Vietnamese ministry proposes tax exemption for e-com imports under $78

The draft decree on customs management for e-commerce goods is now open for public comment.

Under the proposed regulations, goods in group 1 will be exempt from import tax if the customs value of each order does not exceed VND 2 million ($78).

However, each organisation or individual can only benefit from this exemption for up to VND 96 million per year. If an order’s customs value exceeds VND 2 million—or if the total value exceeds the annual exemption limit—import tax must be paid on the entire order.

A key change in the draft is the removal of any exemption for orders above VND 2 million, even when the total tax due would be less than VND 0.2 million. Additionally, the draft simplifies the classification of imported goods by reducing the number of groups from three to two.

Group 1 covers goods that do not require a licence or specific conditions under the Foreign Trade Management Law and are not subject to specialised inspections. These goods are exempt from licensing and other conditions, with a single preferential tax rate applied.

Group 2 includes goods that require licences, conditions or specialised inspections, and these are subject to varying tax rates based on their classification.

This method, based on international practices and risk levels, will improve management efficiency, the ministry was cited as saying by a domestic news agency. The aim is simplify the work of customs officials in classifying goods, declaring customs values and monitoring exemption quotas.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)