Vietnam Parliament Moves to Curb Tax Breaks Favouring E-Commerce Giants

TAX - HANOI. Vietnam's parliament on Tuesday approved changes to a tax law to require local operators of foreign e-commerce platforms to pay Value-Added Tax (VAT), while calling on the government to scrap a tax exemption for low-cost imported goods.

The move by legislators will be a blow to the foreign-dominated e-commerce industry, which has benefited from VAT exemption and rules in place since 2010 that stipulate imported goods worth under 1 million dong ($40) are free from duties.