A customs officer during an inspection of an e-commerce business in Nam Từ Liêm District, Hà Nội. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI - The Ministry of Finance is proposing new regulations to exempt certain imported goods purchased through e-commerce from import tax. A draft decree on customs management for goods traded via e-commerce is now open for public comment on several key provisions.

Under the proposed regulations, goods in Group 1 will be exempt from import tax if the customs value of each order does not exceed VNĐ2,000,000 (around US$78). However, each organisation or individual can only benefit from this exemption for up to VNĐ96,000,000 per year. If an order’s customs value exceeds VNĐ2,000,000—or if the total value exceeds the annual exemption limit—import tax must be paid on the entire order.

A notable change in this draft is the removal of any exemption for orders above VNĐ2,000,000, even when the total tax due would be less than VNĐ200,000. Additionally, the draft simplifies the classification of imported goods by reducing the number of groups from three to two.

Group 1 covers goods that do not require a licence or specific conditions under the Foreign Trade Management Law and are not subject to specialised inspections. These goods are exempt from licensing and other conditions, with a single preferential tax rate applied. Meanwhile, Group 2 includes goods that require licences, conditions or specialised inspections, and these are subject to varying tax rates based on their classification.

The ministry said that this grouping method, based on international practices and risk levels, will improve management efficiency. It is intended to simplify the work of customs officials in classifying goods, declaring customs values and monitoring exemption quotas.

Previously, the Ministry had proposed that goods imported via e-commerce be exempt from import tax if each order’s customs value was up to VNĐ2,000,000 or if, for orders above that threshold, the total tax payable was less than VNĐ200,000. In all cases, however, the annual exemption for each purchaser would be capped at VNĐ96,000,000. VNS