PM urges for more effective tax management over e-commerce

The request came amid a boom in e-commerce in Vietnam, which is estimated to have reached 13.7 billion USD in 2021, up 16% from the previous year and accounting for 6.5% of total retail sale revenue.

The rapid growth of e-commerce and business on digital platforms are presenting new challenges to state management, especially in the collection of taxes.

As such, the PM has asked the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to work with the relevant agencies to fine-tune the tax management mechanism for emerging business activities in the digital economy, the sharing economy and cross-border transactions.

The MOF was also required to provide support for individuals doing business on e-commerce platforms to make tax filings and pay taxes, and instruct foreign service providers to comply with Vietnamese law when doing business in Vietnam.

For its part, the Ministry of Industry and Trade was tasked with fine-tuning the legal framework in e-commerce to facilitate tax management regarding the business activities of individuals on e-commerce platforms.

The State Bank of Vietnam is responsible to directing credit institutions and intermediary payment service companies to provide information on foreign providers with no established facilities in Vietnam as well as organisations and individuals with income from cross-border platforms, as required by Vietnamese law and the guidance of tax agencies.