Circular 41/2026: check scrap and used goods before booking via Vietnam

Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Circular 41/2026/TT-BCT on 22 July 2026. It takes effect on 5 September 2026 and remains in force through 31 December 2029. The circular publishes two HS-coded lists: scrap and used goods for which the business of temporary import followed by re-export, and merchanting, is suspended.

The date distinction matters. On 11 August, the circular has been issued but is not yet effective. Companies therefore have time to screen cargo and routing before accepting bookings that may cross the 5 September boundary.

What the circular actually covers

The rule applies to traders engaged in temporary import-re-export and merchanting, plus the authorities and other parties connected to those activities. Appendix I covers listed scrap. Appendix II covers listed used goods.

The lists are broad but not universal. Appendix I includes specified forms of industrial slag and ash, activated chemical elements used in electronics, rubber waste, silk and textile waste, and scrap of certain metals. Appendix II includes specified used plastic and household articles, bags and clothing accessories, textiles and clothing, ceramics and glassware, household appliances and electronics, motorcycles and bicycles, furniture, lamps, games and personal articles.

The legal test is not the product nickname alone. Each appendix explains how to read the HS hierarchy:

• A two-digit entry covers every eight-digit code in that chapter.
• A four-digit entry covers every eight-digit code in that four-digit heading.
• A six-digit entry covers every eight-digit code in that six-digit subheading.
• Where an eight-digit code is listed, only that listed code applies.

The scrap appendix applies only when the goods are scrap; the used-goods appendix applies only when the goods are used. Cargo condition and HS classification must therefore be checked together.

One important routing exception

Article 3 states that the two lists do not apply to merchanting performed by direct transport from the exporting country to the importing country without passing through a Vietnamese border gate.

That exception should not be expanded beyond its text. A shipment routed through a Vietnamese port, bonded area or other Vietnamese border gate needs a case-specific review. The circular also does not say that every listed item is banned from ordinary import for domestic consumption; it addresses the stated temporary import-re-export and merchanting business modes.

Transition and replacement rules

For listed cargo whose temporary-import or merchanting customs procedures were completed before 5 September, Article 5 allows re-export or merchanting to continue under the law that applied when those customs procedures were completed. The operative event is completion of the relevant customs procedure, not merely a quotation, booking, bill of lading date or estimated arrival.

From its effective date, Circular 41 repeals Circular 18/2024/TT-BCT, Article 4 of Circular 12/2018/TT-BCT, and Clause 2 Article 1 plus Appendix II of Circular 08/2023/TT-BCT. It is issued under Decree 292/2026/ND-CP, which was also issued on 22 July and also takes effect on 5 September.

Five checks before confirming a booking

• Confirm whether the transaction is ordinary import, temporary import-re-export, or merchanting; the label in a sales email is not enough.
• Obtain an eight-digit Vietnam HS proposal and check every relevant two-, four-, six- and eight-digit entry in the signed appendices.
• Record whether the goods are new, used, waste or scrap, supported by photos, technical descriptions, inspection records and the commercial contract.
• Map the physical route and identify whether cargo will pass through a Vietnamese border gate, including any proposed transshipment or bonded handling.
• If relying on the transition, obtain written confirmation of when the relevant Vietnamese customs procedure was completed and retain the declaration and status evidence.

Concrete freight impact

The immediate logistics impact is booking eligibility and route design. A mismatch between cargo condition, HS code and customs mode can be discovered only after equipment, space or port handling has been arranged. A pre-booking legal screen can avoid a container being sent into a route that the trader cannot lawfully execute after 5 September.

The official texts do not announce a carrier surcharge, a guaranteed customs-processing time or a blanket port delay. Any detention, storage or re-routing exposure is a conditional commercial risk, not a published outcome of the circular.

Confidence is high for the instrument number, issue date, effective period, HS-reading rules, direct-routing exception and transition because they come from the signed official text. Confidence is medium for any individual shipment until the competent authority or qualified Vietnamese customs adviser confirms the transaction mode, cargo condition, HS classification, route and customs status. This article is operational guidance, not a legal classification decision.