Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Finance and Budget, Le Quang Manh, speaks at a meeting on June 18, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Phuong
Lawmakers proposed imposing value-added tax on 5 million cross-border orders arriving from China each day, each worth less than VND1 million (US$39).
Le Quang Manh, chairman of the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee, said at a meeting on Monday that many countries impose taxes on low-value goods imported through e-commerce platforms to ensure a level playing field for domestic businesses.
“The government should expand taxation to include more sources of revenue.”
There is no tax on goods worth VND1 million delivered via shipping services.
But Mann said he wanted to change the government's 2010 decision, saying up to five million orders were being shipped across the border. According to data for 2023 from shipping services company VNPT, daily cargo volumes are often worth between VND100,000 and VND300,000.
The number of such products used to be low, but has now skyrocketed thanks to the boom in e-commerce, he said.
He added that the value of goods shipped through e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Lazada and TikTok is estimated at $45 million to $63 million per day, or $1.3 billion to $1.9 billion per month.
Nguyen Manh Hung, member of the National Assembly's economic committee, also said a “huge number” of items priced below VND1 million were exempt from duty.
He said his two teenage children place between seven and 10 orders a day.
“The amount is extremely large even when viewed nationwide.”
He called for imposing a value-added tax on imports from China and Thailand to add a “sustainable source of revenue” to government coffers.
Finance Minister Ho Duc Phuoc said some countries had abolished tax incentives for low-value goods.
For example, the EU has removed a VAT exemption for goods costing less than 22 euros ($23.6), he said.
Thailand imposes a 7 percent value-added tax on all imported goods regardless of value, he added.
