Wood and wood products are items with substantial export turnover in Vietnam. So, if your companies wants to export wood and related products, what procedures do your businesses need to follow and what documents do they need to prepare? Let’s follow Vietlinh to find the answer for the question above in this article.
Summary of wood export markets in Vietnam
Wood and products processed from wood are becoming more and more diverse in design and quality to meet domestic and foreign needs. According to statistics, the industry has recorded great results in export turnover of this product. Presently, Vietnamese wood products are already present in numerous countries around the world. Therefore, customs issues of exporting wood and wood products are receiving a lot of attention from individuals to domestic and foreign businesses.
When exporting wood products, many people believe that it is related to plants and it may require plant quarantine and fumigation. However, with many years of experience in the field of wood export, it is suggested that businesses just focus on proving the origin of their forest products. Once exported abroad, wood will receive inspection and supervision by customs authorities according to the provisions of law. It will be mandatory to prove the origin and legality of the batch of wood or products made from that wood.
Regulations on wood export policy
According to current regulations, wood is not on the list of prohibited exports, so businesses are legally allowed to export it. However, not all types of wood are allowed to be brought to foreign markets. Therefore, businesses need to clearly understand this information to ensure that the wood they are preparing to export internationally is legally allowed
There are certain types of wood on the list of prohibited exports include:
- All types of round timber and sawn timber from domestic natural forests in Appendix I issued with Decree 69/2018/ND-CP dated May 15, 2018 of the Government are items on the list of prohibited export items. It is recommended to read the Decree cautiously to understand the identity of each particular type of wood that is banned from export.
- Wood species belonging to forest plants that are threatened with extinction are strictly prohibited from being exploited or used for commercial purposes, and species in CITES Appendix I naturally distributed in Vietnam are listed in Group IA – Other species. Forest plant species in Clause 1, Article, 4 of Decree No. 06/2019/ND-CP dated January 22, 2019 of the Government are not allowed to be exported.
For further support on wood products that are allowed to be exported, your businesses may find it comfortable to contact Vietlinh to receive the best support and advice from us!
Detailed instructions on preparing customs documents for wood and wood products
Below are some regulations and documents required when businesses expecting to export this item:
Regulations on the monitor of exported wood
To understand customs records for imported wood products, please refer to the detailed information in Article 8 and Article 10 of Decree 102/2020/ND-CP dated September 1, 2020 of the Government.
- Exported wood must be legal, go through export procedures and be subject to inspection and supervision by the Customs agency according to the provisions of Customs law.
- Exported wood is managed according to type of wood, export market and based on the results of classification of wood processing and exporting enterprises.
- Exported wood must have a CITES license or FLEGT license or wood inventory according to the provisions of this Decree.
- FLEGT-licensed export wood shipments are given priority in carrying out Customs procedures according to the provisions of Customs law.
Wood export documents
For wood export customs documents, detailed instructions and regulations are provided in Article 10 of Decree 102/2020/ND-CP. Accordingly, in addition to the Customs documentation set as prescribed by Customs law, the exporter must submit a number of other documents to the customs authority.
Basically, wood export customs documents include:
- Business registration or tax code certification of the exporting enterprise (if the enterprise is exporting for the first time).
- Commercial invoice
- Referral letter
- Container handover record (for full container shipments)
- A copy of entrustment contract (submitted in case the timber owner entrusts another enterprise to export)
- Input documents for commercial goods (Some Departments may require additional documents)
- Agreement to develop Customs-Enterprise partnership (Some official departments may require more)
Tax on export of wood and wood products
- VAT: According to current export regulations, VAT on exported goods is 0%
- Export tax: Many wood products and wood products are on the list of taxable goods when exported.
Items under chapter 94 are not included in the list of items subject to export tax
Many items in Chapter 44 are on the list of items subject to export tax, which ranges from 0% to 25%
Currently, when exporting to member countries/territories of CPTTP, EVFTA, UKVFTA, your companies can enjoy preferential export taxes. Many export tax items are reduced by more than 50% (from 25% to 10% or from 10% to 5%). Therefore, understanding and taking advantage of tax incentives should be very important in exporting.
Process of exporting wood and wood products
The processes for exporting wood and wood products are demonstrated as follows
Step 1: Prepare documents and complete procedures for forest product related documents as follows
- Original or electronic copy of CITES permit (if the goods are in the CITES appendix)
- Original or electronic copy of FLEGT license (if exporting to the EU)
- The original export timber list prepared by the timber owner, if the timber owner is a Group I enterprise
- Original list of exported timber prepared by the timber owner and certified by the Forest Protection Department (if the timber owner is not a Group I enterprise)
Step 2: Fumigate/quarantine and ship goods to port
Fumigation/quarantine of shipments can be done at the factory or at the port
Step 3: Complete other export documents
Step 4: Customs declaration clearance
Step 5: Prepare L/C documents to submit to the bank
The above information consists of 5 basic steps to help businesses understand the fundamental knowledge of export to foreign markets. If your business does not have enough experience in completing procedures and documents to deliver goods to foreign partners, please do not hesitate to allow Vietlinh to support your business wholeheartedly with competitive price.
Wood export customs services at Viet Linh
When choosing Viet Linh as your business partner, you will receive
- Enthusiastic and complete support for customs procedures, warehouse transportation at either domestic and international levels. Viet Linh can adapt with customers’ needs with shipping processes that totally meet international standards
- Customs tax declaration service: With extensive knowledge and a team of expertises that is professionally trained by Vietlinh, we confidently offer various types of support for business operations such as export – import business, export production, processing…
- C/O application service: The staff will determine the appropriate form and execute the Certificate of Origin based on the documents sent from the customer. The criteria of a complete C/O form will be fully and accurately met within a short period of time.
- Delivery service: performed professionally under the responsibility of experienced staff. The inspection and handover of customs documents will be done carefully and thoroughly.
- Import-export tax consulting: Consulting experts at Viet Linh have solid knowledge and experience on domestic and international taxes, offering the best solutions to support businesses when encountering problems, e Complex taxes.
- Viet Linh has experience in exporting many different wood products such as: rosewood, black rosewood, red rosewood, and red Doussié wood.
Viet Linh will bring several benefits with the best solutions to businesses planning to export wood and wood products to foreign markets. Please contact Vietlinh at our hotline: +84 345 128 188 for 24/7 support.
