Vietnam Bans Used Trucks from September 2026: Decree 292 and the New Import Rulebook

Buyers keep asking whether Chinese used trucks can enter Vietnam. As of September 2026 the answer is a clear no for commercial imports, and the answer just got harder to argue with. Two new legal instruments — Decree 292/2026/ND-CP and Circular 48/2026/TT-BCT, both effective 5 September 2026 — rewrite the foreign trade rulebook and put used vehicles on the prohibition list in black and white. If a supplier offers you a cheap route into Vietnam, this article explains exactly what you would be up against.

1. What Changed on 5 September 2026

Decree 292/2026/ND-CP replaces the long-standing Decree 69/2018/ND-CP as the guiding regulation under the Law on Foreign Trade Management. Its prohibition list of import goods now explicitly covers used consumer goods and used vehicles, including motorcycles and motor vehicles. On the same date, Circular 48/2026/TT-BCT came into force specifying the lists of prohibited used consumer goods and vehicles, tariff-quota goods and related procedures.

For truck buyers this is not a tightening of conditions — it is a structural prohibition. Vietnam permits commercial import of brand-new vehicles only; used units have effectively never had a legal channel, and the new decree removes any ambiguity a forwarder might have exploited.

2. The 5-Year Rule and the Technical Bans

Beyond the headline ban, the decree details several technical prohibitions that matter for cargo and machinery categories:

• Used transport vehicles over 5 years old are banned outright — counted from the year of manufacture to the year of import clearance, covering cars, trailers, semi-trailers, four-wheel cargo vehicles and tractors.
• Right-hand-drive vehicles are prohibited, including units that were converted to left-hand drive before import.
• Used components are banned: parts and spare parts of vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, used chassis and engines — including the combination of a new chassis with an old engine, or the reverse.
• Vehicles with erased, altered or re-stamped chassis or engine numbers are prohibited unless the manufacturer certifies the change and that certification is legalized by a Vietnamese embassy abroad within 30 days.
• CKD assembly kits of four-wheel passenger and cargo vehicles are prohibited, closing the disassembly loophole.
• Ambulances and vehicles structurally modified beyond the original design function are also on the list.

3. HS Classification Tightens Too (15 September 2026)

Effective 15 September 2026, Circular 85/2026/TT-BTC on goods classification takes effect. Customs will classify shipments by the actual nature, composition and function of the goods — not the trade name on the invoice. Declarations with HS code, customs value, origin or information discrepancies can trigger clarification requests, supplementary documents, physical inspection or tax adjustments. In plain terms: relabeling a used truck as parts or as machinery will not survive the new classification rules.

4. What This Means for Used Truck Buyers

Three practical conclusions:

• Gray channel = total loss risk. A used truck smuggled or misdeclared into Vietnam cannot be registered, cannot get plates and can be seized at any time. No warranty, no resale value, no legal recourse.
• Transit tricks are closing too. The temporary-import-for-re-export and transshipment lists were tightened by Circular 41/2026/TT-BCT from 5 September 2026 (applicable to 2029). Offers to move used trucks through Vietnam into Laos or Cambodia should be treated with deep suspicion.
• Spend the budget where the law allows it. If your fleet plan targeted Vietnam, the same money opens legal doors elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

5. Legal Alternatives for Southeast Asian Buyers

Vietnam is the strictest market in the region, but it is not the only option. The Philippines accepts used trucks with DTI-FTEB CAI permits issued before shipment (GVW 2.5t and above), and Cambodia allows used trucks up to 10 years old at Euro IV emission level. Both routes are fully documented, inspectable and registrable. Our team can quote compliant units and handle the full export file — see the current inventory.