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Import duty and VAT for medical devices in Vietnam 2025 are critical factors that businesses must clearly understand. These two cost factors directly affect profit margins and legal compliance. Depending on classification and trade agreements, medical devices may be subject to normal import duty, preferential duty, or reduced tariffs under FTAs, while VAT can range from 0% to 10%. This comprehensive guide from Green NRJ explains applicable tax rates, HS codes, and conditions to qualify for preferential import duty and reduced VAT. With Green NRJ’s expertise, importers can confidently navigate Vietnam’s regulatory framework, minimize risks, and maximize cost efficiency in their medical device import operations.
1. Quick Search of HS Codes and Import Duty Rates for Medical Devices by Product Name
| No. | Description of Medical Equipment | HS Code | Normal Duty | MFN Duty | VAT |
| 1 | Products for prophylaxis or treatment, whether or not mixed (e.g., anti-bedsore spray or cream; saline nasal spray; seawater nasal spray; ear, throat sprays; artificial tears; eye drops; moisturizing or softening gels for wounds; mouth sore gel; dialysis fluid, etc.) | 3004.90.99 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Plasters and articles having a self-adhesive layer, coated or impregnated with pharmaceutical substances | 3005.10.10 | 12 | 8 | 5 |
| 3 | Plasters and articles having a self-adhesive layer, not coated or impregnated with pharmaceutical substances (e.g., antiseptic pads; fever-reducing pads; cooling pads; warming pads, etc.) | 3005.10.90 | 12 | 8 | 5 |
| 4 | Medical bandages | 3005.90.10 | 12 | 8 | 5 |
| 5 | Medical gauze | 3005.90.20 | 12 | 8 | 5 |
| 6 | Medical cotton | 3005.90.90 | 12 | 8 | 5 |
| 7 | Sterile absorbable surgical or dental sutures; sterile surgical or dental adhesion barriers, with or without absorbable properties | 3006.10.10 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | Non-absorbable sutures, sterile absorbable surgical or dental hemostatic products; hemostatic materials; surgical meshes; hernia repair meshes; bio-adhesives; bio-absorbable barriers; sterile film-forming adhesives for wound closure in surgery; sterile laminaria tents and sterile laminaria tent plugs. | 3006.10.90 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 9 | Dental cements and other dental fillings | 3006.40.10 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 10 | Bone cement | 3006.40.20 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 11 | First-aid boxes, kits; wound care kits | 3006.50.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 12 | Gel preparations manufactured for human use as a lubricant for parts of the body during surgery or examination, or as a bonding agent between the body and medical devices (e.g., ultrasound gel, vaginal lubricating gel; phaco surgical fluid, etc.) | 3006.70.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 13 | Specialized ostomy appliances | 3006.91.00 | 7.5 | 5 | 5 |
| 14 | Root canal filling powder and paste | 3306.10.10 | 30 | 20 | 10 |
| 15 | Solutions for soaking, rinsing, cleaning, and storing contact lenses | 3307.90.50 | 9 | 6 | 10 |
| 16 | Medical X-ray film | 3701.10.00 | 5 | 0 | 10/5 |
| 17 | Medical X-ray image sensors | 3701.99.90 | 7.5 | 5 | 10 |
| 18 | Solutions and chemicals for disinfecting medical instruments and equipment | 3808.94.90 | 5 | 0 | 5/10 |
| 19 | Other diagnostic reagents (e.g., test strips, test kits; reagents, calibrators, in vitro control materials, etc.) | 3822.90.90 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| 20 | Other plastic products (e.g., cuvettes, pipette tips, trays for sterilizing instruments; adapters, connectors; post-surgery splints; fixation masks; catheter clamps, guidewires; adhesive pads for holding catheters; urine bags; peritoneal dialysis drain bags; test tubes with anticoagulants; sterile sterilization pouches, non-paper instrument packaging; light handle covers; endoscope camera covers; endoscopic specimen bags, etc.) | 3926.90.39 | 10.5 | 7 | 8 |
| 21 | Condoms | 4014.10.00 | 7.5 | 5 | 5 |
| 22 | Surgical gloves | 4015.12.10, 4015.12.90 | 30 | 20 | 8 |
| 23 | Examination gloves | 4015.19.10, 4015.19.90 | 30 | 20 | 8 |
| 24 | Medical instrument sterilization packaging, in the form of plastic and paper pouches (with a higher paper content), consisting of two sides (one plastic, one paper), sealed on three sides, with an adhesive strip on the remaining side for sealing. Sold in retail packaging. | 4819.50.00 | 30 | 20 | 8 |
| 25 | Medical instrument sterilization product, in the form of flattened tubes, consisting of two sides (one paper, one polyester, with a higher paper content), sealed together on two sides, and sold in rolls | 4823.90.99 | 30 | 20 | 8 |
| 26 | Stockings and socks for varicose veins, of synthetic fibers | 6115.10.10 | 30 | 20 | 8 |
| 27 | Surgical gowns | 6211.43.10 | 30 | 20 | 8 |
| 28 | Elastic textile articles of cotton, for the treatment of scar tissue and skin grafts | 6212.90.11 | 30 | 20 | 8 |
| 29 | Elastic textile articles of other textile materials, for the treatment of scar tissue and skin grafts | 6212.90.91 | 30 | 20 | 8 |
| 30 | Surgical masks | 6307.90.40 | 7.5 | 5 | 8 |
| 31 | Sterilization equipment for medical, surgical purposes (e.g., steam sterilizers; autoclaves; low-temperature plasma sterilizers; etc.) | 8419.20.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 32 | Centrifuges specialized for medical diagnosis, testing, and screening | 8421.19.90 | 7.5 | 5 | 8 |
| 33 | Wheelchairs, stretchers, and similar vehicles specially designed to transport disabled persons, with or without a motorized mechanism | 8713.10.00, 8713.90.00 | 5 | 0 | * |
| 34 | Contact lenses (for near-sightedness, far-sightedness, astigmatism) | 9001.30.00 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| 35 | Surgical loupes, dermascopes | 9002.90.90 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 36 | Prescription glasses | 9004.90.10 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 37 | Surgical microscopes | 9011.80.00 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| 38 | CO2 laser therapy machines | 9013.20.00 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 39 | Electrocardiographs | 9018.11.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 40 | Ultrasound equipment for medical use (e.g., diagnostic ultrasound machines; bone densitometers using ultrasound; fetal heart rate monitors using ultrasound, high-intensity focused ultrasound systems for tumor treatment; etc.) | 9018.12.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 41 | Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) equipment | 9018.13.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 42 | Scintigraphy apparatus | 9018.14.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 43 | Patient monitors; jaundice meters; electroencephalographs; electromyographs; diagnostic endoscopy systems; respiratory function analyzers; surgical navigation systems and other functional or physiological parameter checking or probing devices | 9018.19.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 44 | Ultraviolet or infrared radiation apparatus | 9018.20.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 45 | Disposable syringes | 9018.31.10 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 46 | Electric syringe pumps, infusion pumps | 9018.31.90 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 47 | Metal needles for injection, wound sutures; metal surgical needles; needles, pens for collecting blood and bodily fluids; needles for use with artificial kidney systems; vascular access needles | 9018.32.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 48 | Urinary catheters | 9018.39.10 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 49 | Catheters, drainage tubes, and similar articles (e.g., vascular access devices; platelet pooling and leukocyte filtration kits; blood filter lines for apheresis; blood lines; gastric feeding tubes; feeding catheters; sample blood collection devices; syringe pump extension lines; drainage tubes, catheters, etc.) | 9018.39.90 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 50 | Dental drills, whether or not combined with other dental equipment on a common support | 9018.41.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 51 | Other ophthalmological instruments and appliances (e.g., automatic refractometers, keratometers; electroretinography machines; optical coherence tomography scanners, fundus fluorescein angiography machines; specialized ophthalmology surgery systems (excimer laser, femtosecond laser, phaco, vitrectomy machines, microkeratome); therapeutic lasers for ophthalmology; instruments for measuring intraocular pressure in glaucoma surgery; etc.) | 9018.50.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 52 | Vein viewers, vein scanners | 9018.90.20 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 53 | Electronic instruments and appliances for medical, surgical, dental use (e.g., defibrillators; electrocautery knives; ultrasonic scalpels; laser scalpels; anesthesia ventilators; ventilators; infant incubators; lithotripsy systems; blood filtration devices; cryosurgery equipment; heart-lung machines; liver dialysis machines; hemodialysis machines, peritoneal dialysis machines for kidney patients; prostate surgery systems; etc.) | 9018.90.31 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 54 | Other instruments and appliances for medical use under heading 9018, not specifically identified in the Vietnamese Import-Export Tariff and the attached Circular | 9018.90.90 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 55 | Orthopedic appliances or bone pins, plates, and screws | 9021.10.10, 9021.10.90 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 56 | Artificial teeth | 9021.21.00 | 5 | 0 | */5 |
| 57 | Dental fittings of iron or steel | 9021.29.10, 9021.29.20, 9021.29.90 | 5 | 0 | */5 |
| 58 | Artificial joints | 9021.31.00 | 5 | 0 | */5 |
| 59 | Other artificial body parts | 9021.39.00 | 5 | 0 | */5 |
| 60 | Hearing aids, excluding parts and accessories | 9021.40.00 | 5 | 0 | */5 |
| 61 | Pacemakers for stimulating heart muscles, excluding parts and accessories | 9021.50.00 | 5 | 0 | */5 |
| 62 | Other appliances to compensate for a defect or disability of an organ or part of the body, implanted or carried (e.g., coronary stents, embolization particles, thrombosis filters, arterial closure devices; intraocular lenses; etc.) | 9021.90.00 | 5 | 0 | */5 |
| 63 | Computerized tomography (CT) scanners | 9022.12.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 64 | Diagnostic or therapeutic equipment used in dentistry | 9022.13.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 65 | X-ray apparatus for diagnostic or therapeutic medical, surgical purposes | 9022.14.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 66 | Apparatus using alpha, beta, or gamma radiation for medical, surgical, dental purposes, including diagnostic or therapeutic apparatus using such radiation (e.g., Cobalt-60 teletherapy machines, linear accelerators for cancer treatment, various types of gamma knives, brachytherapy devices; etc.) | 9022.21.00 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 67 | Isotope diagnostic apparatus (PET systems, SPECT, devices for measuring iodine-130, iodine-131 uptake) | 9022.90.90 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| 68 | Electronic thermometers | 9025.19.19 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 69 | Medical mercury thermometers | 9025.19.20 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 70 | Electrical physical or chemical analysis apparatus for medical purposes (e.g., biochemical analyzers; electrolyte, blood gas analyzers; hematology analyzers; coagulation analyzers; erythrocyte sedimentation rate analyzers; ELISA test systems; blood group analyzers; cell separators; platelet aggregation and function analyzers; virus, bacteria identification machines; immunoassay analyzers; bacterial, viral load testers; blood glucose meters; etc.) | 9027.89.90 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 71 | Dental chairs and their parts | 9402.10.10 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 72 | Furniture specially designed for medical, surgical use (e.g., electrically controlled hospital beds; bedside tables; specialized instrument carts; blood collection chairs; infusion chairs, chemotherapy chairs; etc.) | 9402.90.10 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 73 | Commodes for patients | 9402.90.11 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 74 | Operating tables, electrically operated | 9402.90.12 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 75 | Operating tables, not electrically operated | 9402.90.13 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 76 | Examination tables | 9402.90.14 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 77 | Hospital beds | 9402.90.15 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 78 | Other furniture specially designed for medical, surgical use (e.g., bedside tables; specialized instrument carts; blood collection chairs; infusion chairs, chemotherapy chairs; etc.) | 9402.90.19 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 79 | Ceiling-mounted surgical lights | 9405.11.10, 9405.19.10 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| 80 | Table or bed surgical lights | 9405.21.10 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| 81 | Examination lights | 9405.29.10 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
The symbol (*) in the VAT column indicates goods that are not subject to Value-Added Tax (VAT).
2. Overview of Import Duties on Medical Devices
Imported medical devices are subject to import duty, which varies based on trade status and supporting documentation.
| Import Duty Type | Description | When It Applies |
|---|---|---|
| Normal Duty | Standard rate, higher than MFN or FTA | Goods from countries without trade agreements |
| MFN Duty (Preferential) | Reduced rate under WTO’s Most-Favored Nation principle | Imports from countries that have MFN agreements with Vietnam |
| FTA Duty (Special Preferential) | Lowest or zero rate | Goods imported under FTAs such as EVFTA, CPTPP, RCEP, VKFTA, ATIGA,UKVFTA |
Import Duty Rates under Vietnam’s FTAs
Vietnam participates in multiple FTAs, offering reduced or zero import duties for medical devices.
| FTA | Duty Rate on Medical Devices | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| EVFTA (EU–Vietnam) | 0% on most medical devices since 2023 | Requires C/O Form EUR.1 |
| UKVFTA (Vietnam–UK) | Similar to EVFTA, 0% on most HS codes | Requires C/O Form EUR.1 (UK version) |
| CPTPP | 0% for nearly all devices | Wide coverage for member countries |
| VKFTA (Vietnam–Korea) | Gradual reduction to 0% on many HS codes | Requires C/O Form AK |
| RCEP | Reduced duty rates, some categories already 0% | Applied to ASEAN + partners |
| ATIGA (ASEAN) | 0% intra-ASEAN trade | Requires C/O Form D |
| ACFTA (ASEAN–China) | Reduced rates, many at 0% | Requires C/O Form E |
Key Points for FTA Duty:
-
Documentation: A valid Certificate of Origin (C/O) issued by the exporter or competent authority is required.
-
Rules of Origin: The product must meet the FTA’s rules of origin, which define the minimum local content or manufacturing process needed to qualify.
-
Verification: Customs authorities may request additional documents such as invoices, packing lists, or manufacturing records to verify eligibility.
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Examples: Hip and knee prostheses, disposable syringes, or other medical devices that meet FTA origin criteria may enjoy 0% import duty under EVFTA or CPTPP.
3. Import Duty and VAT for Medical Devices in Vietnam: 0%, 5%, 10%
Vietnam applies value-added tax (VAT) on imported medical devices under different categories, depending on their type and documentation. The applicable rates are 0%, 5%, or 10%, as defined under key legal documents.
| VAT Rate | Applicable Devices | Legal Basis | Conditions / Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | Prosthetics, wheelchairs, implants, and specialized aids for disabled persons | Circular 219/2013/TT-BTC (Art.4, Cl.24) | Artificial limbs, orthopedic implants (pins, plates, screws), crutches, wheelchairs |
| 5% | Medical devices recognized by MOH, subject to registration or licensing | Circular 43/2021/TT-BTC;
Circular 19/2024/TT-BYT (replacing Circular 14/2018/TT-BYT)
|
Eligible if one of the following applies:
• MOH import license • Circulation registration certificate • Dossier receipt for Class A/B declaration • Listed in MOH specialized management list • Explicitly listed in Circular 26/2015 Examples: MRI machines, X-ray systems, monitoring equipment, surgical instruments |
| 10% | Devices not listed or recognized as medical devices | Circular 43/2021/TT-BTC | General lab equipment, UV lamps, consumables not on MOH’s list |
4. Calculating Import Tax for Medical Devices in Vietnam
Step 1: Determine Import Duty
Formula:
-
Import Duty Payable = declared shipment value × applicable import duty rate.
Explanation:
-
Declared Shipment Value (Customs Value): the value of your goods as reported in customs documents.
-
Import Duty Rate: the percentage set according to the most recent Import-Export Tariff issued by the Ministry of Finance.
Step 2: Calculate VAT
-
VAT Payable = (Declared Shipment Value + Import Duty) × VAT rate applicable to the HS code of your product.
VAT rates for medical devices may vary depending on the classification under Vietnamese law.
5. Why Work with Green NRJ
Importing medical devices into Vietnam involves navigating complex tax rules, VAT exemptions, and FTA benefits. Green NRJ provides end-to-end support:
-
HS code classification and duty consultation
-
Verification of VAT eligibility
-
Assistance with medical device registration and import licensing
-
Guidance on FTA documentation to secure preferential duty rates
Conclusion
In 2025, importers of medical devices into Vietnam must account for import duty (normal, preferential, or FTA rates) and VAT (0%, 5%, or 10%), depending on classification and documentation. Staying compliant with updated tax regulations saves costs and prevents customs delays.
For tailored guidance on medical device import tax and VAT in Vietnam, contact Green NRJ – your trusted partner in regulatory compliance and market entry.
