'$50 million worth of goods crossing the border every day without paying tax is inappropriate'

In the first half of this year, about 50 million USD worth of small-value goods were imported tax-free every day, which experts say is inappropriate.

In the afternoon discussion on September 23 by Government Electronic Information Portal According to statistics from the Ministry of Information and Communications for the first half of the year on small goods moving across the border, each month there are about 1.3-1.9 billion USD worth of goods that do not have to pay taxes. tax.

"These goods are obviously a very large number when taxed. On average, about 50 million USD goes in and out of the Vietnamese market every day, but we completely exempt them. So the policy mechanism is not suitable," Mr. Thinh commented.

Shipper of a delivery company in Hanoi checks orders before delivering to customers, late January. Photo: Phuong Dung

Experts cite the fact that since January 2021, the European Union has abolished the tax exemption for goods valued under 22 euros, or in the UK, goods under 135 pounds are now subject to tax. Countries in the same region such as Thailand also impose a uniform tax on all incoming and outgoing goods at a rate of 7%. According to Mr. Thinh, regardless of size, if there are 4-5 million orders crossing the border every day, the loss is huge.

Therefore, experts believe that completing policy mechanisms is an immediate task and must be appropriate to each condition, in accordance with practice. In 2010, with Decision 78, the Government proposed not to collect taxes on small amounts under 1 million VND to ease the problem of customs clearance and inspection. But now with the digital economy, it only takes a second to have full information, so according to Mr. Thinh, there is no need to exempt as before.

Second, it is necessary to build a large database and data warehouse. This warehouse not only serves the tax authority to collect the correct and sufficient tax, but also serves to protect consumer rights as well as protect social security. Next is the application of technology to manage e-commerce activities appropriately and closely.

Propagating to businesses to proactively pay taxes correctly and sufficiently is also something that must be implemented. On that basis, even entities without legal entities in Vietnam, consumers still have the right to demand and force them to pay taxes to the Government.

"The combination of ministries, departments, and sectors, between propaganda, advertising, and people's awareness of e-commerce management and tax collection will be the basis for us to be able to manage e-commerce in a more appropriate and in-depth manner," Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh added.

Tax revenue from e-commerce increased steadily over the years, from 83,000 billion (2022), to 97,000 billion (2023) and in just the first 7 months of this year, it reached more than 78,000 billion VND. This strong increase comes not only from domestic enterprises, but also from international platforms such as Google, Facebook and Amazon.

In addition, the General Department of Taxation has proactively implemented many measures such as building a tax management database, coordinating with ministries and sectors in sharing data and connecting with People's Committees of provinces and cities. In particular, databases from sectors such as banking and telecommunications have been synchronized, helping tax management and collection to be more effective. However, e-commerce, with its flexibility and cross-border transactions, still poses new challenges.

Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Trong Thinh (sitting in the middle) and Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Anh - Director of the Department of Tax Management for Small and Medium Enterprises, Business Households and Individuals under the General Department of Taxation (sitting on the right) at the discussion this afternoon. Photo: VGP

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Anh - Director of the Department of Tax Management for Small and Medium Enterprises and Business Households and Individuals General Department of Taxation - said that the Ministry of Finance is also submitting to the Government to amend Decree 12, in which it is proposed that organizations, individuals, and business households can authorize e-commerce platforms so that these platforms can issue invoices on their behalf. Through this solution, all e-commerce transactions, regardless of size or value, will be fully invoiced.

Issuing complete invoices will support tax management, revenue management and management of whether transactions are legal or not. On the other hand, this also helps sellers prove the origin of goods. According to Ms. Lan Anh, at that time, goods in the Vietnamese market can improve competitiveness, fight against counterfeit, fake and poor quality goods. In particular, this solution will protect the rights of consumers.

In addition to the invoice regulations, Ministry of Finance also submitted to the Government amendments and supplements to the Law on Value Added Tax. This agency proposed to remove the provision of VAT exemption for small retail goods.

"Not only Vietnam but all countries are paying attention to this and they also have similar proposals. The new draft law has included the above provisions to perfect the policy on e-commerce activities," said the Director.

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