From 1 March 2026, Customs may proactively suspend clearance of suspected counterfeit goods

Under the new rules, Customs authorities may proactively suspend clearance when they detect signs of suspected counterfeit goods, rather than waiting for a request from a business as before.

From 1 March 2026, counterfeit control at border crossings officially enters a new phase. Circular No. 06/2026/TT-BTC does more than make technical amendments to existing rules: it establishes a different management principle. Customs authorities may proactively suspend clearance when they detect signs of suspected counterfeit goods, instead of waiting for a request from the rights holder.

This change reflects a shift in border management. Previously, even when Customs had operational grounds for suspicion, it had to wait for a business to submit an application and provide a financial guarantee. The authority to act is now granted directly to the head of the border-gate customs team. This pivotal adjustment affects the entire chain of intellectual property enforcement at the border.

Closing the time gap

Circular No. 06/2026/TT-BTC amends and supplements Circulars No. 13/2015/TT-BTC and No. 13/2020/TT-BTC, which govern inspection, supervision and suspension of customs procedures for goods requiring intellectual property protection.

The core amendment addresses a long-standing paradox: goods move increasingly quickly, while legal responses depend on a business submitting a request.

Under the former mechanism, even if customs officers detected clear signs of intellectual property infringement in a shipment, the goods could still be cleared in the absence of an official request.

By the time the rights holder completed the documentation, infringing goods might already have entered the domestic market. That time gap substantially weakened intellectual property protection.

Article 10a, added by Circular No. 06/2026/TT-BTC, addresses this bottleneck. Where suspicion is supported by risk analysis, operational data or actual indicators, the head of the border-gate customs team may immediately suspend clearance on site for verification. Customs therefore moves from enforcement on request to proactive gatekeeping.

However, proactive authority does not mean unrestricted discretion. The Circular establishes clear accountability for the enforcement agency itself. If a suspension is found to be unfounded and causes loss to the cargo owner, Customs must compensate the owner and pay all resulting costs, including storage, handling and preservation, within 10 working days.

This mechanism creates a necessary balance. The state is empowered to act quickly to protect the public interest and intellectual property rights, but is also bound by specific financial liability if its decision is wrong.

That responsibility requires enforcement officers to improve their assessment capabilities, use rigorous technical evidence and follow transparent operational procedures.

At a deeper level, the new rules affirm that intellectual property protection safeguards not only business assets but also market order, consumer health and the reputation of the investment environment. Stopping counterfeits at the border significantly reduces the social costs of domestic recalls and enforcement.

Tightening controls on e-commerce

A proactive control system cannot rely on individual intuition. Circular No. 06/2026/TT-BTC therefore focuses on digital data infrastructure and standardised electronic procedures.

All intellectual property protection documentation, control requests and related information are received, updated and processed through the Customs Electronic Data Processing System. When a suspicious shipment appears at a border crossing, officers can immediately cross-check national databases for trademarks, registered rights, infringement histories and risk information.

Digitalisation offers two key benefits: consistency and timeliness. Suspension decisions no longer depend on paper files or manual communication between units, but on synchronised real-time data. This reduces discrepancies, limits harassment and improves traceability.

The Circular also directly addresses the grey areas of cross-border e-commerce. Counterfeits arrive not only in large containers but also in millions of low-value postal and express parcels. Controls focused solely on traditional shipments would miss a substantial share of the risk.

The new rules provide no exception for online transactions. Every shipment, whether part of e-commerce or traditional trade, is subject to equivalent suspension procedures if there are signs of infringement. Modern risk management is used to classify routes, carriers and parties with infringement histories so that control resources can be targeted effectively.

The Circular also tightens inspection of goods in transit and temporary imports for re-export, which can be exploited to transship counterfeit goods internationally. Stronger supervision protects the domestic market and supports Vietnam’s reputation in global supply chains, particularly as new-generation free trade agreements demand higher intellectual property enforcement standards.

Aligning organisational terminology with the regional customs sub-department model also clarifies authority and ensures a coherent management chain from central data analysis to decisions at border crossings.

According to a representative of the Customs Department, Circular No. 06/2026/TT-BTC is more than a procedural amendment; it is part of the strategy to modernise border management. The combination of proactive authority, transparent compensation mechanisms and digital data infrastructure sets a new standard for intellectual property enforcement.

From 1 March 2026, the message is clear: borders are no longer safe transit points for counterfeit goods. As controls move from a reactive to a proactive approach, infringement risks increase substantially, making legal compliance the only sensible choice for businesses.

In the long term, this turning point will help prevent counterfeits more effectively, build a transparent business environment, protect business creativity and strengthen investor confidence in Vietnam’s law enforcement system.