This is one of the new regulations stipulated in the Government’s newly issued Decree 91, which amends and supplements Decree 126, and guides the implementation of the Law on Tax Management.

Under Decree 91, ecommerce platform operators are responsible for providing seller information on a quarter basis, including their name, tax code, ID, address, phone number and revenue to the tax authority. They can submit the information on the last day of the first month in the following quarter at the latest via the General Department of Taxation portal.

According to the new decree, ecommerce platforms active in Vietnam, such as Shopee, Tiki and Lazada, will not have to pay taxes on behalf of sellers as previously planned.

Last year, the Ministry of Finance proposed that all ecommerce platforms would have to pay taxes on behalf of sellers to prevent tax losses, but the proposal was opposed by many people in the field.

The Vietnam E-commerce Association disagreed with the ministry on the proposal, voicing its concern that ecommerce platform operators could be unable to declare and pay taxes on behalf of sellers. Besides, this would hike their operating costs if they have to follow the tax authority’s requirements.

After garnering feedback from stakeholders, the Finance Ministry divided ecommerce platforms into two types: one allowing shoppers to place orders online and the other not allowing shoppers. Then, the ministry proposed platforms allowing online ordering such as Shopee, Tiki and Lazada make tax declarations and payments on behalf of sellers.

Source: Saigon Times