On February 12, 2014, the Ministry of Finance issued the Circular No. 20/2014/TT-BTC prescribing the import of automobiles and motorcycles as personal effects of overseas Vietnamese who are permitted to register permanent residence in Vietnam.
Within that, the most important contents are the import of automobiles and motorcycles as personal effects of overseas Vietnamese who are Overseas Vietnamese citizens who hold a valid foreign passport or foreign passport substitute and have been permitted to register permanent residence in Vietnam in accordance with current Vietnamese laws and the citizens who hold a Vietnamese passport and permanent residence paper granted by a foreign country and have been permitted to register permanent residence in Vietnam in accordance with current Vietnamese laws.
Accordingly, imported automobiles must have been registered for circulation for at least 6 months in the country where the overseas Vietnamese citizen resides or works, and have run a distance of at least 10,000 km by the time of arrival at a Vietnamese port. And imported automobiles must satisfy the requirements set in the Government’s Decree No. 187/2013/ND-CP of November 20, 2013, detailing the Commercial Law regarding international goods purchase and sale and goods purchase and sale agency, processing and transit with foreign countries, and in the Ministry of Transport’s Circular No. 31/2011/TT-BGTVT of April 15, 2011, prescribing the inspection of quality, technical safety and environmental protection of imported motor vehicles.
Similarly, the import of motorcycles as personal effects must satisfy some conditions such as motorcycles must be registered for circulation in the country where the overseas Vietnamese citizen resides or works before he/she is permitted to register permanent residence in Vietnam, with the time of permission to register permanent residence in Vietnam determined based on the permanent residence book granted by the police; motorcycles are of types permitted for registration and circulation in Vietnam and imported motorcycles must be within 3 years from the date of manufacture to the date of arrival at a Vietnamese port.
This Circular takes effect on April 1, 2014.
