Procedures for importing vegetable oil

Posted on: 24/02/2025

Vegetable oil is a type of oil extracted, distilled and refined from plants. There are many types of imported vegetable oils such as soybean oil, peanut oil, olive oil, palm oil, canola oil. Vegetable oil is imported into Vietnam from many different countries such as: USA, Brazil, India, China, Australia, Malaysia. In this article, Just In Time would like to share the procedures for importing vegetable oil, determining HS codes, calculating import taxes and notes when importing this item into Vietnam.

1. Vegetable oil import policy

The procedures for importing vegetable oil are stipulated in the following documents:

According to the above legal documents, vegetable oil is not on the list of prohibited import goods. However, when importing vegetable oil, the following points should be noted:

Vegetable oil must be inspected for food safety when imported;
The quality of goods must be inspected when imported;

The above are documents regulating the procedures for importing vegetable oil. If you do not understand the above regulations, please contact the hotline or hotmail for answers.

2. HS code for vegetable oil

Determining the HS code is the most important step when doing procedures for importing vegetable oil. Determining the HS code will determine import tax, VAT and import policy. To correctly determine the HS code for vegetable oil, you need to understand the characteristics of the goods: Material, packaging, ingredients and characteristics of the product.

2.1 HS code for vegetable oil

The HS code (Harmonized System) is a series of codes used for all goods worldwide. Between different countries in the world, only the tail number is different. Therefore, the first 6 digits of the HS code worldwide for an item are the same. The following is the HS code table for vegetable oil imported into Vietnam:

HS code	Description
15071000	HS code of vegetable oil from soybeans, whether or not degummed
15079010	HS codes of unrefined soybean oil fractions
15081000	HS code of crude peanut oil
15089000	Other peanut oil HS code
15091010	HS code of pure olive oil, packaged not exceeding 30kgs
15091090	HS code of other olive oil
15111000	HS code of crude palm oil
15119020	Refined palm oil hs code
15121100	HS code crude sunflower seed oil
15131100	HS code of crude coconut oil
15131990	Other coconut oil HS codes

Above are some HS codes for vegetable oils such as palm oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil. Import tax rates for vegetable oils range from 5% to 30%.

2.2 Risks of applying the wrong HS code

Determining the correct HS code is very important when carrying out procedures for importing vegetable oils. Determining the wrong HS code will bring certain risks to you such as:

Delay in customs procedures: Declaring the wrong HS code can lead to delays in customs procedures, due to the time needed to check and verify accurate information about the type of goods.
Penalty for declaring the wrong HS code according to Decree 128/2020/ND-CP;
Delayed delivery: If the goods are found to have an incorrect HS code, the customs authority may request correction or clarification of the information. This can lead to delays in the delivery process and affect the production and business cycle of the enterprise.
In case of import tax, you will face a minimum fine of VND 2,000,000 and a maximum fine of 3 times the tax amount;

To determine the exact HS code for the process of importing vegetable oil. Please contact the hotline or hotmail for advice.

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3. Vegetable oil import tax

Import tax is an obligation that the importer must fulfill to the state. There are two types of vegetable oil import tax: VAT and import tax. To determine these tax rates, you can refer to the following tax calculation method:

Import tax is determined by the HS code, the import tax is calculated according to the formula:
Import tax = CIF value x % import tax rate

Import VAT is determined according to the formula:
Value added tax = (CIF value + Import tax) x VAT rate.

CIF value is determined by the ex-factory value of the goods plus all costs to bring the goods to the first border gate of the importing country.

According to the above calculation, import tax depends on the tax rate according to the selected vegetable oil HS code. There are two types of import tax rates: preferential tax rate and special preferential tax rate.

Special preferential tax rate applies to goods imported from countries and territories with which Vietnam has signed trade agreements such as: China, Japan, Korea, ASEAN countries, India, Australia, Europe, Chile. To apply for special preferential import tax rate, a certificate of origin is required. Therefore, when importing goods from the above countries, the buyer should ask the seller to provide a certificate of origin.

4. Import procedure file

Import procedure file for vegetable oil in particular, and for other goods in general. Stipulated in Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015; amended and supplemented by 39/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018.

Customs declaration;
Bill of lading;
Commercial invoice;
Packing list;
Certificate of origin (C/O) if any;
Commercial contract;
Self-declaration dossier;
Quality inspection registration dossier;

In the above set of documents for importing vegetable oil, the following documents are the most important: Customs declaration, commercial invoice, bill of lading, self-declaration dossier and quality inspection dossier. Other documents must be provided upon request from the customs.

Certificate of origin is an optional document. However, to enjoy special preferential import tax rates, buyers should ask the seller to provide them. The special preferential import tax rate is usually 0%.

If you do not fully understand the above documents, please contact the hotline or hotmail for advice.

5. Self-declaration of food safety documents

According to Article 4 of Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP dated February 2, 2018, packaged vegetable oil products must be declared food safety when imported and before being put on the market.

The process of declaring food safety for vegetable oil requires you to do the following steps:

Step 1: Prepare documents
The food safety declaration documents for vegetable oil products are specified in Article 7 of Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP. The dossier for registration of food safety declaration of vegetable oil will include:

Product declaration
Certificate of Free Sale or Certificate of Exportation or Health Certificate.
Food safety test results. Enterprises must register and test samples with competent agencies and centers of the Ministry of Health.
Certificate of food safety qualified facility.
Product catalog if any;

Note: All of the above must be in Vietnamese, if in English, it must be notarized.

Step 2: Food safety declaration
Food safety declaration for vegetable oil products is made on the national single window or send a paper dossier to the Ministry of Health. The time for receiving results for food safety declaration is 7 working days.

Step 3. Wait for feedback and supplement the application if any
The officer in charge will check the application and respond to the request for additional application if the application is missing or incorrect. In case the application is complete, the application will be approved and confirmed for publication on the one-stop system.

Step 4. Receive the declaration results
The above are the 4 basic steps for food safety declaration procedures for vegetable oil products. Food safety declaration procedures for vegetable oil must be carried out before importing goods. Because the time for food safety declaration is very long, even lasting 30 days.

Note: Food safety declaration only applies to refined and packaged oils for product distribution on the market. For crude oil, there is no need to conduct food safety testing.

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6. Cooking oil import procedures

The procedure for importing vegetable oil in particular and the procedure for importing other products in general. Are very specifically regulated in Circular 38/2015/TT-BTC dated March 25, 2015, amended and supplemented by 39/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018. Here are the steps to import vegetable oil:

Step 1: Declare customs declaration
After having all the import and export documents: Contract, commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin, notification of arrival of goods and determining the HS code of vegetable oil. Then you can enter the declaration information into the customs system via software.

Declaring customs declaration on customs software. Requires the importer to have knowledge about entering data into the software. Do not arbitrarily declare customs declaration when you do not fully understand this work. Arbitrary declaration can easily cause points that cannot be corrected on the customs declaration. At that time, it will cost a lot of money and time to fix.

Within 30 days from the date the goods arrive at the port, the customs declarant must declare the customs declaration. If this deadline is exceeded, the importer will face a penalty fee from the customs.

This is the most important step in the vegetable oil import procedure. If the enterprise makes a false declaration, it will face penalties for tax and origin according to customs law.

Step 2: Register for food safety inspection
Registering for quality inspection is a mandatory step when carrying out vegetable oil import procedures. The registration process and steps for quality inspection are specified in 1182/QD-BCT.

Note: Food safety inspection only applies to bottled oil for sale on the market. For crude oil, food safety inspection is not required.

Step 3: Open customs declaration
After completing the customs declaration, the customs system will return the declaration flow results. If there is a declaration flow, print out the declaration and bring the import dossier to the customs office to open the declaration. Depending on the green, yellow, or red flow, follow the steps to open the declaration.

The declaration must be opened as soon as possible, no later than 15 days from the date of declaration. The declarant must bring the documents to the Customs Department to open the customs declaration. After 15 days, the declaration will be canceled and you will face a penalty fee from the customs.

Note: After having the official declaration, you need to contact the customs department to proceed with the vegetable oil import procedures. You should not leave the declaration for a long time before bringing it down to carry out the import procedures.

Step 4. Clearing the customs declaration
After checking the documents, if there are no questions, the customs officer will accept the declaration. You can now pay the import tax on the customs declaration to bring the goods to the warehouse for storage.

In some cases, the declaration will be released to bring the goods to the warehouse first. After completing the documents, the customs will proceed to clear the customs declaration. When the declaration has not been cleared, it is necessary to carry out procedures for the declaration to be cleared. If it is overdue, you will face a penalty fee and it will take a lot of time.

Note: The quality inspection of imported goods must be completed before the goods can be cleared.

Step 5. Bring the goods to the warehouse for storage and use
After the customs declaration, proceed with the declaration liquidation step and carry out the necessary procedures to bring the goods to the warehouse. To be able to bring the goods to the warehouse, you need to prepare in advance the delivery order, the port pick-up form and arrange the means to pick up the goods. Avoid the situation where the declaration is completed but there is an order from the shipping line to take the goods out of the port.

Above are the 5 steps to carry out the procedures for importing vegetable oil. If you do not understand the process, please contact the hotline or hotmail for advice.

7. Notes when importing vegetable oil

Here are the notes when doing the procedures for importing vegetable oil:

Import tax is an obligation that the importer must fulfill with the state;
Vegetable oil to be imported must self-declared;
When importing, the goods must be labeled according to 43/2017/ND-CP;
Correctly identify the HS code to determine the correct tax and avoid being fined;
Imported vegetable oil must undergo quality inspection of imported goods;
Goods can be brought back for storage before completing the quality inspection of imported goods;

If you have difficulty with customs procedures, you can choose Just In Time as your companion.

Just In Time's staff is always enthusiastic to support you to handle your work quickly and professionally.

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