# Shipping to Israel from Vietnam

> Express air and sea freight to Israel from Vietnam. VIFTA duty benefits, Israel Tax Authority customs, 18% VAT, Tel Aviv delivery, optional cargo insurance.

Canonical: https://gatewayexpress.vn/en/shipping-to-israel/
Last updated: 2026-08-01

Vietnam and Israel signed the **Vietnam–Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA)** in July 2023, and it entered into force on **17 November 2024** – Vietnam's first FTA with a Middle Eastern country. Since then, bilateral trade has climbed toward the USD 4 billion mark, with Israeli demand for Vietnamese electronics, textiles, and agricultural goods running alongside a smaller but steady flow of Israeli tech, medical devices, and agri-tech equipment into Vietnam. Gateway Express ships from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi into Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Haifa for both the B2B trade lane VIFTA is accelerating and personal shipments for the smaller Vietnamese community – students, tech professionals, and diplomatic-adjacent staff – living in Israel.

Israel is not a Gulf-style Halal market: pork is uncommon rather than banned, and Kosher certification is a commercial consideration for retail-scale food imports, not a requirement for personal parcels. The real friction points on this lane are different – Israel runs the most rigorous aviation and cargo security screening in our network, the VAT-exemption threshold for personal imports has moved twice in 2026 alone, and Sabbath closures affect delivery scheduling every week. **Because routing and carrier service availability into Israel can shift with the security and political situation, treat the transit ranges below as indicative and confirm current routing with us before booking a time-sensitive shipment.**

This page covers our service tiers, VIFTA's duty implications, Israel's VAT and de minimis rules (both changed in 2026), Kosher considerations, security screening, and delivery across Israel's main cities.

## Shipping Services to Israel

### Express Air (4-6 Business Days, Indicative)

Flights from Hanoi (HAN) and Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) into Ben Gurion Airport (TLV), Tel Aviv.

**Best for:**
- B2B samples and time-critical commercial shipments under VIFTA preferential terms
- Personal parcels and gifts for the Vietnamese community
- Vietnamese coffee, tea, dried goods
- Documents and legal paperwork

**Service features:**
- Real-time tracking with security-screening milestone updates
- 100% declared-value insurance included
- Extended security screening built into transit planning, not treated as a delay

### Standard Air (7-12 Business Days, Indicative)

Cost-effective option for non-urgent shipments, routed via regional hubs.

**Best for:**
- Personal effects, clothing, household items
- Vietnamese specialty foods with correct labeling
- Non-urgent commercial cargo

### Sea Freight (20-30 Days, Indicative)

Sea freight into Haifa or Ashdod port.

**Best for:**
- Bulk B2B inventory under VIFTA – electronics, textiles, agricultural goods
- Household relocations, furniture
- LCL and FCL volumes

**Service features:**
- Port clearance coordinated with Israel Tax Authority customs
- **Contact us for current routing and vessel schedules** – sea freight timing to Israel is the transit mode most sensitive to regional conditions

## VIFTA – Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement

VIFTA is Vietnam's first FTA with a country in the Middle East, and it's already showing measurable results: bilateral trade is approaching USD 4 billion, with both governments actively working to accelerate implementation as of mid-2026.

**What VIFTA means for shippers:**

- **Reduced or eliminated tariffs** on a wide range of Vietnamese-origin goods entering Israel, phased in according to the agreement's product-specific schedules
- **Preferential treatment requires proof of origin** – commercial shipments claiming VIFTA rates need the correct origin documentation; we advise on what your specific HS category requires
- The agreement particularly benefits **electronics, textiles and garments, footwear, and agricultural products** – Vietnam's strongest existing export categories to Israel
- Tech and agri-tech goods moving the other direction (Israel to Vietnam) are covered under the same framework

**For B2B importers building a Vietnam-Israel trade relationship**, VIFTA is the single most relevant development on this lane in years – talk to us about structuring shipments to claim preferential duty treatment correctly from the first consignment.

## Israel Tax Authority Customs, VAT, and De Minimis

### Regulators you may interact with

| Agency | Role |
|---|---|
| **Israel Tax Authority** (Customs Directorate) | Customs clearance, duty and VAT collection, border enforcement |
| **Ministry of Health** | Food safety oversight |

### VAT and de minimis – moved twice in 2026, confirm current rate before shipping

| Charge | Current status |
|---|---|
| **VAT (Ma'am)** | **18%** standard rate (raised from 17% in 2025; held through 2026) |
| **Personal import exemption** | **USD 75** – reverted to this level in June 2026 after a brief increase to USD 150 earlier in the year |
| **Duty-waived band** | Shipments valued USD 75-500 typically have customs duty waived, but **18% VAT still applies on the full CIF value** |
| **Commercial shipments** | Duty and VAT apply regardless of value, subject to VIFTA preferential rates where applicable |

Israel's personal-import threshold has been genuinely volatile in 2026 – it moved from USD 75 to a proposed USD 150 and back to USD 75 within the same year in response to retailer pressure. **Confirm the current threshold with us at the time of shipping** rather than relying on a figure from an older source.

## Security Screening – Plan Around It, Not Against It

Israel operates what's widely regarded as the most rigorous cargo and aviation security screening system in our shipping network. This isn't a customs delay – it's a distinct security process that runs before customs clearance:

- Every shipment is physically and/or scan-inspected before release
- Screening depth can extend clearance time beyond what a comparable shipment would take elsewhere
- Complete, accurate documentation (invoice, packing list, sender ID) materially reduces screening friction – incomplete paperwork is the most common cause of extended holds

We build screening time into our quoted transit ranges rather than treating it as a variable delay, but we recommend padding timelines for anything genuinely time-critical.

## Kosher – A Commercial Consideration, Not a Personal-Shipment Requirement

Unlike Halal certification in the Gulf, **Kosher certification is not required for personal-use food parcels** entering Israel. It matters at commercial/retail scale:

- Personal gifts and family food parcels ship without Kosher documentation
- Retail-scale commercial food imports typically need Kosher certification to sell through mainstream Israeli grocery channels – this is a market-access decision, not a customs requirement
- Pork is uncommon in Israel but **not prohibited** – it's a smaller market than plant-based or poultry/beef alternatives, and demand-side rather than customs-driven
- Note for seafood: Kosher dietary law excludes shellfish and non-scaled fish – relevant if you're targeting the observant-Jewish retail segment specifically, not a customs restriction

## Vietnamese Community and Trade Profile

Israel's Vietnamese community is small and specific – students, tech-sector professionals, and people connected to the two countries' growing bilateral ties – rather than a large labor-migration population like the Gulf states. The shipping profile on this lane reflects that: fewer high-volume family food parcels, more mixed personal/professional shipments and a genuinely growing B2B trade lane under VIFTA.

## What You Can Ship – and What's Restricted

### Allowed

**Food:**
- Confectionery, dried fruit, cashews and other nuts
- Coffee, tea
- Instant noodles, dried rice noodles, pho noodles
- Dried seafood (note: outside Kosher-specific retail channels, no restriction)
- Seasonings and spices

**Non-food:**
- Clothing, footwear, electronics, cosmetics
- Books, handicrafts
- B2B commercial goods under VIFTA – electronics, textiles, agricultural products

### Restricted or requires prior confirmation

- **Commercial food destined for Kosher retail channels** – needs Kosher certification; contact us to route to the right certifying body
- **Anything with incomplete or ambiguous documentation** – the leading cause of extended security holds; confirm paperwork requirements with us before pickup
- **Pharmaceuticals and medical devices** – Ministry of Health import rules apply; confirm specific products before shipping

**If a specific item's status is unclear – a food product's Kosher eligibility, a commercial good's VIFTA origin qualification, or a documentation requirement – confirm with us before shipping rather than guessing.**

## Sabbath and Holidays – Delivery Windows

Israel observes Sabbath (Shabbat) weekly, and it affects the whole logistics chain, not just retail:

- **Friday afternoon through Saturday evening:** most commercial and government services close, including large parts of the delivery network
- **Delivery windows run Sunday through Thursday** in practice
- Jewish holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover, and others) add further closures on the Hebrew calendar – dates shift yearly, so we flag relevant closures on your quote if your shipment window overlaps one

## How Shipping with Gateway Express Works

### Step 1 – Get a quote

Reach us through:
- **Hotline:** +84 938 373 343 (also +84 944 247 267)
- **Zalo / Viber / WhatsApp:** message the same number
- **Email:** [info@gatewayexpress.com.vn](mailto:info@gatewayexpress.com.vn)
- **Online:** [Request a free quote](https://gatewayexpress.vn/en/get-a-quote/) or [contact our team](https://gatewayexpress.vn/en/contact/)

We confirm current routing, the current VAT exemption threshold, and VIFTA eligibility for commercial shipments before you book.

### Step 2 – Pack and prepare paperwork

- Complete, accurate invoice and packing list – this is the single biggest lever on security-screening speed
- VIFTA origin documentation for commercial shipments claiming preferential duty
- Kosher certification coordination for retail-bound commercial food

### Step 3 – Free door pickup

Free pickup in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang; for Hanoi and other provinces, contact us to arrange pickup.

### Step 4 – Transit and tracking

- Tracking by SMS from pickup
- Security-screening and customs milestone updates throughout transit

### Step 5 – Door delivery in Israel

- **Express:** 4-6 business days (indicative – confirm current routing with us)
- **Standard:** 7-12 business days (indicative)
- **Sea freight:** contact us for current routing and vessel schedules

Delivery is scheduled **Sunday through Thursday**, working around Sabbath and Jewish holiday closures.

## Where We Pick Up and Deliver

### Pickup in Vietnam

- Ho Chi Minh City – all districts
- Hanoi – all inner and outer districts
- Da Nang, Hai Phong, and 60+ provinces

### Delivery in Israel

- **Tel Aviv** – economic center
- **Jerusalem** – capital
- **Haifa** – northern port city
- **Be'er Sheva, Eilat** – southern Israel

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How long does shipping from Vietnam to Israel take?

Indicative ranges are **4-6 business days (Express)** and **7-12 business days (Standard)**. Because routing and carrier service availability to Israel can vary by period, **contact us for current transit times before booking** rather than relying on a fixed promise.

### What is VIFTA and how does it reduce duty?

The Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement, in force since 17 November 2024, phases in reduced or eliminated tariffs on Vietnamese-origin goods – especially electronics, textiles, footwear, and agricultural products. Commercial shipments need correct origin documentation to claim the preferential rate; we advise on requirements by HS category.

### Do I need Kosher certification to ship food to Israel?

**Not for personal parcels.** Kosher certification matters for commercial food entering mainstream Israeli retail channels, not for gifts or family shipments. If you're building a commercial food-export relationship, we'll connect you with the right certifying process.

### What's Israel's VAT and de minimis threshold right now?

**VAT (Ma'am) is 18%.** The personal-import exemption threshold has moved twice in 2026 – it's currently **USD 75** as of June 2026, after a brief rise to USD 150 earlier in the year. Shipments valued USD 75-500 typically have duty waived but still pay 18% VAT on the full CIF value. Confirm the live threshold with us before shipping.

### Why is security screening stricter for Israel-bound shipments?

Israel runs the most rigorous cargo and aviation security process in our network as standard practice, not as an exception. Complete, accurate paperwork – invoice, packing list, sender ID – is the biggest factor in keeping screening time down; incomplete documentation is the most common cause of extended holds.

### Can I ship during Sabbath or Jewish holidays?

Delivery runs **Sunday through Thursday**. Friday afternoon through Saturday evening (Sabbath) sees most of the logistics chain close, and Jewish holidays on the Hebrew calendar add further closures at dates that shift yearly – we flag any relevant closure window on your quote.

### Can I ship dried seafood to Israel?

**Yes, for personal use.** There's no customs restriction on shellfish or non-scaled fish for personal or general retail shipment – the Kosher exclusion on shellfish is a dietary-law consideration relevant only if you're targeting observant-Jewish retail channels specifically.

### Which cities do you deliver to?

Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Be'er Sheva, and Eilat, covering Israel's main population centers from the coastal plain to the south.

### Do you offer free pickup and insurance?

**Yes** to both. Free door pickup in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi; 100% declared-value insurance included on every shipment to Israel.

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> **Building a B2B trade relationship under VIFTA?** Talk to us about structuring your first shipments to claim preferential duty correctly. If you also ship into the Gulf, see our guides to [shipping to the UAE](https://gatewayexpress.vn/en/shipping-to-uae/) and [shipping to Saudi Arabia](https://gatewayexpress.vn/en/shipping-to-saudi-arabia/). Browse [all destinations we ship to](https://gatewayexpress.vn/en/countries/) for our full network.

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**Ready to ship to Israel?** Get a transparent quote and door pickup from Gateway Express.

📞 **Hotline:** +84 938 373 343
📧 **Email:** [info@gatewayexpress.com.vn](mailto:info@gatewayexpress.com.vn)
🏢 **Office:** 72/5 Giai Phong St., Tan Son Nhat Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Your trusted Vietnam–Israel shipping partner.