The Ministry of Science and Technology is finalizing a draft amended Postal Law, which is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and passage at the second session of the 16th National Assembly in October 2026.
Service classification is not based on names
According to a report by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the postal market has changed rapidly after more than a decade of implementing the 2010 Postal Law. In 2025, Vietnam's postal-item volume reached about 4.1 billion items, more than 12 times the 2010 figure, while postal service revenue reached about VND87,000 billion (US$3.48 billion).
Notably, more than 90 percent of the current volume consists of packages and parcels containing goods, indicating that postal services have become an important link in e-commerce and the digital economy.
This growth has brought about various business models and names, including “express delivery,” “economical delivery”, “technology-based delivery” and platform-based delivery. However, a commercial name cannot serve as the basis for determining whether an activity falls within the scope of postal legislation.
Under the approach set out in Article 5 of the draft amended Postal Law, postal services must be identified based on the nature and characteristics of the activity. First, the activity must be carried out on a postal network, operate continuously and include a commitment to service quality. Postal items must be processed individually, assigned identifiers and made trackable throughout the process. They must also be delivered to an address or receiving location as agreed upon, including delivery to the final recipient.
Identification, monitoring and tracking are not the sole criteria but must be considered together with other characteristics. Therefore, a warehouse equipped with barcode labels or a transport company using journey-tracking software does not automatically qualify as a postal service.
A clear legal framework will help businesses determine exactly what type of service they provide, what obligations they must fulfill, and how they can organize and operate their networks.
More importantly, such clarity will help mitigate two key risks: overlapping regulations that increase compliance costs and regulatory gaps that create an uneven competitive landscape.
Postal law draft expands postal network definition to boost logistics innovation
Another new provision is found in Article 9 of the draft, which modernizes the concept of a “postal network” to reflect how the industry operates today. Under the draft, a postal network may include processing and sorting systems; transit points; warehouses and facilities for storing postal items; and information systems supporting network operations, including routing, management and tracking software.
This is particularly significant as automated sorting centers, storage and distribution warehouses, and data management systems have become indispensable parts of the e-commerce supply chain.
In addition, Clause 2 of Article 9 allows businesses to own, lease or cooperate in establishing and operating one, several or all components of a postal network. This provides an important legal basis for optimized business models. Businesses would not necessarily have to own all infrastructure themselves; they could lease warehouses, cooperate in operating sorting facilities, franchise operations or work with technology-based delivery providers. This approach is consistent with market realities while creating greater room for businesses to innovate their business models, mobilize resources and optimize investment costs.
The postal market now sits at the intersection of digital infrastructure, e-commerce, logistics and the data economy. Therefore, the aim of amending the Postal Law is to clearly define the regulatory boundaries so that these sectors can develop alongside one another.
In the digital economy, postal services are no longer simply about letters and delivery vehicles. They are a network connecting data, goods and consumers. The proposed amendments would also create more room for innovation and competition and for mobilizing resources to develop modern postal and logistics infrastructure.
