Overview 

Vangtao International Border Checkpoint is located in Laos’ Phonthong district in Champasack province that shares a border with Thailand in the West. The checkpoint is about 24 km away from Phonthong district, the nearest large town and 44 km from Pakse district, a capital city of Champasack province with a population of 704,023 persons. It is opposite to Chongmek international border checkpoint in Ubon Rathchathani province, Thailand. The checkpoints have permanent offices at both sides of the borders where immigration offices are located.  

Daily Capacity 

There are at least 311 freight transport vehicles enter and exit the checkpoint daily. On average, clearance process per one import shipment at the checkpoint takes 3 hours and 27 minutes. 

There is a warehouse located within the customs checkpoint, and all physical Inspections happen at that location. 

Customs Clearance 

The Ministry of Finance’s Customs Division, a regulatory authority for imports, requires submission online of tax exemption certificate (in case of humanitarian goods) including supporting documents on NSWA+, a computerized platform of the Lao National Single Window (LNSW) which recently is integrated into Lao customs clearance for import (ASYCUDA) that became known as the NSWA+. The platform can be accessed at https://www.laonsw.net/ 

Charge for NSWA+ is USD14 (or 291,000 Kip) for one transaction, which excludes customs, duties, tax, fees and service fees of relevant agencies. 

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+.  

The NSWA+ is a computerized platform used to manage the import and export of all types of goods including tax exempted ones. From September 23, 2023, the system is formally deployed force at Vangtao International Checkpoint. 

Documents that are typically required for 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.