Recently, public opinion has been interested in information about the management of cross-border e-commerce platforms operating in Vietnam.

Regarding this issue, the General Department of Taxation (Ministry of Finance) affirmed that, according to Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP dated May 16, 2013 of the Government on e-commerce (amended and supplemented by Decree No. 85/2021/ND-CP), e-commerce platform business activities are activities that must be licensed and subject to state management by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Tax management for e-commerce and digital platform business activities is managed by tax authorities according to the provisions of the Law on Tax Administration and Circular No. 80/2021/TT-BTC.

Accordingly, e-commerce floor managers are responsible for registering, self-calculating, self-declaring, and self-paying taxes directly through the General Department of Taxation's Electronic Information Portal (the General Department of Taxation has deployed the Electronic Information Portal for foreign suppliers (NCCNN) since 2022).

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For cross-border e-commerce business activities on digital platforms, if NCCNN generates revenue in Vietnam but has not yet registered for tax, the tax authority will review and take appropriate measures to ensure effective, transparent and fair tax management for traditional business activities.

In case the NCCNN declares incorrect revenue, the tax authority will compare data to determine the revenue and request the NCCNN to fulfill its obligations and conduct inspections and checks according to regulations if there are signs of fraud or tax evasion.

The General Department of Taxation added that cross-border e-commerce is a new activity in Vietnam, with many different characteristics compared to traditional business activities.

To ensure effective management of this activity, the General Department of Taxation has promptly researched and advised competent authorities to issue legal basis and deploy the operation of the General Department of Taxation's Electronic Information Portal.

Currently, the General Department of Taxation has been and is continuing to assess the practical situation of tax management for foreign-invested enterprises and refer to international experience to continue to perfect the draft Law on Tax Management, Law on amending and supplementing a number of laws, Law on Value Added Tax, Law on Corporate Income Tax, Decree amending and supplementing Decree No. 123/ND-CP on invoices to manage taxes for this activity to ensure effective tax management, correct and sufficient tax collection for foreign-invested enterprises when doing business in Vietnam.

Quoc Tuan