | Octane number (RON) | Split into RON 97 and above, RON 90 to below 97, and other RON |
The examples come from the detailed HS nomenclatures annexed to several circulars of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, now consolidated in consolidated document No. 74/2026/VBHN-BCT. In those annexes the code and the quality threshold sit on the same line. For mineral exporters, choosing a code is no longer a question about the product description but a question about the analysis result, and that result has to come from an accredited laboratory.
5. Three routes to an analysis result
Article 3 answers who may carry out an analysis and who may rely on the result. There are three routes, differing in the party involved, the legal basis and the risk.
| Route | Party and basis | Risk the company carries |
|---|---|---|
| Customs analyses in house | The customs inspection unit analyses when there is insufficient basis to confirm the accuracy of the declarant’s classification, under clause 5 of Article 29 of Decree 08/2015/ND-CP as amended by Decree 167/2025/ND-CP | The result is issued by customs; the company can only explain and complain |
| Customs commissions an outside body | Where the customs inspection unit cannot yet analyse certain technical parameters, or needs a verification analysis, it uses the services of an inspection or testing body in accordance with the law | Timing depends on the commissioned body; the company does not choose it |
| The declarant uses an inspection service | A declarant may use the inspection services of an inspection body, or use the nomenclature database, to establish composition, physicochemical properties, features and use | The company is responsible for the accuracy and legality of the documents it supplies |
The third route is often misunderstood. The circular allows an inspection service to prepare the file, but it does not turn that result into a ruling: customs may check it again, and if the results differ, customs issues its notice based on its own result. The practical value of the third route lies elsewhere, in settling the code before the declaration is lodged instead of discovering the error after the goods arrive. For goods where the duty gap between two adjacent codes is large, an analysis before clearance is usually far cheaper than an assessment after clearance.
Clause 11 of Article 2 also makes clear that inspection and testing of goods means customs commissioning inspection and testing bodies in accordance with the law to establish structure, composition, physicochemical properties and use in order to determine the name and code. The commissioned body must operate in line with the law on commercial inspection and in the relevant testing field.
6. Sampling: two samples, seals, and where rights are lost
Article 11 sets a fairly tight chain of obligations. The declarant must present the goods so that customs can take samples. Samples must come from the consignment being analysed, be representative, and be sufficient in quantity and mass to serve both the commissioned analysis and any later complaint. The number of samples is two; where the declarant imports only a single sample, no sampling is carried out. Sampling must take place in the presence of the declarant’s representative, the parties sign confirmation and seal each sample separately, and a record is made on handover. If the declarant is absent, customs still takes samples but must have a witness from the port, warehouse or yard operator, a state body at the border gate, or the transport company’s representative. A sample has legal value only while its seal is intact.
Three points where rights are most easily lost sit in clause 3. First, samples are retained for 120 days from the date the analysis and classification notice or the technical criteria notice is issued. Second, during those 120 days, if the company disagrees and requests an inspection by a competent body or files a complaint, the customs inspection unit keeps the samples until the complaint is decided, so the right to complain is usable only while the sample exists. Third, if the company asks for the sample to be returned within the retention period and has already accepted the analysis result, it may no longer complain about that result. Asking for the sample back is a right, but it ends the dispute.
7. Deadlines and the legal value of the result notice
Article 12 assigns the notice to the head of the customs inspection team and sets three different deadlines depending on whether an outside body is commissioned.
| Situation | Deadline for issuing the notice |
|---|---|
| Routine analysis | No more than 05 working days from receipt of the complete file and samples |
| Complex samples, timing driven by the technical procedure | No more than 20 working days |
| Where an opinion is needed from the specialised ministry, the WCO HS Committee or the ASEAN technical group, or verification at the production site | No more than 05 working days from receipt of the reply or verification result |
| Where inspection or testing is commissioned from an outside body | No more than 05 working days, or 08 working days for complex samples, from receipt of the result |
The notice of the analysis and classification result, and the notice of the technical criteria check, are the basis for determining the duty rate and applying goods management policy. They are entered into the customs database and published on the customs website, except for the annex. That publication has practical value: before declaring a difficult product, a company can check whether a notice already exists for something similar. If the company disagrees, there are two options: a complaint under Law on Complaints No. 02/2011/QH13, or a request for inspection under Article 30 of Decree 08/2015/ND-CP. The two differ in consequences, so the choice should be made before the sample retention period expires.
8. Composite machines and unassembled machines: choose the method before declaring
Articles 7 and 8 deal with two situations that are very common for equipment importers. For composite machines or machine assemblies of Chapters 84, 85 and 90, imported from one or several suppliers, arriving in several shipments, declared at one or several customs units, the declarant may choose to classify each machine separately or to apply Legal Notes 3, 4 and 5 to Section XVI. Machines in unassembled or disassembled form because of packing, preservation or transport requirements are classified under General Rule 2(a).
The choice changes the procedure. Classifying each machine separately means each has its own code and duty rate, and no nomenclature registration is needed. Classifying under Section XVI, treating the assembly as one product, requires registering the machinery nomenclature and tracking deductions: a nomenclature under form 01/DKDMTB/2025 and a deduction tracking sheet under form 02/PTDTL-DMTB/2025 in Annex V to Circular 121/2025/TT-BTC, filed before the first shipment is declared, with customs confirming within no more than 03 working days.
Two operational risks sit here. First, if the import declaration is made at a customs unit other than the one where the nomenclature was registered, the original nomenclature and tracking sheet must be presented; losing the originals means losing the ability to deduct at that location. Second, if the tracking sheet is lost, the company prepares a new one, declares the declaration numbers and quantities already imported itself, and is responsible before the law for that content. Customs only cross-checks against system data, so one wrong line throws off the whole deduction chain.
9. Transitional rules and what to review now
Article 16 has two transitional clauses. For goods on declarations already registered and already sampled for analysis, inspection or testing, where no result exists on the date the circular takes effect, classification, sampling, sample dispatch, sample retention, analysis and inspection continue under the law in force before that date. For machinery nomenclatures for composite machines of Chapters 84, 85 and 90, including separate parts and components, registered before the effective date, companies continue under Circular 14/2015/TT-BTC until the goods are imported in full under that nomenclature.
The second clause creates two regimes running in parallel inside one company: old nomenclatures under the old text, new nomenclatures under the new one. Where an assembly registered before 15 September 2026 is still being imported, the company must know which regime it is in before opening a nomenclature for another assembly.
- Review all machinery nomenclatures still in force and identify which fall under the transitional rule.
- Check declarations sampled before 15 September 2026 that still have no result, and record which text applies to each.
- Compare the list of regularly imported products against the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s detailed HS nomenclatures, looking for lines that carry a quality threshold.
- For products close to a threshold, prepare the analysis result before declaring rather than after being checked.
- Review the internal sampling procedure so that a witness and a handover record are always present.
- Monitor the customs website for new classification notices and guidance.
Article 17 assigns the Director General of Customs to issue the procedures for classification, for analysis and technical criteria checks, and the rules for building and updating the database. Companies should read those procedures alongside the circular, because most of the operational detail sits there rather than in the legal text.
Further reading
- Importer obligations in customs procedures under Law 11/2026/QH16
- Post-clearance audit and post-market checks for imports
- Quality inspection of imported electronics under Decree 37/2026/ND-CP
- QCVN 25:2025/BKHCN on household electrical installation devices
- QCVN 134:2024/BTTTT on SAR limits for wireless devices
- Draft TCVN 16965 on element determination by ICP-MS
Sources
- Circular No. 85/2026/TT-BTC of 30 June 2026 of the Minister of Finance on the classification of goods and analysis for the classification of exports and imports, effective 15 September 2026.
- Circular No. 14/2015/TT-BTC and Circular No. 17/2021/TT-BTC of the Ministry of Finance, now replaced.
- Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP, as amended by Decree No. 167/2025/ND-CP.
- Customs Law No. 54/2014/QH13, Article 26.
- Consolidated document No. 74/2026/VBHN-BCT consolidating Circular No. 41/2019/TT-BCT on detailed HS nomenclatures.
This article shares knowledge on standards, regulations and import-export procedures. It does not replace the legal text and is not advice on a specific case. Companies should check the original documents and customs guidance before applying them.
