A livestream sales session on TikTok. — thesaigontimes.vn
HANOI: The rapid development of e-commerce in recent years has created major opportunities for millions of household businesses and small enterprises across Vietnam.
Along with this growth potential come mounting pressures related to operating costs, intense price competition and increasingly stringent legal compliance requirements.
As the market moves towards greater standardisation, timely adaptation to new tax policies, infrastructure fees and seller data management has become essential to sustaining long-term business viability.
Deputy head of communications at the Vietnam E-commerce Association Nguyen Manh Tan has advised sellers to proactively implement three key measures to maintain operational effectiveness from July 1, when new tax and e-commerce infrastructure regulations officially took effect.
According to Tan, first and foremost, sellers should gain a clear understanding of their actual business performance by regularly reconciling all financial records, including the exact amounts received into their bank accounts, total operating expenses (covering all platform fees and taxes) and final post-tax profit.
Regular checks will provide transparency and enable sellers to quickly detect any cost fluctuations, allowing them to make informed decisions in line with their financial capacity.
Second, he recommended adjusting product portfolios to increase the proportion of higher-margin items. For products priced above VNĐ250,000 (US$9.56), the impact of the new tax and fee structure is relatively moderate, whereas lower-priced items under VNĐ150,000 are more vulnerable to profit erosion.
While many sellers have opted to raise retail prices to offset costs, this strategy risks alienating customers. Instead, sellers should prioritise expanding into product lines with healthier margins and negotiate more favourable sourcing terms to protect profitability.
Third, Tan stressed the importance of developing multi-channel sales strategies to diversify revenue streams and strengthen control over customer data. Proactively re-engaging existing customers through direct channels outside of e-commerce platforms can help sellers improve profit margins and retain better control of customer service.
In parallel with seller preparations, major e-commerce platforms have launched initiatives to support their seller communities in understanding and complying with the new tax regulations.
A Shopee representative said the platform had proactively served as a bridge between tax authorities and sellers, using a combination of in-person workshops, online seminars, video guides, analytical articles and targeted communication programmes.
Since mid-May, Shopee has required sellers to update identification details and tax codes to standardise the database in readiness for tax declaration and payment on their behalf.
The Shopee representative emphasised: “We will always stand alongside sellers, ready to answer any questions throughout this transition and implementation process to help everyone understand and comply fully.”
Similarly, TikTok Shop has issued detailed guidance and notifications, requiring sellers to declare their legal names, ID numbers and business types accurately to ensure proper withholding, declaration and payment of taxes.
The platform is also working with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to deliver training programmes for local businesses, small traders, key opinion leaders, key opinion consumers and young workers to enhance their understanding of legal and tax obligations in e-commerce.
Under the new regulations, from July 1, e-commerce platforms must officially declare, withhold and pay value-added tax (VAT) and personal income tax on behalf of individual sellers and household businesses.
Taxes will be withheld as soon as an order is confirmed and payment is received from the buyer. The applicable withholding rates are 1 per cent VAT and 0.5 per cent personal income tax on goods, and 5 per cent VAT and 2 per cent personal income tax on services.
In a market that is growing rapidly but remains fiercely competitive, combining the three strategies of cost management, product portfolio restructuring and multi-channel sales expansion, along with timely support from e-commerce platforms, is seen as crucial for sellers to maintain stable and sustainable operations in this new environment. — Vietnam News/ANN
