More AI will be used to identify tax fraud: Vietnam Minister of Finance

More artificial intelligence (AI) will be used to detect tax fraud and verify income of organizations and individuals that arises from digital platforms, said Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang.

The Ministry of Finance will propose amending the Law on Tax Administration and the Law on Personal Income Tax, aiming for a new model of tax administration that is simple, transparent, and easy to implement, he told the National Assemly's Q&A session on Thursday.

In the first five months of the year, tax collection from e-commerce surged by 55% to over VND75,000 billion ($2.87 billion), ministerial data shows.

Parliament member Nguyen Huu Thong, representing Binh Thuan province, commented that prevalent tax fraud on e-commerce is affecting tax collection and creating unfair competition.

In response, Thang said that his ministry has tightened up tax management on digital platforms and e-commerce, such as issuing regulations on electronic invoices and responsibilities of e-commerce platforms in tax deduction and payment.

The ministry also operates an electronic portal for tax declaration and payment. It is applying information technology and AI in tax administration on e-commerce.

Currently, there are 158 foreign suppliers declaring and paying taxes via the portal to the tune of VND23,000 billion ($880.3 million), according to the minister.

The Government on June 9 issued Decree No. 117/2025/NĐ-CP, regulating tax management on business activities on e-commerce platforms and digital platforms of households and individuals, effective from July 1.

Accordingly, organizations managing domestic and foreign e-commerce platforms that are subject to deduction and payment of tax on behalf of households and individuals will have to pay tax on each transaction that generates revenue.

Vietnam's retail e-commerce market was estimated to top $25 billion in 2024, up 20% year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Tax revenue from e-commerce activities surged 20% year-on-year to VND116 trillion ($4.56 billion).