Many shipments bound for Cambodia arrive first at Vietnamese seaports such as Cat Lai or Cai Mep, which offer more frequent and direct mainline services than Cambodian ports. From there, the cargo travels by road through Vietnam to Cambodia as transit cargo.
What is transit cargo?
Transit cargo is goods that pass through Vietnamese territory on their way to another country. They are not imported into Vietnam, so no Vietnamese import duty or VAT is paid. Instead, the goods move under customs supervision from the port of entry to the exit border gate.
Step-by-step process
- Pre-alert and documents: the bill of lading should show Cambodia as the final destination; we collect the commercial invoice, packing list and consignee details.
- Transit declaration at the port of arrival, registered with Vietnamese customs.
- Sealing and trucking: the container is sealed and carried by road to the border gate (usually Moc Bai) along an approved route and timeframe.
- Exit at the border: Vietnamese customs at the border confirm the seal and close the transit declaration.
- Cambodian import clearance and delivery to the consignee's warehouse.
Why use Vietnam for Cambodian imports?
- More shipping lines and sailings into Ho Chi Minh City area ports
- Often shorter total transit time than transshipping to Sihanoukville
- Direct road access to Phnom Penh, the main consumption market
Common pitfalls
- B/L or manifest not showing the correct final destination
- Mismatched seal numbers or container details
- Goods that are restricted for transit through Vietnam
- Exceeding the permitted transit time
We handle transit declarations, sealed trucking and Cambodian import clearance end to end. See our Vietnam–Cambodia service or contact us with your B/L details.