The Vietnamese tax watchdog hopes to tax sellers based in foreign countries but operating e-commerce businesses in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Finance recently said the Law on Tax Management No 38/2019/QH14 stipulated that e-commerce businesses and digital-based businesses and other services provided by overseas suppliers without an entity in Vietnam must directly or authorise others to implement tax registration, declaration and payment in the country.

The ministry is compiling a circular to provide detailed instructions for this regulation which was recently made public for comments.

Overseas suppliers on e-commerce and digital platforms were new tax subjects that required detailed regulations to collect taxes efficiently, the ministry said.

Under the draft, overseas suppliers were asked to register for online tax transactions via the e-portal of the General Department of Taxation.

Overseas suppliers could register several banking accounts to pay taxes online.

After the first successful tax registration, overseas suppliers would be provided with a username and password to declare and pay taxes on the department’s e-portal.

Ten-digit tax codes would be provided for overseas suppliers and authorised agencies.

E-commerce has boomed in Vietnam in recent years, especially in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The department’s deputy director-general Dang Ngoc Minh said a number of new tax regulations that will take effect this year are expected to contribute to preventing tax avoidance, especially in e-commerce and digital-based businesses.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s report showed about 53 per cent of the population did online shopping made e-commerce to expand at 18 per cent in 2020 to reach a $11.8 billion market.

E-commerce revenue was estimated to account for 5.5 per cent of the total retail sales of goods and services.

VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK