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Region guide

SELLING INTO
SOUTHEAST ASIA.

Reference

ASEAN removed most internal tariffs and left everything else in place. Duty may be zero between member states while standards, labelling, licensing and consumption tax remain entirely national — which is why "we are in ASEAN" answers a much smaller question than sellers expect.

Tariffs fell, non-tariff barriers did not

The ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement eliminated duty on most intra-regional trade, subject to rules of origin and a Form D certificate. What it did not touch is product registration, labelling language, halal certification and import licensing — all national, all enforced.

  • Form D — the origin certificate that unlocks preferential rates
  • Labelling language requirements differ by market
  • Product registration can take months and cannot be started late

Consumption taxes vary widely

Singapore GST, Indonesian VAT, Malaysian SST, Thai and Vietnamese VAT are separate systems with separate registration rules for non-residents. Several now require foreign sellers supplying consumers to register once they pass a local threshold.

Digital and marketplace rules are moving fastest

Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand have all extended tax obligations to foreign digital and marketplace sellers in recent years. Rules that were settled two years ago are not necessarily settled now, and this is the region where checking beats remembering.

Logistics is archipelagic

Indonesia and the Philippines are thousands of islands. Domestic distribution inside one country can be harder and slower than the international leg that got the goods there, and a single national price that ignores that is a price that loses money outside the capital.

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