Quick answer: From 6 June 2026, selected telecommunications, sensor and specialist measurement equipment requires a licence when exported from Vietnam if the HS code, goods description and technical threshold all match Part IV of Circular 30/2026/TT-BKHCN. The list has ten principal groups: rugged telecommunications; interception/jamming; UAV telemetry and remote control; magnetometers and underwater sensors; gravimeters; high-speed cameras; radiation-hardened television cameras; velocity interferometers; pressure transducers above 10 GPa; and underwater acoustic/sonar equipment.
Not every HS 8517 device, high-speed camera, sensor, sonar or laser requires a licence. A trade name, an HS code or one marketing specification is not a legal conclusion.
This article concerns exports from Vietnam and reflects Vietnamese law checked through 27 September 2026. It is not advice on US, Chinese or destination-country export-control law.
1. Framework list and detailed list
Appendix I to Decree 259/2025/ND-CP gives only the framework heading “telecommunications, sensors and lasers”. Articles 4 and 7 require the detailed ministerial list. Part IV of Circular 30/2026/TT-BKHCN supplies the HS codes, descriptions and technical thresholds.
| Gate | Question | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| HS | Complete system, module, antenna, lens, sensor or part? | Construction, block diagram, independent function and export condition |
| Description | Specially designed for which environment or function? | Datasheet, design specification, feature matrix and catalogue revision |
| Threshold | Temperature, radiation, sensitivity, fps, ns/μs, GPa, frequency, depth, range or error? | Test/qualification report, method, mode and conditions |
| Transaction | Buyer, final user, site, application and routing? | End-use statement, contract and screening record |
Article 4(3) of Decree 259 also controls suspicious end use/end users even where the goods are not listed.
2. Ten HS screening groups
| Group | HS codes | Main technical condition |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8517.61.00, 8517.62, 8517.69.00 | Telecommunications equipment specially designed to withstand EMP, gamma/neutron/ion radiation, or operation below -55°C/above 124°C |
| 2 | 8517.61.00, 8517.62, 8517.69.00, 8517.71.00, 8517.79 | Interception/jamming equipment, associated RF monitoring and specialised components with listed extraction, RAN simulation or protocol-exploitation functions |
| 3 | 8517.71.00, 8517.79, 8526.10, 8526.91, 8526.92.00, 8529.10, 8529.90 | Telemetry/remote-control equipment designed or modified for UAVs within 5A101; stated exclusions must be checked |
| 4 | 9015.80, 9015.90.00, 9030.89 | Magnetometers, underwater electric-field sensors, gradient instruments, compensation systems and underwater EM receivers meeting sensitivity thresholds |
| 5 | 9015.80, 9015.90.00 | Gravimeters and gravity-gradient instruments meeting accuracy and settling-time thresholds |
| 6 | 8525.81, 8525.89, 9006.30.00, 9006.59, 8529.90, 8540.20.00, 9006.91 | Streak, framing, electronic cameras and dedicated parts meeting temporal-resolution, gating or frame-rate thresholds |
| 7 | 8525.82, 9002.90 | Television cameras/lenses rated above 50×10³ Gy(Si) total dose without operational degradation |
| 8 | 8541.51.00, 8541.59.00, 9029.20, 9031.49 | Velocity interferometers measuring above 1 km/s within less than 10 μs |
| 9 | 8541.60.00, 9026.20, 9026.90.00 | Quartz pressure transducers measuring above 10 GPa |
| 10 | 8543.70, 9015.80, 9030.39.00 | Seabed-survey sonar, acoustic arrays, underwater positioning and swimmer/diver detection systems meeting detailed thresholds |
A six-digit entry brings all eight-digit national lines in that subheading into screening; an eight-digit entry is limited to that code. ECCN references do not replace Vietnamese HS declarations.
3. Technical files by product group
Telecommunications and jamming
- Correct model/option datasheet and operating rather than storage temperature.
- EMP/radiation qualification report with standard, level, source and operating state.
- Firmware, software licence, feature matrix, protocol, API and accessible data types.
- RF/baseband/RAN block diagram, bands, modes and activation path for locked features.
A commercial GSM repeater is not automatically a jammer. Distinguish ordinary reception/amplification/retransmission from intentional selective interference, RAN simulation or extraction of IMSI/TIMSI/IMEI and metadata.
Magnetometers, gravimeters and underwater sensors
Keep the measurement principle, sensitivity, bandwidth, frequency, rms/noise-floor basis, static/mobile mode and motion compensation. Values expressed at different frequencies or bandwidths cannot be compared directly. Fish-finding, fisheries and biomagnetic medical exclusions apply only when the design facts support them.
Cameras, interferometers and pressure
For cameras, record mode, resolution, full-frame/crop, exposure/gating time, readout, trigger and sustainable frame rate. “One million fps” alone is insufficient. A velocity interferometer must measure above 1 km/s in under 10 μs. The pressure line applies to quartz transducers above 10 GPa, not every pressure gauge.
Sonar and underwater acoustics
The file should state sonar type, design depth, scan angle, sounding rate, frequency, bandwidth, resolution, area coverage, source level, range, positioning error, transducer and material. Review items 10.1-10.6 and their formulas and exclusions separately.
4. “Laser” in the heading does not control every laser machine
The detailed list does not contain one general line for all cutting, welding, marking, ranging or laboratory lasers. Laser-related content appears in selected measuring systems such as DLI, PDV and VISAR and certain imaging equipment. Do not apply or waive a licence merely because “laser” appears on the invoice.
5. HS classification and customs description
Apply GIR 1 and GIR 6 to the goods as exported. If a system is shipped as separate telecommunications equipment, antenna, camera, sensor, computer and software, classify each item according to its objective characteristics rather than automatically using the system’s code.
A working description may state: “[type/function] equipment, model ..., principle ..., frequency/measurement range ..., sensitivity/resolution ..., operating temperature ..., hardware ..., firmware/licence ..., serial ..., intended use ..., manufacturer ..., new goods, exported from Vietnam, licence no. ... dated ...”.
6. Licensing authority and dossier
Article 3 of Circular 30 delegates licensing for Ministry of Science and Technology goods to provincial People’s Committees. The trader submits one dossier directly, by post or through the National Single Window/local administrative system.
- Original application in Appendix III form.
- Original English undertaking from importer/end user plus Vietnamese translation, both certified by the trader.
- Copies of contract and other competent-authority licences, if any.
- Report under Appendix IV for transactions using the previous licence, except a term-licence application.
- Internal Compliance Programme confirmation for a term licence.
A shipment licence is valid for three months. A term licence is valid for 12 months and is available only to traders with a confirmed Internal Compliance Programme.
7. Processing, export production and customs reconciliation
Manage goods by part number, serial, hardware revision, firmware and licence. The same enclosure with a different sensor, detector, FPGA, RF board, firmware or option may have a different control status.
- Link BOM components to the exact finished product and technical revision.
- Separate production machinery, incorporated materials, tools and exported finished goods.
- Re-screen firmware changes, licence activation, sensor/camera upgrade or recalibration.
- Samples, repair, warranty return and third-country routing still require end-use/end-user review.
Before customs finalisation, reconcile declarations, inventory, BOM, production norms, orders, serials, firmware and licences. See our customs reconciliation review.
8. Recordkeeping and post-clearance audit
Article 15 of Decree 259 requires licensed-goods records to be kept for at least five years and an annual report before 30 January using Appendix VI. Retain catalogue revisions, raw test data, calibration certificates, firmware checksum, licence history, manufacturer statements, end-use file and delivery evidence.
See the post-clearance audit preparation guide.
9. Dương Minh Logistics support
We assist with HS review, Circular 30 technical matrices, catalogue/test-report/end-use files, licence applications, customs descriptions, model–serial–firmware–licence controls, BOM/inventory reconciliation, customs finalisation and post-clearance preparation.
For detailed technical screening, see HS Code Checker’s ten-group telecommunications and sensor guide. Also see the general dual-use guide, UAV export dossier guide and our customs advisory service.
10. Frequently asked questions
Does telecommunications equipment operating up to 85°C require a licence?
Not under group 1’s temperature threshold, which is above 124°C or below -55°C. EMP/radiation capability and other listed functions must still be checked.
Is a GSM repeater a jammer?
Not automatically. Ordinary retransmission must be distinguished from intentional interference, RAN simulation or extraction of identifiers/data over the air interface.
Is an industrial laser cutter controlled under Part IV?
Not automatically. The product must match a detailed line; an ordinary cutter/welder/marker is not thereby a 6A225 velocity interferometer.
Official legal sources
- Circular 30/2026/TT-BKHCN and signed Appendix.
- Decree 259/2025/ND-CP and the signed text.
- Circular 31/2022/TT-BTC on Vietnam’s export/import nomenclature.
This is general legal information. A shipment conclusion requires the actual goods, HS code, exact model/configuration, firmware/licence, measurement principle, technical threshold and test conditions, end user, end use and law in force on the transaction date.
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