More than 41,500 businesses and individuals have registered for taxes on the recently-launched e-portal for e-commerce household businesses, with total contributions to the state budget exceeding 258 billion VND (10.2 million USD), the Ministry of Finance (MoF) reported.

The MoF and its General Department of Taxation have worked to raise awareness of tax policies and regulations through mass media, open letters to taxpayers, and dedicated sections on the department’s website. They’ve also partnered with domestic and international e-commerce platforms to promote tax obligations among online businesses.

The MoF has also developed new tax regulations, requiring e-commerce platforms to withhold and remit taxes on behalf of business households and individuals. Businesses can also authorize platforms to issue electronic invoices to buyers. Individuals live-streaming sales on social media are required to verify their accounts with personal ID numbers to be allowed to post, comment, and live-stream.

The e-portal, officially launched on December 19, 2024, provides a convenient channel for business households and individuals to register, declare, and pay taxes.

Regarding the building of the e-commerce database, in 2024, the General Department of Taxation worked with six major e-commerce platforms — Shopee, Tiki, Lazada, Sendo, TikTok, and Grab — to ensure accurate and complete data sharing. So far, they’ve collected data from 439 platforms. The total number of transactions reached 40 billion, with a total value of 366 trillion VND.

Additionally, the tax department is gathering data from logistics providers and foreign-based digital platform operators in Vietnam to enrich its e-commerce database.

In 2024, tax authorities handled 33,003 violations involving 736 enterprises and 32,267 individuals, resulting in tax arrears and penalties totaling nearly 1.4 trillion VND.

The tax authorities have also strengthened data-sharing efforts with other ministries, notably the Ministry of Industry and Trade, providing information on 929 websites and 284 e-commerce service applications. Local tax agencies have been instructed to verify and monitor the operation of these platforms to ensure compliance with tax regulations.

The MoF plans to propose amendments to the Law on Tax Administration, the E-Commerce Law, and related regulatory documents. The revisions aim to require logistics service providers and e-commerce platform operators to share information on businesses and individuals engaged in online trading while tightening legal measures against e-commerce platforms that violate regulations.

It also aims to strengthen its e-commerce database and implement AI-powered risk management models to process big data and identify high-risk tax cases.