Online goods sellers defaulting on tax may be banned from leaving Vietnam

The potential ban was discussed at a meeting the General Department of Taxation held late last week to consider how to plug tax losses from e-commerce.

Currently sellers need to pay value added tax and personal income tax if their revenues from online businesses exceed VND100 million (US$4,000) a year.

But it is not easy for tax authorities to fully identify revenues and tax payers, distinguish between various types of incomes and manage business transactions and cash flows, according to the director general of taxation, Mai Xuan Thanh.

He said the department would continue to tighten taxation of e-commerce, including by publishing the list of online goods sellers who owe taxes in the media and banning them from leaving the country.

Last year 74 foreign sellers paid over VND8 trillion and domestic organizations and individuals paid VND536 billion.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the retail e-commerce market was worth $20.5 billion last year after rising by 25% from 2022.

Vietnam ranks among the top 10 countries in the world in e-commerce growth, according to Statista, a German online platform that specializes in data gathering and visualization.