Economic experts described this as a major shift in tax administration aimed at enhancing the efficiency of tax collection from the fast-growing online business sector, which still faces gaps in data transparency and tax declaration compliance.
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Starting July 1, e-marketplaces will officially begin withholding and paying value-added tax (VAT) and personal income tax (PIT) on behalf of individual sellers using their platforms. |
Mai Son, Deputy Director of the Department of Taxation under the Ministry of Finance (MoF), said under Decree 117, e-commerce platforms with payment functions are required to withhold, declare, and pay taxes on behalf of business individuals and households. While sellers must still issue invoices to customers, they will no longer need to declare or pay taxes on the revenue already withheld and paid for by the platform.
If a seller authorizes the platform to issue invoices, the e-commerce platform will be responsible for doing so in accordance with the regulations.
The amount of VAT and PIT to be withheld will be calculated as a percentage of the revenue from each sale of goods or services.
Experts believe that assigning e-marketplaces to handle tax withholding and payment simplifies tax obligations for sellers and improves tax management in the digital economy. It also helps level the playing field for traditional businesses, which were already required to fully declare and pay taxes.
MoF data shows that in the first five months of this year, tax revenue from organizations and individuals engaging in e-commerce and other digital business activities reached 74.4 trillion VND (2.85 billion USD), a 55% surge compared to the same period in 2024.
Among these, 158 foreign providers registered, declared, and paid taxes through the electronic tax portal, contributing 5.7 trillion VND in the first five months, up 41% year-on-year.
During the period, 100,000 business households and individuals registered, declared, and paid nearly 1.1 trillion VND in taxes via the portal for household and individual taxpayers. Meanwhile, nearly 93,000 organizations and individuals involved in e-commerce contributed 67.6 trillion VND in tax revenue.
Source: VNA