Import guide
Importing a used injection molding machine into Vietnam
The ten-year age limit, the inspection requirement, and how to make sure a machine still qualifies on the day it arrives rather than the day you paid for it.
The rule that decides everything
Vietnam regulates the import of used machinery under Decision 18/2019/QD-TTg. The core condition for used production equipment is an age limit of ten years, counted from the year of manufacture, together with a requirement that the machine conforms to the applicable national or equivalent technical standard on safety, energy saving and environmental protection.
In practice that means two things have to be true and documented: the machine’s year of manufacture, and a conformity assessment carried out by an organisation recognised for the purpose.
Count the years against the arrival date, not the order date. A machine that is nine years old when you pay the deposit and eleven weeks in transit is still fine — but a machine right at the boundary in December is a machine you should not buy in November.
What you need in hand
- Evidence of the year of manufacture — the machine plate, photographed, and the year stated in the sales contract. A manufacturer certificate of the year of production is stronger still where it can be obtained.
- A conformity or inspection certificate from an assessment body accepted for this purpose, confirming the machine meets the applicable standard.
- The standard commercial set — commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin.
- HS classification — injection moulding machines fall under heading 8477.10. Confirm the exact subheading with your broker, since it drives the duty rate.
Ask your broker whether the inspection is to be done before shipment at origin or after arrival in Vietnam. Both routes exist in practice and they have very different consequences if the machine fails — one leaves it in China, the other leaves it on a quay in Vietnam accruing storage.
A realistic sequence
- Confirm with your broker, in writing, that the specific machine and its year qualify.
- Get the year of manufacture written into the sales contract alongside the model and serial number.
- Agree who arranges and pays for the conformity inspection, and when it happens.
- Book shipping with enough margin that a delay does not push the arrival past a year boundary.
- Have the inspection certificate and the commercial documents lined up before the vessel arrives — demurrage in Vietnamese ports accumulates quickly.
Typical transit from South China to Hai Phong or Ho Chi Minh City is short — often under two weeks — so the schedule risk is usually paperwork, not shipping.
Questions
Common questions
What if the machine is older than ten years?
The general route closes. There are narrow exceptions in the regulation for specific situations, but they require a case-by-case application and are not something to plan a purchase around. If you are importing into Vietnam, filter your search by year first and everything else second.
Who can perform the conformity assessment?
An assessment organisation recognised for this purpose under the regulation. Your customs broker or a major inspection company operating in Vietnam will tell you which bodies are currently accepted — and this is exactly the kind of detail that changes, so ask rather than assume.
Does the ten-year rule apply to spare parts and auxiliary equipment?
The regulation targets used machinery, equipment and production lines. Spare parts and some auxiliaries are treated differently. Declare them correctly and separately rather than bundling them into the machine, and confirm the treatment with your broker.
Before you rely on any of this
Import rules change and are enforced by your own customs authority, not by the seller. Everything on this page is a starting point for a conversation with your licensed customs broker — confirm the current requirement in writing before you pay a deposit.
Keep reading
Related guides
Importing into Vietnam?
Tell us the port and we will show you only machines whose year of manufacture clears the limit with margin, and put the year in the contract.