Overview 

Connected by Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge over Namheung River, Namheuang International Border Checkpoint is located in Laos’ Kenethao district in Sayaboury province that shares a border with Thailand in the West. The checkpoint is about 5 km away from Kenethao district, the nearest large town and 220 km from Sayaboury district, a capital city of Sayaboury province with a population of 401,376 persons. It is opposite to Ban Nakaseng International Border Checkpoint in Tha Li district, Loei province, Thailand. The checkpoints have permanent offices at both sides of the borders where immigration offices are located.  

Daily Capacity 

There are at least between 40 and 50 18-wheel freight trucks entering and exiting the checkpoints daily. 

Customs Clearance 

The Ministry of Finance’s Customs Department, a regulatory authority for imports, requires tax exemption certificate (in case of humanitarian goods) including supporting documents to manage the import of goods and equipment at checkpoint. 

Charges per time for importing truck include:   

Remark: charges (round up) in USD are based on BCEL exchange rate USD 1 = 20.752 kip as of 16 October 2023 

Payment channels and methods: Importers and exporters can pay the service fee electronically at service units of the Bank Pour Le Commerce Exterieur Lao (BCEL) and the Lao Development Bank (LDB) which includes BCEL i-Banking, BCEL One, LDB Corporate Banking by cash, money transfer, and cheque. 

For more information on customs, please see the following link: 1.3 Customs Information.   

Other Relevant Information 

Under Ministry of Finance, Laos’ Customs Clearance for Imports (ASYCUDA) is implementing smart customs project that the digitalization of imports and exports at international border crossing is being modernized. The ministry adopts the Lao National Single Window (LNSW) and integrates it into the ASYCUDA that became known as the NSWA+.  

However, Namheuang International Border Checkpoint has not yet been integrated into the project. In other words, the customs clearance is still a paper-based system.  

Documents that are typically required for the customs clearance for non-foods and food items are: 

Tax exemption document from relevant partner government ministry, Commercial Invoice, Bill of Lading or Air Waybill, Packing List, Certificate of Origin, Analysis Certificate, Phytosanitary Certificate, Fumigation Certificate, Import Permit for Food (issued by Laos’ Food and Drug Department, Ministry of Public Health).

For more information on government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Government Contact List.