Before the first export: Ministry of Commerce, tax and customs registration
Cambodia's National Trade Repository sets out the order. Register the company with the Commercial Registration Department of the Ministry of Commerce, register for VAT and a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) at the General Department of Taxation, and register to make customs declarations in ASYCUDA World, the customs data system of the General Department of Customs and Excise (GDCE).[4] Goods that are restricted or controlled may also need a license or registration with the agency responsible for them.[4]
A second registration is specific to exporters. Under Prakas No. 080 MOC D/EI of September 1, 2026, only producers and exporters who have registered for export through the CO Automation System at co.moc.gov.kh may apply for certificates of origin.[1] The documents a textile, garment, travel goods or bag enterprise, or another manufacturer, uploads are listed below.
After the application, a Ministry official inspects the premises or production site and the purchasing location or warehouse within 24 working hours, or 48 working hours for sites far from Phnom Penh, and the registration is decided on the inspection report. Changes to the business name, location or goods must be registered as amendments to stay eligible to export.[1] A first-time exporter then applies for an on-site inspection of first-time export goods, which covers the production line, purchasing location, warehouse and the goods themselves.[1]
- The application form in Annex 1 of the Prakas, and an authorization letter if a representative applies;[1]
- For a Qualified Investment Project, the Investment Project Registration Letter of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC);[1]
- The certificate of incorporation and company extract, the list of exported goods, and a detailed cost breakdown of the product (Annex 3) or the sale and purchase contract;[1]
- The latest annual patent tax certificate, the lease agreement or property title deed, and a passport or national identity card;[1]
- For textile, garment, travel goods and bag enterprises, the association membership certificate and/or the registration certificate of the ILO Better Factories Cambodia project.[1]
QIP status and the Council for the Development of Cambodia: what it changes for an exporter
A Qualified Investment Project (QIP) is an investment project that holds a registration certificate from the Council for the Development of Cambodia or a Municipal-Provincial Investment Sub-Committee, and an Export QIP is one that sells any proportion of its products outside Cambodia, under the Law on Investment of 2021.[6] For a QIP, the CDC registration letter is one of the documents for export registration described above.[1]
The incentives work by mechanism, not by negotiation. A QIP chooses between two packages of basic incentives: an income tax exemption period, or special depreciation of capital expenditure with enhanced deductions; both include an export tax exemption, unless other laws and regulations provide otherwise.[6] On top of either package, an Export QIP is entitled to exemption from customs duty, special tax and VAT on imports of construction materials and equipment, production equipment and production inputs, which the Law defines as raw materials, semi-finished products, production accessories and goods transformed in the production process.[6]
Which package and period apply depends on your sector, the implementing sub-decree and your registration, so take that question to the CDC and your tax adviser; this guide does not assess eligibility. On the shipping side, expect your inputs to be tracked against exports through the Ministry of Commerce inventory checks described below.
Cambodia customs export declaration: the SAD in ASYCUDA World under the Law on Customs
Cambodia's Law on Customs, adopted by the National Assembly on June 22, 2007 and promulgated on July 20, 2007, states that all imported or exported goods, whether or not exempt from duties and taxes, must be the subject of a customs declaration (Article 29).[5] Goods are declared by their owners or by persons authorized to act on their behalf; the Minister of Economy and Finance authorizes customs brokers by prakas, and any person may make declarations for their own business without being a customs broker (Articles 31 to 33).[5]
The declaration is the Single Administrative Document (SAD). It is submitted electronically through ASYCUDA World and in hard copy at the customs clearance office, by the declarant (the importer or exporter) or a customs broker.[4] The minimum supporting documents are the commercial invoice or contract of sale, the transport document (bill of lading or air waybill) and the packing list; depending on the goods, add shipping documents, licenses or certificates from customs or other agencies, an insurance certificate and the certificate of origin.[4] A customs permit is required in certain cases, including investment projects, temporary exports and goods on the list of prohibited and restricted goods under Sub-Decree No. 209.[4]
All goods to be exported must be reported at a customs office or other location set by the Director of Customs, and the Minister of Economy and Finance sets the time, manner and documents for reporting by prakas (Article 16).[5] Where your cargo is examined and sealed depends on the goods and the clearance office, so confirm it with your declarant when you book. Keep the records behind every declaration: the Law on Customs requires them to be kept for 10 years at business premises in Cambodia (Article 51).[5]
Agree the sale terms before the first booking, because the Incoterm decides who books and pays the ocean freight and who handles each document. Our Incoterms for Indian exporters guide explains each rule from the exporter's seat (the logic is the same from Phnom Penh), and the export documents checklist covers the commercial invoice, packing list and bill of lading a US buyer expects; see also commercial invoice and packing list.
Does Cambodia charge export duty?
Goods leaving Cambodia are subject, as applicable, to export duties and taxes as specified in the Customs Tariff, which is set by sub-decree (Article 5), and the exporter or owner is liable for them (Article 36).[5] Export tax applies to a limited set of products rather than to exports generally, and the products and rates are set and changed by government instrument, so we quote none here.
Check the current Customs Tariff for your HS code with the General Department of Customs and Excise or your declarant before you price the shipment, particularly for natural resources and primary products. A QIP's basic incentives include an export tax exemption, unless other laws and regulations provide otherwise.[6]
Certificate of origin from the Ministry of Commerce, and the Origin Certification Letter for the US
Certificates of origin are issued through the Ministry of Commerce's online CO system at co.moc.gov.kh, where exporters and manufacturers create, submit and pay for applications; a certificate is valid only when signed by the exporter and countersigned by the Ministry.[3] The issuing authority is the General Department of Trade Support Services, or an entity the Ministry authorizes.[1] The system issues preferential forms for Cambodia's trade agreements and Form N for non-preferential origin.[3] For each certificate you upload the invoice and packing list and the detailed cost breakdown (Annex 3) or other supporting documents the rules of origin call for.[1]
For the United States there is no preference to claim. Cambodia is not among the countries with a US free-trade agreement,[14] and the US Generalized System of Preferences expired on December 31, 2020 and, as of CBP's page of August 6, 2026, is pending renewal by Congress.[13] What US-bound shipments of certain goods need instead is the Origin Certification Letter (OCL): a letter certifying that the goods originate in Cambodia, which the Ministry uses to monitor inventory balances and export data for goods exported to the US market.[1] The Ministry announced on April 30, 2025 that the inter-ministerial prakas on preventing origin fraud for exports of certain goods to the US, and the prakas on applying for and issuing OCLs, take effect from May 12, 2025, and that no public service fee is charged for an OCL application.[2] Ask the Ministry or your declarant whether your HS code is on the list of goods covered.
The paperwork does not stop at shipment. Within 30 days you upload the export documents for verification, record keeping and completion of the Certificate of Origin Reference Form (CRF): for garments, textiles, footwear, travel goods, bags and other goods, the invoice and packing list, the bill of lading, the customs declaration and any export license for prohibited and restricted goods. The 30 days run from the date the certificate of origin is issued when the importing country requires one, and from the export date when it does not; no public service fee is charged for this submission.[1] Goods made with imported raw materials need a post-exportation inspection application within 30 days of export, and after receiving a certificate, CRF or OCL you upload a Statement of Raw Materials Consumption within 30 days of export; Ministry officials verify raw material inventory at your premises twice a year.[1]
Some goods must be inspected before export: goods exported by air after being trucked across a Cambodian land border; camouflage, green or olive drab and khaki clothing; fabric scraps and warehouse clearance stock garments; and the agricultural goods in Annex 4.[1] Build that inspection into the cargo-ready date.
Shipping from Sihanoukville or Phnom Penh port to the USA
Cambodia's US-bound containers leave from two seaports and none sails direct to the United States. Phnom Penh Autonomous Port (KHPNH) is a river port near the capital's factories; its containers go by Mekong barge or by truck to Vietnam, to Cai Mep (VNVUT) or Cat Lai, Ho Chi Minh City (VNSGN), for the mainline vessel. Sihanoukville Autonomous Port (KHKOS) is the deep-sea port, and its sailings relay at Singapore or Chinese hubs. Air cargo leaves from Techo International Airport. Transit ranges and the routing by port pair are on the Cambodia to USA lane guide.
The relay matters for one document: the ISF is due 24 hours before the cargo is laden on the vessel at the foreign port,[7] which on this lane is the mainline vessel at the hub, so the data has to be complete before the barge or feeder leaves Cambodia. Airlift USA's own office in Phnom Penh arranges factory pickup, container loading and the export documents; AIRLIFT (U.S.A.), INC., an FMC-licensed NVOCC (FMC No. 016162), issues its own house bill of lading, files the ISF as the NVOCC and arranges the US customs entry through licensed customs brokers.
Size the order with the container load calculator, read LCL vs FCL from India for the consolidation trade-off (the logic is the same from Phnom Penh), and use the chargeable weight calculator for air. The Vietnamese side of the relay is covered in how to export from Vietnam to the USA.
What the US side needs from you: ISF, origin marking, labels, CPSC and origin scrutiny
Importer Security Filing. For cargo arriving by vessel, the ISF Importer or its agent must submit the seller, buyer, importer of record number, consignee number, manufacturer or supplier, ship-to party, country of origin and HTS number no later than 24 hours before the cargo is laden at the foreign port; the container stuffing location and consolidator follow as early as possible and no later than 24 hours before arrival in a US port.[7] Your factory name and address, the stuffing location and the HS code therefore go to the forwarder at booking. Our US import rules for exporters guide walks through the ISF, the entry and the agency rules, which are the same whatever the origin; see also ISF and AMS.
Origin marking. Every article of foreign origin, or its container, must be marked in a conspicuous place, as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the article permits, with the English name of the country of origin for the ultimate purchaser in the United States; unmarked articles pay an additional duty of 10 percent of the appraised value unless exported or destroyed under CBP supervision.[8] This applies to footwear, bags and furniture as much as to garments.
Textile labels. Garments and other textile products sold in the US carry a label with the generic fiber names and percentages by weight in order of predominance, the name or FTC registered identification number of the manufacturer or of a firm marketing or handling the product, and the country where the product was processed or manufactured.[10] The label normally carries your buyer's name or RN; sew it in before the goods leave the factory. The textiles and apparel export guide covers care labels and flammability. Children's products need a Children's Product Certificate issued by the US importer on test results from a CPSC-accepted third-party laboratory, and from July 8, 2026 importers of most regulated consumer products eFile certificate data with CBP, so your buyer will ask for test reports before shipment.[11]
Forced labor and origin scrutiny. CBP presumes that goods made wholly or in part in Xinjiang, or by an entity on the UFLPA Entity List, are prohibited under 19 U.S.C. 1307, and the importer can rebut that only by clear and convincing evidence; the presumption has applied since June 21, 2022.[12] Separately, CBP investigates evasion of antidumping and countervailing duties under the Enforce and Protect Act, defined as entry through a material false statement or omission that reduces the duty, with transshipment, misclassification and undervaluation as examples.[9] Cambodia's OCL prakas are aimed at preventing origin fraud on exports of certain goods to the US,[2] and together these are why the cost breakdown, raw material records and Ministry of Commerce documents for each shipment should be kept together and ready.
Duty. What your buyer pays depends on the HTS line and the measures in force on the entry date. The full stack, including the Section 301 duty and the antidumping and countervailing orders on some Cambodian products, is in US tariffs on Cambodia; find the line in the HTS code finder and estimate landed cost in the tariff simulator.
The export timeline from Cambodia: step, who, when and the document
Booking and stuffing cut-offs come from the carrier's booking confirmation and differ by carrier, port and hub; the Ministry of Commerce, customs and ISF rows are rules.
| Step | Who | When | Document produced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company, VAT/TIN and ASYCUDA registration | Exporter | Before the first order | Registration certificates[4] |
| Export registration in the CO Automation System; premises inspection | Exporter; Ministry of Commerce | Before the first export | Export registration[1] |
| On-site inspection of first-time export goods | Exporter; Ministry of Commerce | Before the first export | Inspection report[1] |
| Pre-exportation inspection, for listed goods only | Exporter; Ministry of Commerce | Before shipment | Inspection[1] |
| Certificate of origin or OCL applied for | Exporter | For each shipment that needs one | CO or OCL[1][2] |
| Booking confirmed; container stuffed and sealed | Exporter and forwarder | Against the cargo-ready date and cut-offs | Booking confirmation, packing list, seal number |
| SAD lodged in ASYCUDA World with invoice, packing list and transport document | Exporter or customs broker | Before export | Customs declaration[4][5] |
| Importer Security Filing | ISF Importer or its authorized agent | No later than 24 hours before lading at the foreign port (the hub on this lane) | ISF[7] |
| Export documents uploaded for verification; post-export inspection and raw-material statement where required | Exporter | Within 30 days of the certificate's issue or of export | CRF or verified file[1] |
| Customs records retained | Exporter | 10 years | Records[5] |