Vietnam gets set to tax e-commerce revenue

By Quynh Trang June 17, 2021 | 04:45 am PT

A person makes online purchases on a laptop. Photo by Shutterstock/Ivan Kruk.

Vietnam plans to tax 1.5 percent of annual e-commerce revenues of VND100 million ($4,297) and higher as part of leveling the field between traditional and online retail merchants.

A decree with new regulations is set to take effect on August 1, but authorities have said they might give e-commerce platforms more time to prepare for taxation regime.

E-commerce platforms will need to provide authorities with monthly reports on their merchants, revenues, bank accounts and types of goods.

Tax officials had said earlier that the current taxation regime is unfair to traditional sellers who have to pay other overheads, while online sellers have been escaping several taxes.

Taxing sellers through e-commerce platforms would also help prevent the sales of contraband and fake goods, the officials said.

Vietnam’s e-commerce market expanded by 18 percent last year to $11.8 billion, the only country in Southeast Asia to record double-digit growth amid the pandemic, according to the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency.