The rapid growth of e-commerce has created new challenges for customs and tax management, particularly in regulating goods traded across borders. Currently, Vietnam has no separate legal framework for e-commerce imports and exports; customs procedures remain similar to those for conventional trade.
To address this, the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Customs) is finalizing a draft Decree on customs management for e-commerce goods, seeking feedback to ensure tighter yet more practical supervision.
Tax Exemption Regulations for E-Commerce Imports
According to the draft Decree submitted to the Government under Official Letter No. 6289/BTC-TCHQ dated June 20, 2023, import tax exemptions apply to:
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Goods with customs value below 2 million VND per order, or
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Goods above 2 million VND per order but with import tax payable under 200,000 VND.
Each individual or organization may benefit from tax exemption up to 96 million VND per year under these criteria.
The rationale behind the “under 200,000 VND” rule was that the cost of collecting such small taxes would exceed the tax revenue itself. However, with modern digital tools and electronic tax systems, this exemption is no longer necessaryor efficient.
Therefore, in the latest consultation draft, the Ministry of Finance proposes abolishing the 200,000 VND threshold — simplifying processes for customs declarants and enabling more consistent supervision of low-value imports.
Product Management and Specialized Inspection
The previous draft Decree (June 2023) listed exemptions from licensing and specialized inspection for certain cases, including:
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Goods exempt from foreign trade management requirements;
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E-commerce imports with customs value below 2 million VND, or single items above 2 million VND but with total annual import value not exceeding 96 million VND per person or organization.
However, these exemptions would not apply in cases involving food safety, epidemics, environmental risks, or national security alerts.
Under Decree No. 85/2019/NĐ-CP, postal and express-imported goods valued under 1 million VND are exempt from both taxes and quality control. The new draft raises this value limit to prevent policy abuse.
Yet, with the surge of cross-border e-commerce, especially low-priced products from China, experts warn that excessive exemptions could distort fair competition, allowing substandard or unsafe goods to flood the domestic market without proper inspection.