Temu, Shein will be blocked if business registration procedures are not completed within the month November 2024

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long. Photo: VGP

At the regular Government press conference on the afternoon of 9/11, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long said, Ministry Industry and Trade worked with representatives of cross-border e-commerce platforms Temu and Shein and requested that the business registration procedures be completed this November. In addition, the Ministry Industry and Trade also required Temu and Shein to officially notify Vietnamese consumers on the applications that they are registering to operate.

In the process of completing business procedures in Vietnam, e-commerce platforms Temu and Shein must stop advertising and marketing activities to protect consumer rights.

With these measures, the Ministry Industry and Trade also informed Temu and Shein to comply with Vietnamese laws after a series of warnings.

“If not complied with, the Ministry Industry and Trade will coordinate with authorities to implement technical measures such as blocking applications and blocking domain names," Mr. Long emphasized.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade also coordinates with Police Strengthen inspection, communication, and guidance for consumers about the risks of trading on unlicensed cross-border e-commerce platforms.

The set Industry and Trade reported to the Prime Minister to work with the Ministry of Justice to complete the legal framework for cross-border e-commerce activities.

Also at the press conference, Mr. Mai Son, Deputy General Director of the General Department of Taxation, said that according to current regulations, with domestic revenues, including revenues from e-commerce activities, on the basis of the Law on Tax Administration, cross-border e-commerce platform managers are responsible for self-calculating, self-declaring, and self-paying taxes directly through the General Department of Taxation's electronic information portal (which has been deployed since the month of March 2022). If the tax authority detects that foreign suppliers have not declared their revenue correctly, the tax authority will compare revenue data and request the foreign supplier to fulfill its tax obligations. Next, the tax authority will conduct inspections and checks according to regulations, if there are signs of tax fraud.

As of the end of October 2024, 116 foreign suppliers had registered to declare taxes via the electronic portal with VND 20.174 billion. Since the beginning of the year, revenue through the portal has reached VND 8.600 billion, an increase of 25,7% over the same period in 2023.

On September 4, 2024, the owner company of Temu platform in Vietnam has registered for tax through the electronic information portal for foreign suppliers of the General Department of Taxation and has been granted Tax Code 9000001289. According to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance, foreign suppliers will register to pay taxes quarterly. Currently, the owner company of Temu has declared tax for the third quarter of 2024, in which it declared revenue as 0 and provided an explanation. Revenue arising in October will be declared in the declaration for the fourth quarter of 10. The Ministry of Finance has directed the General Department of Taxation to urge the declaration of Temu's revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024 and submit it to January 30, 2025 according to the law.

The General Department of Taxation also closely coordinates with relevant agencies such as the Ministry of Finance. Industry and Trade in licensing cross-border e-commerce platforms to ensure timely and complete tax management.

The Ministry of Finance also reported to the Government to submit to the National Assembly to supplement the Law on Tax Administration, which stipulates that organizers of e-commerce platforms with payment functions (domestic and foreign) must be responsible for deducting and paying taxes on behalf of individual business households of the platform. When the Law is passed, the Ministry of Finance will issue specific guidance documents, together with the platforms, to guide tax declaration and payment, ensuring consistency and creating maximum conditions for e-commerce platforms and individuals doing business on the platforms.