Overview 

Namngeun International Border Checkpoint is located in Laos’ Ngeun district in Sayabouly province that shares a border with Thailand in the West. The checkpoint is about 4 km away from Ngeun district, the nearest large town and 129 km from Sayabouly district, a capital city of Sayabouly province with a population of 401,376 persons. It is opposite to Huaikon Boundary Post in Huaikon village, Chaloem Phrakiat district, Nan province, Thailand. The checkpoints have permanent offices at both sides of the borders where immigration offices are located.   

It takes 3 hours by private car from a recently completed route 4B with 114 km in length from Namngeun checkpoint to Luang Prabang province in comparison to route 4A that take 6 hours. However, there are two challenges. First, the route 4B is, in many parts, built on tops and shoulders of mountain ranges that influence speed for safety. Second, there is a ferry crossing Mekong River at Chiang Man village, which is opposite to Luang Prabang city. 

Daily Capacity 

In 2019, there were at least 80 vehicles entering and exiting the checkpoints daily or around 29,100 vehicles per year. 

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 

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, Namngeun 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.