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Vietnam origin memo
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Reviewer of record: US customs attorney, review pending
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The transshipment penalty and why importers now ask for a dated origin record
US Customs applies 40%[1] in additional duty, under HTS 9903.02.01[2], on goods it determines were routed through Vietnam to evade duties, and the penalty carries no mitigation or remission. Your importer or its broker is asking for signed, dated origin documentation because that penalty now falls on the shipment itself. This page states the penalty, the line it sits under, and what a record needs to show before the goods sail.
The obligations, by name
Additional 40% ad valorem duty on goods US Customs determines were transshipped to evade duties, with no mitigation or remission[1]. HTS 9903.02.01[2]. The documentation supporting an origin claim should exist before the shipment departs[3]. US Customs conducted inspections of factories in Vietnam in July 2026 examining value-added and origin[4].
Verified against the sources listed on 2026-09-09
The penalty
US Customs applies 40%[1] in additional duty on goods it determines were transshipped through Vietnam to evade duties, filed under HTS 9903.02.01[2]. There is no mitigation or remission once that determination is made. The penalty attaches to the goods, not to a missing form, which is why the documentation matters before the shipment moves.
Why importers are asking now
US Customs conducted inspections of factories in Vietnam in July 2026 examining value-added and origin[4]. Importers and their brokers read that as a sign that origin claims coming out of Vietnam get checked, and they are pushing the request for documentation back onto the supplier who used to write nothing down. A supplier with the record ready has an answer when the request arrives. A supplier without one is starting from zero.
When the record needs to exist
The documentation supporting an origin claim should exist before the shipment departs[3]. Written after the shipment sails, the same facts carry far less weight with a broker or with Customs. The origin memo is built from your bill of materials and your process steps before departure, not reconstructed afterward.
What the pack produces for this
The origin memo turns your bill of materials and your process steps into a country-of-origin documentation record in the form an importer or broker expects, including a bill of materials by origin, a description of processing performed in Vietnam and an evidence-pack checklist. The same sections appear on every shipment's memo, so the step you used to do by hand makes fewer mistakes. It organizes the documentation. It does not decide origin.
- [1] transshipment_penalty · verified 2026-09-09 · www.cosmosourcing.com/blog/vietnam-origin-compliance-transshipment-rules
- [2] penalty_hts_line · verified 2026-09-09 · www.cosmosourcing.com/blog/vietnam-origin-compliance-transshipment-rules
- [3] documentation_timing · verified 2026-09-09 · www.cosmosourcing.com/blog/vietnam-origin-compliance-transshipment-rules
- [4] enforcement_context · verified 2026-09-09 · www.techtimes.com/articles/322039/20260729/cbp-raids-china-linked-vietnam-factories-over-transshipment-40-penalty-looms.htm
Questions
- Does this page mean the penalty won't apply to my shipment?
- No. The penalty applies to goods Customs determines were transshipped to evade duties. This page states what the penalty is and what a dated record needs to show, and it does not decide whether the penalty applies to your shipment.
- Is my product exempt because most of the value was added in Vietnam?
- I can explain what the pack covers and where to find it, but I cannot tell you how a rule applies to your situation; a licensed customs attorney or broker in Vietnam can.
- What if the shipment already sailed without documentation?
- The record can still be prepared. , and a record made now is still better than none on file.
Have the record reviewed by the importer's customs counsel or licensed broker before use.