Online sellers were surprised because they were charged hundreds of millions in tax arrears

On the morning of April 24, the Vietnam E-commerce Panorama Forum 2024 (VOBF 2024) took place at Van Lang University in Ho Chi Minh City. Event organized by the Association Ecommerce Vietnam (VECOM) organized.

E-commerce is a bright economic segment

Speaking at the forum, Ms. Lai Viet Anh, Deputy Director of the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy, Ministry of Industry and Trade, assessed e-commerce in 2023-2024, continuing to be a bright area in an economic picture that still has many negative tones.

With a growth rate of 25% compared to 2022, reaching 25 billion USD, with the scale of online retail sales reaching 17.3 billion USD, much higher than the overall picture of the economy. Therefore, according to Ms. Lai Viet Anh, in the period 2024-2025, e-commerce will continue to develop strongly.

However, in reality, leaders of the Department of E-Commerce and Architects as well as VECOM point out that the rate of waste, especially plastic waste, from this industry is becoming rapid.

According to a study conducted within the framework of the Project on Reducing Ocean Plastic Waste in Vietnam, by 2023 our country’s e-commerce will have used 170,000 tons of packaging and plastic materials of all kinds. This number is expected to continue to grow rapidly in line with the growth of the online market.

“This puts a lot of pressure on the environment as well as sustainable economic growth, aiming to reduce Vietnam’s emissions. Therefore, e-commerce in the current period needs to focus on stable growth. stable and sustainable.

Currently, the E-Commerce Department and Architects are advising and submitting to the management agency the overall e-commerce development plan for the next 5 years, with a focus on sustainable e-commerce. In particular, emphasis is placed on green, healthy factors, positive and stable development, based on technology application, using high quality resources…” – Ms. Anh said.

Tax shortcomings in online business

Along with efforts to transform sales methods, according to conference experts, tax and e-commerce legal issues also need to be promoted.

Mr. Tran Minh Hiep, senior consultant at VECOM Legal Consulting Center, cited an example: a few days ago, his unit encountered a case where a retailer was a mother doing online business on the floor. for four years. Recently, the tax agency sent a notice about tax arrears amounting to hundreds of millions of dong.

“This retailer was surprised to pay taxes in online business. This shows that current business awareness does not have much about taxes, thinking that online business just needs to go to the floor and issue an application” – Mr. Hiep question.

From a legal consulting perspective, Mr. Hiep pointed out six notes on legal issues and online business, so that sellers and businesses can develop sustainably in this industry.

First, the seller needs to professionalize the conditions and procedures for entering the market. In which, the seller must establish a business trader. Next, it is necessary to ensure the legal source of goods, comply with sub-licenses on CO, CQ…, secondary labels and other documents.

At the same time, sellers also need to pay attention to intellectual property rights protection, meet business conditions for conditional goods, and not sell or store prohibited products or industries, even if they sell run anywhere.

Second, the seller needs to professionalize the origin of goods and origin. According to Mr. Hiep, currently the tax industry is carefully checking the product’s input invoices, so sellers should not think of buying fake invoices and be wary of smuggled goods and counterfeit goods…

Third, online businesses need to take measures to list and disclose information such as complaint handling channels, consulting… This is a factor in gaining consumer trust.

Fourth, the seller needs to have professional policies on transportation, preservation, and traceability mechanisms.

Fifth, in order for sales on Shopee, Tiki, or Lazada,… to be sustainable, the seller needs to determine to fulfill all tax obligations.

Sixth, have community responsibility such as contributing to green development, reducing emissions…