At a seminar in Hanoi on July 20, the Government Information and Communications Department, in coordination with the General Department of Taxation under the Ministry of Finance and other agencies, discussed key regulations for implementing new tax policies, focusing on taxes and electronic invoices in e-commerce and multi-channel sales.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Director Mai Son of the General Department of Taxation said digital applications such as eTax Mobile, the automated personal income tax refund system, and other online services are making it easier for businesses and household businesses to fulfill their tax obligations more quickly and efficiently. However, he acknowledged that difficulties are unavoidable during the initial transition from traditional practices to the new system.
In the coming period, the tax sector will make more effective use of existing data, including business owner identification, addresses, electronic invoices, and cashless payment information, to generate suggested tax declarations, reducing the need for taxpayers to complete filings manually.
Deputy Director Mai Son said the General Department of Taxation has also begun integrating AI chatbots into applications such as eTax Mobile to help businesses and household businesses check information, including outstanding tax obligations and whether they are subject to exit bans. In the longer term, the tax authority will introduce suggested tax declaration models to minimize manual procedures and reduce repeated data entry by taxpayers.
According to the Deputy Director of the General Department of Taxation, household businesses with annual revenue below the prescribed threshold of VND1 billion are currently not required to use electronic invoices. He said the regulation should be properly understood to avoid the misconception that all household businesses must issue invoices for every sale. The requirement to issue invoices for the sale of goods and the provision of services applies only to businesses, household businesses, and individual business operators that are legally required to use electronic invoices.
Addressing concerns from many household businesses about issuing invoices for canceled orders or returned goods, Deputy Director Mai Son said electronic invoices are not required for transactions that have not been confirmed as completed. Sellers are required to issue invoices only after a transaction has been finalized. He said this is a new policy designed to facilitate business activities on e-commerce platforms and reduce administrative burdens for household businesses and individual business operators.
Another issue that drew particular attention was tax obligations for individuals earning income through online platforms, including freelancers, affiliate marketers, KOLs, KOCs, content creators, livestream sellers, and providers of digital services. These groups continue to face uncertainty in determining their tax obligations.
Nguyen Thi Lan Anh, head of the Legal Affairs Division at the Tax Department, said household businesses and individual business operators conducting business through e-commerce platforms must clearly determine which income falls within the scope of digital platform-based e-commerce and similar business activities. KOLs, KOCs, affiliate marketers, freelancers, and digital content creators must determine their revenue and assess, based on contracts, the rights and obligations of the parties, and the organization of their activities, whether their income is derived from business operations or from wages and salaries.
General Director Mai Xuan Thanh of the the General Department of Taxation stressed that the tax authority will firmly prevent and strictly handle any acts of harassment, misconduct, or abuse of authority by tax officials in dealing with citizens and businesses.
