Vietnam to block customs clearance for purchases on unregistered online platforms

The General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) has requested local customs authorities not clear shipments purchased via cross-border shopping platforms that have yet to register with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

In its dispatch, GDVC, under the finance ministry, directed local customs officers to refuse clearance for any goods lacking information about the e-commerce website or platform where they were purchased. Shipments that have all required documentation but come from unregistered platforms will also be denied entry.

Customs agencies have been ordered to step up inspections and handle cases where goods are split into smaller packages or misdeclared to avoid inspection or evade taxes.

They are also tasked with monitoring warehouses used by express delivery companies to hold goods awaiting clearance. These warehouses could face shutdown or have their licenses revoked if they fail to meet customs requirements.

The move comes amid growing concerns over cross-border e-commerce platforms selling low-cost products in Vietnam without proper licenses. Authorities have flagged this as a regulatory gap that poses risks of counterfeit goods, low-quality products, and tax evasion.

On October 24, the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s (MoIT) Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency confirmed that Temu, a popular online marketplace, is in the process of registering for its operations in Vietnam. However, as of November 8, the ministry's database still had not updated the registration status for Temu or other platforms like Shein and 1688.

Under current regulations, cross-border e-commerce platforms that bear a Vietnamese domain, offer content in Vietnamese, or generate more than 100,000 transactions annually from Vietnam must register with the MoIT.

Despite this, Temu, owned by China’s PDD Holding, has allowed users in Vietnam to download its app, and make purchases and payments on its Vietnamese version, without completing the necessary registration process. Other platforms, including Shein and 1688, are also operating in Vietnam without licenses.

In a related move, Deputy MoIT Minister Nguyen Hoang Long said at a government press meeting on Saturday that his ministry had requested unlicensed cross-border e-commmerce platforms like Temu and Shein to halt all operations and marketing in Vietnam until they secure a license.

According to the state-run Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), as of March 2023, around 4-5 million small-value orders (under VND1 million or $40) were being shipped daily from China to Vietnam via e-commerce platforms.

This means an estimated $45-63 million worth of goods per day were exempt from import duties and VAT per a 2010 government decision.

Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc said that the government plans to eliminate the tax exemption for low-value goods, which has been exploited by platforms like Temu and Shein to flood the Vietnamese market with low-priced products. Further action will be taken against those failing to comply with local laws, he noted.

The Ministry of Finance also confirmed it will remove the VAT exemption for goods under VND1 million via e-commerce platforms as part of the ongoing revision of the Law on Value Added Tax. This move aims to curb tax losses from the booming cross-border e-commerce sector.

According to Nguyen Van Thanh, director of the MoIT’s E-Commerce Development Center, Vietnam ranked third in Southeast Asia in terms of e-commerce investment and development.

E-commerce in Vietnam has been growing at a rate of 20-30% annually over the past seven years. While the country’s total export turnover reached approximately $350 billion in 2023, e-commerce accounted for just $5-6 billion, he added.