A bonded warehouse (kho ngoại quan) is a customs-supervised warehouse where goods can wait without being treated as imported into Vietnam. Foreign goods sit there without import duty or VAT; Vietnamese goods that have been cleared for export can wait there before they sail. For exporters and buyers, it is a buffer between the factory, the border and the ship.
Demand is growing on two lanes in particular: Vietnamese goods held in bonded storage before export to the United States, and Cambodian goods trucked into Vietnamese bonded warehouses to catch the larger choice of sailings from Cat Lai and Cai Mep.
What a bonded warehouse can hold
- Vietnamese goods already cleared for export, waiting for a vessel or for the buyer's instructions.
- Goods from abroad — including from Cambodia — waiting to be re-exported to a third country or imported into Vietnam later.
- Goods whose owner has not yet decided the destination, such as stock held for several buyers.
Goods that cannot enter include goods bearing false Vietnamese origin or counterfeit marks, goods dangerous to people or the environment, and goods banned from import or export unless specifically permitted. Check specialised licences too: since 1 January 2026 some chemicals under special control need an import licence even when only stored.
How long goods can stay
| Rule | Storage limit |
|---|---|
| Customs Law 2014, Article 61 (current) | 12 months from entry; one extension of up to 12 months for a valid reason |
| Amended Customs Law 11/2026/QH16 (from 1 March 2027) | Up to 24 months from entry; the separate extension is removed |
What you can do with goods inside
Under customs supervision, the goods owner may reinforce packaging, sort and grade, take samples, split or combine lots for shipment, and transfer ownership — selling the goods to a new buyer while they are still in the warehouse. Each service has to be notified to the customs office managing the warehouse first. Manufacturing is not allowed: anything that changes the product belongs in a factory, not a bonded warehouse.
Bonded warehouse, tax-suspension warehouse or CFS?
| Bonded warehouse | Tax-suspension warehouse (kho bảo thuế) | CFS / consolidation point | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Store goods awaiting export, re-export or import | Hold imported materials for the owner's own export production | Consolidate and deconsolidate LCL cargo |
| Who uses it | Any owner, Vietnamese or foreign | Only the manufacturer that owns it | Forwarders and shippers of LCL |
| Typical stay | Up to 12 + 12 months (24 months from 2027) | 12 months, extendable by production cycle | 90 days, one extension of 90 days |
| Best for | Holding stock, re-export, Cambodia transit, ownership transfer | Duty-free raw materials for export factories | Small shipments that do not fill a container |
When a bonded warehouse makes sense for US exports
- The buyer has not released the order but you need the space at the factory — store export-cleared goods and ship on call.
- Goods come from Cambodia and need Vietnam's sailings — see Cambodian cargo in Vietnamese bonded warehouses.
- Several suppliers ship one container — see bonded consolidation.
- Stock is sold while in storage — ownership can change without importing the goods.
It does not change where the goods were made. Storage, repacking and relabelling in Vietnam never make foreign goods Vietnamese — read bonded warehouses and origin risk before planning a US shipment.
Warehouses we work with in southern Vietnam
We choose the warehouse by where the cargo comes from, where it sails from and how long it has to wait:
| Warehouse | Area | Type | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| LF Logistics (Maersk group) | Di An – VSIP, former Binh Duong (now Ho Chi Minh City) | Bonded and contract-logistics warehousing | Longer storage, retail and e-commerce stock, labelling and value-added services |
| TBS Tan Van | Tan Van junction, Di An | Bonded warehouse and inland depot | Factories in Binh Duong and Dong Nai, Cambodian cargo arriving by road, quick access to the ring roads |
| CFS Cat Lai | Inside Cat Lai port, Thu Duc | Port CFS (consolidation point) | LCL consolidation and short stays right next to the vessel — 90-day limit |
| Sotrans Nhon Trach | Nhon Trach, Dong Nai | Bonded and general warehousing | Dong Nai factories and cargo sailing from Cai Mep – Thi Vai or Cat Lai |
Services, rates and free storage time are set by each operator; we confirm them in the quote for your cargo.
What it costs
Expect handling in and out (per tonne, CBM or pallet), storage (per pallet, CBM or square metre per day or month), value-added services such as labelling or palletising, customs declaration fees, and trucking to and from the port or border. Ask for a quote that separates these lines so you can compare warehouses.
Next step: exporting from a Vietnamese bonded warehouse to the USA.