For many foreign companies trading with Vietnam, one of the most serious commercial risks is this situation:
the Vietnamese partner has received payment but fails to deliver the goods.
When negotiation no longer works, businesses naturally ask two practical questions before taking legal action:
How long will it take to sue a Vietnamese partner?
How much will the legal process cost?
There is no single fixed answer. However, with the right legal strategy, companies can estimate timelines realistically, control costs, and avoid unnecessary delays.
Yes. Under Vietnamese law, foreign companies have full legal standing to:
File lawsuits in Vietnamese courts
Initiate commercial arbitration if an arbitration clause exists
Enforce judgments or arbitral awards in Vietnam (subject to procedure)
Nationality is not a legal obstacle. The real challenges lie in procedure, evidence, forum selection, and enforcement planning.
Non-delivery of goods is typically treated as:
A breach of a sale of goods contract, or
A breach of commercial obligations
However, the legal characterization depends on:
Delivery terms and timelines in the contract
Evidence of partial delivery or delay
Any agreed extensions or force majeure clauses
This classification directly affects how the case is handled, which forum is competent, and how long the dispute may take.
Before filing a lawsuit or arbitration claim, companies usually need time to:
Review the contract and governing law
Assess whether a legal breach has occurred
Issue formal legal notices
Organize and preserve evidence
This stage may take a few weeks to several months, depending on preparation quality.
Early legal involvement can significantly shorten this phase.
If the dispute is resolved through Vietnamese courts, the process usually includes:
Case acceptance and procedural review
Evidence exchange and hearings
First-instance judgment
In practice, court litigation often takes 8 to 18 months, and sometimes longer if:
Evidence is incomplete
The defendant delays cooperation
Appeals are filed
Court litigation may be slower, but it is unavoidable when no valid arbitration clause exists.
If the contract includes an arbitration clause, arbitration is often faster and more predictable.
Depending on complexity, arbitration proceedings may take:
6 to 12 months on average
Arbitration also offers greater procedural flexibility, but preparation quality still determines speed.
Winning a case does not automatically mean recovering money or goods.
Enforcement may take:
Several additional months
Longer if the defendant hides or lacks assets
A dispute strategy that does not consider enforcement from the beginning often leads to disappointing results.
The most important factors include:
Quality and clarity of the contract
Completeness of delivery and payment evidence
Whether court or arbitration is used
Cooperation (or resistance) of the Vietnamese partner
Timing of legal involvement
Disputes handled reactively almost always take longer.
Vietnamese court fees are generally reasonable compared to many jurisdictions. However, they are only a small part of total cost.
Additional official expenses often include:
Certified translations into Vietnamese
Notarization and legalization
Procedural costs required by the court
These costs are predictable but unavoidable.
Legal fees depend on:
Dispute complexity
Amount in dispute
Quality of documentation
Whether the case proceeds to court or arbitration
Cases become expensive mainly when:
Lawyers are involved too late
Evidence is disorganized
Strategy changes mid-process
Early legal involvement usually keeps legal fees lower and more predictable.
Beyond official fees and lawyer fees, companies often incur:
Management time diverted from core operations
Cash flow disruption due to delayed recovery
Opportunity costs
Reputational impact
In many cases, these hidden costs exceed legal fees themselves.
Disputes tend to escalate in cost when:
Contracts are poorly drafted or ambiguous
Evidence of delivery or acceptance is weak
The wrong dispute resolution forum is chosen
Enforcement is not planned early
In such situations, legal work becomes reactive and inefficient.
Not necessarily.
Before suing, businesses should assess:
Whether the Vietnamese partner has enforceable assets
The realistic chance of recovery
Cost versus expected outcome
In some cases, structured legal negotiation backed by credible enforcement risk produces better results than full litigation.
In practice, foreign companies often underestimate disputes because:
Legal advice is sought too late
Contracts were not drafted for Vietnamese enforcement
Language and evidence risks were overlooked
As a result, disputes last longer and cost more than expected.
Hiring lawyers only when disputes escalate often leads to:
Repeated onboarding costs
Longer preparation time
Limited strategic flexibility
Each dispute starts from zero, increasing overall cost across transactions.
With ongoing legal consultancy, businesses benefit from:
Contracts drafted for enforceability in Vietnam
Early detection of non-delivery risks
Immediate legal response when delays occur
Better-prepared evidence
As a result, disputes are resolved faster—or avoided entirely.
Companies that regularly trade with Vietnamese partners face cumulative delivery risk.
Without continuous legal oversight:
Small delays turn into major disputes
Recovery becomes harder over time
Legal exposure increases unnoticed
Preventive legal management is essential for long-term operations.
DEDICA provides ongoing legal consultancy services and dispute support for foreign and FDI companies dealing with non-delivery of goods by Vietnamese partners.
DEDICA assists clients by:
Reviewing and structuring sale of goods contracts
Assessing breach and legal remedies
Estimating realistic timelines and costs
Supporting negotiation and pre-litigation strategy
Representing clients in arbitration and Vietnamese courts
Advising on enforcement and asset recovery
DEDICA’s approach focuses on predictability, enforceability, and cost control, not prolonged disputes.
Suing a Vietnamese partner for non-delivery of goods is legally possible—but time and cost depend heavily on preparation, strategy, and timing.
Most delays and excessive costs arise not from the legal system itself, but from:
Weak contracts
Evidence gaps
Late legal involvement
By engaging ongoing legal consultancy, businesses can reduce uncertainty, control costs, and significantly improve recovery prospects—turning disputes from major disruptions into manageable legal processes.
📞 Hotline: (+84) 39 969 0012 (Available via WhatsApp, WeChat, Zalo)
🕒 Working Hours: Monday – Friday (8:30 – 18:00)
Contact us today for a free initial consultation with our experienced lawyers!
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