Vietnam Circular 28/2026: recheck HS codes before importing food

Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Circular 28/2026/TT-BCT on 1 June 2026. It took effect on 17 July 2026 and establishes an HS-code list of imported goods subject to state food-safety inspection within the ministry's remit.

The issue date and effective date are different. For import files handled from 17 July, businesses should compare the shipment against the official signed text, rather than relying only on a trade name or an old internal product list.

Which goods are listed?

The annex is organised into five groups:

• Beverages, soft drinks, wine and spirits, beer, and food-grade alcohol.
• Processed milk, excluding raw fresh milk managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.
• Vegetable oils.
• Flour and starch products.
• Bakery products, jams and confectionery.

Food utensils, packaging materials and food containers are excluded from this circular's list. Group names are only a starting point: the actual scope must be read together with the HS codes and goods descriptions in the annex.

Three HS rules that matter

The note at the end of the annex says:

• When only a four-digit HS heading is listed, all eight-digit codes under that heading are covered.
• When only a six-digit HS subheading is listed, all eight-digit codes under that subheading are covered.
• When an eight-digit HS code is listed, only that listed eight-digit code is covered.

The circular uses Vietnam's import-export nomenclature under Circular 31/2022/TT-BTC. Where classification differs or is disputed, customs law governs the classification and code. Invoice descriptions, packing lists, catalogues, ingredients and intended use should therefore be consistent enough for the importer and customs broker to assess the code.

Exemptions and transition files

The circular does not say that every shipment in the annex receives identical inspection treatment. Food under the ministry's remit that falls within an exemption in Article 13 of Decree 15/2018/ND-CP may be exempt, subject to the exclusion referenced in Article 17(3) of that decree. Eligibility and supporting evidence must be checked for the specific shipment; a past import outcome is not, by itself, proof of a current exemption.

Under Article 5, an inspection dossier submitted before 17 July 2026 may continue under the rules in force when it was filed, unless the organisation or individual voluntarily chooses the new circular.

Practical freight and clearance impact

The following is an operational inference, not a statutory service time: if HS scope, inspection status and evidence are reviewed only after arrival, cargo may need additional processing time before release. The circular does not publish a guaranteed clearance time, a freight surcharge or a change to vessel schedules.

Before booking, businesses should:

• Confirm the expected eight-digit HS code with the importer and customs declarant.
• Check the four-, six- and eight-digit lines in the annex.
• Assess any exemption and retain the evidence supporting it.
• Record the dossier submission date for the transition rule.
• Keep product descriptions, ingredients, labels, catalogues and commercial documents aligned.

Confidence and limits

Confidence is high on the circular number, issue date, effective date, five product groups and HS rules because they come from the official legal text. Confidence is medium on shipment-timing implications: actual outcomes depend on the product, classification, exemption, dossier quality and the competent authority's decision. This article is not legal advice or a binding tariff-classification decision.