6-Month Settlement Cycle for Exports to Vietnam? 3 Links to Speed Up Payment Receipt

Textile Machinery Exports to Vietnam: Root Cause of Slow Settlement Cycle Lies in Process Breakpoints

In the first quarter of 2026,a textile enterprise in Jiangsu Province exported a batch of high-speed air jet looms to Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam,with a contract value of USD 470,000.The whole process from cargo departure from port to final foreign exchange settlement and tax refund completion took 83 days.During this period,Vietnamese customs questioned the CIF price,resulting in additional costs due to port detention; the 7th column of the FORM E Certificate of Origin was filled out incorrectly,making the client ineligible for zero tariff; delayed return of tax refund documents tied up more than RMB 3 million in working capital.This is not an isolated case,but a common current situation for Chinese exports to Vietnam.

As a core RCEP member,Vietnam’s manufacturing PMI has remained in the expansion range for 15 consecutive months in 2026,with strong demand for textile machinery,electronic components,hardware and building materials.However,Announcement No.45/2025/TT-BTC issued by the General Administration of Customs of Vietnam in 2025 strengthened the price verification mechanism for imported goods,while the State Bank of Vietnam implemented stricter penetrating review of foreign exchange payments.The combination of these policies has made the already cumbersome settlement process even longer.The team led by Manager Gao of Zhongshen tracked 127 Vietnam export projects served in 2025,and found that 73% of projects had a settlement cycle of more than 60 days,with core problems concentrated in three breakpoints: lack of pre-review for document compliance,delayed response to customs clearance exceptions,and inefficient circulation of tax refund materials.

Document Pre-review Module: Pre-intervention in Vietnamese Customs Valuation

The VASSCM system launched by Vietnamese customs in 2026 automatically compares the price of imported goods with the declaration data of similar global goods in the past 12 months.If the declared price is 15% lower than the system’s warning threshold,manual valuation will be triggered automatically.In December 2025,Mr.Yue’s company exported a batch of CNC machine tools with a declared FOB value of USD 128,000,which was judged by the system to be below the reasonable range.The customs required 12 supplementary materials including original factory invoices,foreign exchange payment receipts,and equipment manuals,extending the valuation cycle to 22 working days.

After receiving Mr.Yue’s entrustment,Zhongshen activated the document pre-review mechanism.First,it retrieved the declaration price database of similar equipment from Vietnamese customs in the past 6 months,and found through comparison that the system’s warning price referred to old models.The team prepared three core defense materials: explanation of equipment technical parameter upgrades,the original factory’s 2026 latest price list,and market price certificate issued by the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products.Three working days before the goods arrived at Haiphong Port,the pre-ruling application was submitted to the Customs Valuation Department through the cooperative customs broker in Vietnam,bringing the valuation link forward.

In response to Vietnam’s strict review of certificates of origin,Zhongshen has established a double review system for FORM E.The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam issued the new Notice No.8/2026/TT-BCT in 2026,requiring that the origin standard in column 8 of the certificate of origin must be marked with specific process details.The team added a complete process description of "casting - finishing - assembly - testing" to Mr.Yue’s equipment certificate,together with the workshop production flow chart.After the goods arrived at the port,the origin verification period was shortened from an average of 5 working days to 1 working day.

Risk List and Countermeasures for Vietnam Import Documents

• Commercial invoice: Vietnam requires that the HS code,unit price,total price,and currency be indicated,and must be completely consistent with the customs declaration form.Zhongshen adopts a "one order,one verification" system,which automatically compares 12 key fields between the invoice and the customs declaration form,controlling the error rate within 0.3%.
• Packing list: Vietnamese customs has a tolerance of ±3% for net weight and gross weight errors,and excess will be deemed as false declaration.The team uses 3D scanning and verification technology to generate data at the container loading site,which is cross-validated with the information provided by the client.
• Bill of lading: Vietnamese port regulations require that the consignee column of a straight bill of lading must display the complete tax number.Zhongshen requires clients to provide the tax registration certificate of the Vietnamese importer at the booking stage,to avoid container detention fees caused by document modification after the goods arrive at the port.
• Certificate of origin: In 2026,Vietnam implemented electronic verification of "origin accumulation" for goods under RCEP,and certificates must be filed through the VCCI system 48 hours before shipment.Zhongshen has realized API connection with visa issuing authorities,realizing the full online process of certificate application,filing,and printing.

Customs Clearance Coordination Module: Exception Response Mechanism Determines Port Detention Duration

Vietnamese customs implemented the "red-yellow-green" three-channel classification management in 2026,with the green channel accounting for only 28% and the inspection rate of the red channel increased to 100%.Mr.Yue’s looms were placed in the red channel due to HS code classification disputes,and the customs required the provision of equipment functional schematics and technical comparison reports with similar local Vietnamese equipment.Under the traditional model,enterprises need to transmit materials back and forth via email,with an average response cycle of 8 to 10 working days.

Zhongshen has stationed customs clearance coordination specialists in Ho Chi Minh City and Haiphong City,and established a "1-hour response mechanism".After receiving the inspection notice,the specialist arrives at the site within 1 hour and uploads materials through the mobile inspection system.In response to the equipment classification dispute of Mr.Yue,the coordinator retrieved the "Classification Decision No.15/2025/QD-BTC" issued by Vietnamese customs in 2025 on site,found classification precedents for similar equipment,and contacted the Vietnam Textile Association to issue a statement of equipment use,completing the material supplementation within 24 hours to avoid cargo detention.

In 2026,the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam imposed an environmental protection deposit on imported second-hand equipment,amounting to 15% of the cargo value,which is refundable 6 months after customs clearance.Many enterprises face cargo detention due to failure to pay the deposit on time.Zhongshen has established a deposit advance cooperation with Techcombank Vietnam,advancing the deposit first based on the client’s credit limit and settling after the cargo is released,cutting the average port detention time from 14 days to 0 days.

Tax Refund Acceleration Module: Synchronized Optimization of Document Flow and Capital Flow

In China’s export tax refund process,there are time gaps among the three links: value-added tax invoice certification,customs declaration information synchronization,and tax refund declaration.In 2026,the State Taxation Administration launched version 2.0 of the "paperless tax refund" system,requiring enterprises to complete invoice certification within 15 days after the customs declaration is cleared.Due to changes in financial staff of Mr.Yue’s company,the invoice certification was overdue,extending the tax refund cycle to 45 days.

Zhongshen has deployed RPA automation robots,which automatically capture customs clearance data every early morning and match it with the value-added tax invoice pool.The system identified that Mr.Yue’s equipment customs declaration was cleared on March 8,2026,automatically triggering the invoice certification process,which was completed on March 9,and the tax refund declaration data package was generated on March 10.Through the direct connection channel of the "Single Window",the declaration data is directly sent to the backend of the State Taxation Administration,skipping the preliminary review link of the local tax bureau,shortening the average review cycle from 20 working days to 5 working days.

Comparison of Settlement Cycles Between Traditional Agency Model and Zhongshen Model

Foreign Exchange Receipt and Payment Module: Compliance Path Under Penetrating Supervision

The State Bank of Vietnam implemented new foreign exchange transaction regulations in 2026,requiring importers to provide a combination of customs declaration form,tax payment certificate,and logistics documents for penetrating review when paying for goods.Many Vietnamese clients cannot provide tax payment certificates in time,resulting in delayed payment.Mr.Yue’s Vietnamese client had the tax payment certificate issued 8 working days late due to data delay in the customs system,and the payment was delayed accordingly.

Zhongshen’s affiliated company in Vietnam acts as the local procurement entity,adopting the "triangular settlement" model.The Vietnamese client pays the payment to Zhongshen’s VND account,and Zhongshen Vietnam completes foreign exchange settlement with the tax payment certificate,then remits RMB to Mr.Yue’s company account through the Cross-border Interbank Payment System (CIPS).This model shortens the foreign exchange receipt cycle from an average of 15 days to 3 days,while avoiding the risk of Vietnam’s foreign exchange control.

In response to the long cycle of letter of credit (L/C) issuance for Vietnamese clients,Zhongshen has established a "fast L/C issuance" channel with Techcombank Vietnam and Vietcombank.The L/C issuance time is reduced from an average of 10 days to 3 days,and L/C review service is provided to identify soft clauses in advance and avoid discrepancies in document submission.From January to March 2026,Zhongshen reviewed 47 L/Cs,identified 13 hidden risks of soft clauses,and avoided potential losses of more than USD 2 million for clients.

Full-process Digital Dashboard: Transparent and Controllable Settlement Progress

Under the traditional agency model,clients cannot grasp the settlement progress in real time and can only wait passively.Zhongshen has developed the "YueMaoTong" client,which integrates data from the four modules of customs declaration,customs clearance,foreign exchange,and tax refund into a unified dashboard.Mr.Yue can check the real-time status of the goods at Vietnamese customs,the review nodes of tax refund declaration,and the estimated time of foreign exchange arrival at any time.Based on historical data,the system intelligently predicts the completion time of each link,controlling the deviation rate within ±1.5 days.

In April 2026,the "YueMaoTong" system added the "settlement cycle early warning" function.When the processing time of a certain link exceeds the preset threshold,the system automatically pushes early warning information to Manager Gao’s team and activates the emergency mechanism.For example,if the Vietnamese customs valuation takes more than 3 working days,the system automatically triggers the escalation process,and the chief representative of Zhongshen Vietnam directly contacts the head of the Customs Valuation Department to speed up the processing progress.

Choose Customized Services from Zhongshen

The problem of settlement cycle for exports to Vietnam is essentially a problem of low coordination efficiency of multiple nodes and multiple entities in the cross-border trade process.Zhongshen has been deeply engaged in the Vietnamese market for 20 years,and has formed a four-in-one service closed loop of "document pre-review - customs clearance coordination - tax refund acceleration - foreign exchange compliance".Through the four core capabilities of pre-intervention,local resident offices,direct system connection,and capital advance,the average settlement cycle is reduced from the industry average of 65-83 days to 22-30 days,with the fastest record of completing the full process in 18 days.

Manager Gao’s team provides three customized solutions based on the client’s product category,trade terms,and qualification of the Vietnamese importer: Solution A is suitable for high-value goods such as machinery and equipment,adopting the "pre-ruling + deposit advance" model; Solution B is suitable for high-frequency goods such as textiles and electronic components,adopting the "annual framework agreement + centralized customs clearance" model; Solution C is suitable for project engineering exports,adopting the "L/C fast track + triangular settlement" model.In 2026,the scale of Zhongshen’s Vietnam export agency business is expected to exceed USD 120 million,with a client renewal rate of 94%.

If your enterprise is facing problems such as long settlement cycle in the Vietnamese market,high capital occupation pressure,and frequent customs clearance exceptions,you can send specific product information,target market,and current settlement cycle to the business contact person of Zhongshen.Manager Gao’s team will issue a diagnosis report and speed-up plan within 24 hours.First-time cooperation clients will be provided with a "settlement cycle commitment service",and if the process is not completed within the agreed time,the service fee will be refunded proportionally.