Starting March 31, several goods - including automobiles, wood products, ethanol, frozen chicken thighs, pistachios, almonds, fresh apples, cherries, and raisins - will benefit from newly adjusted preferential import tax rates.

The Vietnamese government has issued Decree No. 73/2025/ND-CP on March 31, 2025, amending and supplementing the preferential import tax rates for various products listed under the Preferential Import Tariff Schedule attached to Decree No. 26/2023/ND-CP dated May 31, 2023.

The changes affect export and import tax schedules, absolute tariffs, mixed tariffs, and out-of-quota import tariffs. The new decree takes effect immediately on March 31, 2025.

Specifically, the preferential import tax rates for several items outlined in Appendix II of the Preferential Import Tariff Schedule under Article 3 of Decree No. 26/2023/ND-CP have been amended to reflect new rates.

Accordingly, the preferential import tax rate on automobiles under HS codes 8703.23.63 and 8703.23.57 has been reduced from 64% to 50%, while the rate for cars under HS code 8703.24.51 has been lowered from 45% to 32%.

The import tax rate for ethanol has been reduced from 10% to 5%.

For frozen chicken thighs, the rate has dropped from 20% to 15%. Pistachios (unpeeled) now face a reduced rate of 5%, down from 15%. Almonds go from 10% to 5%, fresh apples from 8% to 5%, cherries from 10% to 5%, and raisins from 12% to 5%.

For wood and wood products, including those under group 44.21 (such as wooden coat hangers, coffins, spool cores, thread bobbins and spindles, sewing machine reels, and similar items), and groups 94.01 and 94.03 (wooden chairs, chair parts, and wooden furniture), the previous import tax rates of 20% and 25% have been unified and reduced to 0%.

The preferential import tax rate for liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been lowered from 5% to 2%.

Ethane has been added under HS code 2711.19.00 in Chapter 98 with a preferential import tax rate of 0%.

Corn kernels now have a 0% import tax rate, down from 2%. Similarly, the import tax on soybean meal has been reduced from 1–2% to 0%.

Hanh Nguyen