The S$23 million case sounds the alarm!Southeast Asia is tightening across the board!Vietnam and Sin
- Author:Maintenance network
- Source:Maintenance network
- Release Date:2026-07-09
Recently, Vietnam Customs has further strengthened the origin management and label verification of imported and exported goods, focusing on supervising the use of Vietnam for illegal transshipment, false declarations and circumvention of trade measures.According to the relevant notice issued by the General Administration of Vietnam Customs (Official Document No. 17552/CHQ-GSQL, June 16, 2026), Vietnam Customs requires local customs departments to strengthen the review of origin documents, label information and actual production conditions of imported and exported goods, focusing on preventing companies from packaging non-Vietnam products as "Made in Vietnam" through simple processing, changing packaging, relabeling, etc.
01Key regulatory objects
According to the deployment of Vietnam Customs, this round of inspection focuses on four types of origin risks: The first type is simple processing or labeling to change the origin.After some companies import foreign parts and semi-finished products, they only perform simple assembly or packaging, and do not meet Vietnam's origin standards, but export them as Vietnamese products.The second category is the splitting of production processes through affiliated enterprises.Enterprises use multiple entities to disperse production links and artificially create the illusion of compliance with origin requirements.The third category is false declaration of certificate of origin (C/O).Companies submit false information during the process of applying for preferential certificates of origin to obtain tariff preferences from the importing country.The fourth category is the use of bonded warehouses and logistics links for illegal transshipment.Including changing packaging, relabeling, splitting and grouping into containers, etc., to conceal the true source of the goods.This supervision focuses on wood and wood products, mechanical and electrical equipment, steel, electric bicycles, photovoltaic products, tires, ceramic tiles, footwear, luggage, and some food and agricultural products.
02Two-way verification of import and export
During the import process, Vietnam Customs will focus on reviewing the country of origin code, product name, model parameters, usage information and the validity of the certificate of origin.For goods with a risk of origin fraud, the customs can further conduct physical inspection and check whether the packaging and label information of the goods are consistent with the declared content.Among them, goods produced overseas but marked in advance with Vietnamese origin labels such as "Made in Vietnam" and "Product of Vietnam" will become the focus of inspection.In the export process, Vietnam Customs has strengthened its review of export declaration materials, HS codes, product descriptions and production processes.For export goods involving business models such as processing trade, processing with supplied materials, and processing with imported materials, companies may need to provide more production certification materials or even accept production base verification.The key regulatory types involved include: export: B11 general trade export, E52 processing export with supplied materials, E62 processing export with imported materials, C12 bonded warehouse goods export; import: A11 consumer goods import, A12 production raw material import, E31 processing export raw material import, etc.
03Regulations in Southeast Asia are tightening
In addition to Vietnam, other Southeast Asian trade hub countries have also continued to strengthen origin supervision in recent years.According to an announcement by the Singapore Customs on June 11, 2026, three local companies and three individuals were sued in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Regulation of Imports and Exports Act for suspected false trade declarations, incorrect trade descriptions, and misuse of certificates of origin.The case involves mattress products worth approximately S$23 million.The investigation showed that the companies involved were suspected of labeling Chinese-made products as "Made in Singapore" and exporting them to the U.S. market to circumvent relevant trade measures.The case is still in the judicial process and the final judgment has not yet been announced.According to relevant laws and regulations in Singapore, fraud involving false trade descriptions or certificates of origin may result in fines and imprisonment at most.The Singapore Customs Authority stated that it will seriously deal with the misuse of trade documents and false declarations to maintain Singapore's credibility as an international trade center.
03Industry Observation
As the European and American markets continue to strengthen supply chain traceability management, Southeast Asian countries are shifting from traditional processing trade supervision to more stringent penetrating inspection of origins.For freight forwarders, trading companies and export companies, the operating space that used to rely on simple transshipment and label replacement to circumvent trade restrictions is shrinking.Even if the goods have been exported and cleared successfully, the customs of the destination country may still conduct follow-up inspections through trade data, supply chain investigations and origin tracing.In the future, companies need to pay more attention to the consistency of true production proportions, rules of origin (ROO), regional value content (RVC) and origin certification documents to avoid goods detention, tariff recovery and even legal risks caused by non-compliance in supply chain design.
01Key regulatory objects
According to the deployment of Vietnam Customs, this round of inspection focuses on four types of origin risks: The first type is simple processing or labeling to change the origin.After some companies import foreign parts and semi-finished products, they only perform simple assembly or packaging, and do not meet Vietnam's origin standards, but export them as Vietnamese products.The second category is the splitting of production processes through affiliated enterprises.Enterprises use multiple entities to disperse production links and artificially create the illusion of compliance with origin requirements.The third category is false declaration of certificate of origin (C/O).Companies submit false information during the process of applying for preferential certificates of origin to obtain tariff preferences from the importing country.The fourth category is the use of bonded warehouses and logistics links for illegal transshipment.Including changing packaging, relabeling, splitting and grouping into containers, etc., to conceal the true source of the goods.This supervision focuses on wood and wood products, mechanical and electrical equipment, steel, electric bicycles, photovoltaic products, tires, ceramic tiles, footwear, luggage, and some food and agricultural products.
02Two-way verification of import and export
During the import process, Vietnam Customs will focus on reviewing the country of origin code, product name, model parameters, usage information and the validity of the certificate of origin.For goods with a risk of origin fraud, the customs can further conduct physical inspection and check whether the packaging and label information of the goods are consistent with the declared content.Among them, goods produced overseas but marked in advance with Vietnamese origin labels such as "Made in Vietnam" and "Product of Vietnam" will become the focus of inspection.In the export process, Vietnam Customs has strengthened its review of export declaration materials, HS codes, product descriptions and production processes.For export goods involving business models such as processing trade, processing with supplied materials, and processing with imported materials, companies may need to provide more production certification materials or even accept production base verification.The key regulatory types involved include: export: B11 general trade export, E52 processing export with supplied materials, E62 processing export with imported materials, C12 bonded warehouse goods export; import: A11 consumer goods import, A12 production raw material import, E31 processing export raw material import, etc.
03Regulations in Southeast Asia are tightening
In addition to Vietnam, other Southeast Asian trade hub countries have also continued to strengthen origin supervision in recent years.According to an announcement by the Singapore Customs on June 11, 2026, three local companies and three individuals were sued in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Regulation of Imports and Exports Act for suspected false trade declarations, incorrect trade descriptions, and misuse of certificates of origin.The case involves mattress products worth approximately S$23 million.The investigation showed that the companies involved were suspected of labeling Chinese-made products as "Made in Singapore" and exporting them to the U.S. market to circumvent relevant trade measures.The case is still in the judicial process and the final judgment has not yet been announced.According to relevant laws and regulations in Singapore, fraud involving false trade descriptions or certificates of origin may result in fines and imprisonment at most.The Singapore Customs Authority stated that it will seriously deal with the misuse of trade documents and false declarations to maintain Singapore's credibility as an international trade center.
03Industry Observation
As the European and American markets continue to strengthen supply chain traceability management, Southeast Asian countries are shifting from traditional processing trade supervision to more stringent penetrating inspection of origins.For freight forwarders, trading companies and export companies, the operating space that used to rely on simple transshipment and label replacement to circumvent trade restrictions is shrinking.Even if the goods have been exported and cleared successfully, the customs of the destination country may still conduct follow-up inspections through trade data, supply chain investigations and origin tracing.In the future, companies need to pay more attention to the consistency of true production proportions, rules of origin (ROO), regional value content (RVC) and origin certification documents to avoid goods detention, tariff recovery and even legal risks caused by non-compliance in supply chain design.