If you have ever listed items on social media or a marketplace in Vietnam, you'll have a little more to do from July. The main provisions of the new e-commerce law, enacted on December 10, 2025, took effect on July 1, 2026, and sellers on platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, Tiki, and TikTok Shop are now required to verify their identity via the national digital ID "VNeID" (reported late June to July 2026). The anonymous listings that were once taken for granted are now banned, and sellers must disclose their name, address, and registration details under their real name. This directly affects Japanese people running online sales as a side business while living in Vietnam, and Japanese individuals running small retail operations locally, so we organize what changes and how from a practical standpoint.
What has changed—anonymous listings disappear
The pillar of the new e-commerce law is the "electronic identity verification" of sellers. Platforms must verify the identity of every domestic seller who sets up shop using VNeID (the national digital ID, sometimes called Vietnam's version of the My Number). Individual sellers must publish their name and residential address, and business entities their head-office location and business bases, exactly as registered with the state. Livestream commerce broadcasters (KOLs and KOCs) and people who introduce products through affiliates are also included among those whose identities platforms must verify.
Until now, it was normal to sell using only an account name, without showing your face or real name. Under the new rules, that anonymity is no longer institutionally permitted. For buyers, this brings the reassurance of seeing "who is selling," but for sellers it is a pressing change: unless you properly register your identity, your listings themselves could be halted.
Taxes consolidated into "platform withholding"
What you'll want to understand alongside identity verification is the change in how taxes are collected. This one started moving a step earlier, from July 1, 2025, under Decree 117/2025. E-commerce platforms with payment functions became obligated to withhold a set percentage of sales on each transaction on behalf of individual and household sellers and remit it to the state. The tax is deducted at the point when a transaction is completed and payment is confirmed.
The rate withheld splits by whether what you handle is "goods" or a "service." For goods, value-added tax (VAT) is 1% of sales and resident personal income tax (PIT) is 0.5%. For services, VAT is 5% and resident PIT is 2%. The amounts are not large, but for people who used to file on their own, the deposited amount is automatically shaved a little. Conversely, you could see it as the platform taking over part of the hassle of filing your tax return.
The numbers behind why authorities are serious
Why did the framework get built out so quickly all at once? Behind it lies the reality that tax revenue from e-commerce is surging. In the first five months of 2025, tax revenue from e-commerce and the digital sector reached 74.4 trillion dong (about 2.85 billion dollars), up 55% year on year. In this period alone, roughly 93,000 businesses and individuals were involved in paying taxes. The larger the market grows, the bigger the challenge of capturing transactions that slip through the tax net while staying anonymous, which is how the current form of running identity verification and withholding at once came about.
| Item | Details | Effective date |
|---|---|---|
| Identity verification via VNeID | Mandatory seller identity verification; anonymous listings banned | July 1, 2026 |
| Platform withholding | Withholding and remitting tax on each transaction | July 1, 2025 |
| Withholding rate for goods | VAT 1% + resident PIT 0.5% | From July 1, 2025 |
| Withholding rate for services | VAT 5% + resident PIT 2% | From July 1, 2025 |
| VAT exemption threshold | Annual sales under 500 million dong (about 29.5 million yen) are exempt | From January 1, 2026 |
What about small sellers—raising the exemption threshold
What affects the "just selling a little as a hobby" crowd is the change to the VAT exemption line. From January 1, 2026, the VAT exemption threshold for households and sole proprietors was raised from 200 million dong to 500 million dong (about 29.5 million yen) in annual sales. If annual sales are under 500 million dong, no VAT applies in principle. However, even below the exemption line, you still need to declare your sales, and the 2026 figures are to be declared by the end of January 2027.
One thing to note is that this raising of the exemption threshold and the platform's withholding are two separate matters. As long as you sell on a platform with a payment function, per-transaction withholding is applied even if your annual sales are below the exemption threshold. Since even small-scale sellers won't have "zero withholding," it helps to keep in mind the later reconciliation and confirmation of any overpaid amounts.
What residents and Japanese individuals should do now
This is where the practical core lies. There are three major things that people selling while living in Vietnam should do before the July enforcement.
First is getting your VNeID account in order. From July 2025, the old logins for the public services portal and the electronic tax system expired, and electronic ID registration via the VNeID app became the premise. Consolidating administrative procedures into VNeID is the current standard, and seller identity verification is an extension of this flow. Second is checking that your registered details match. If the name and address shown on the platform differ from what you registered with the state, you may be rejected at verification. Third is consolidating your payment account. Sellers are required to hold one official account for transactions, so if you run several accounts, it is safer to tidy them up.
The more the system is built out, the more the market becomes one where "who, where, and how much they sell" is visible. In Vietnam, where digital ID and electronic payment infrastructure keep advancing, such rule updates tend to connect directly to everyday practical life—for example,The return of health declarations on entryAs with the changes that add an extra step before departure and during your stay, this trend continues. On online sales too, if you get the "extra step" of identity registration done proactively, you can gain an edge in a more transparent market once anonymous sellers have left. For those buying across borders from Japan and selling locally, as with theA case of a long-established local shop expanding its market across bordersan attitude of steadily building trust through legitimate channels should count for even more than before.
Frequently asked questions
Is identity verification required even for just listing a few items on social media as an individual?
From July 1, 2026, domestic sellers on platforms with payment functions become subject to identity verification via VNeID, regardless of scale. Anonymous listings will no longer be allowed, so if you sell continuously even in small amounts, it is safer to register early.
How much tax is withheld?
For goods, the guideline is 1% VAT plus 0.5% resident PIT on sales per transaction; for services, 5% VAT plus 2% resident PIT. The platform deducts this when a transaction closes and pays it on your behalf. Rates differ for non-residents.
Does no tax apply if annual sales are small?
From 2026, the VAT exemption line was raised to under 500 million dong (about 29.5 million yen) in annual sales. However, even below the exemption line you must declare your sales, and the platform's per-transaction withholding is carried out separately from the exemption line.
Sources
Vietnam News: Platforms to help online sellers pay taxes from July 1
Viet An Law: Vietnam E-commerce Law 2025 – Key Regulations Taking Effect in 2026
Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam’s Tax Withholding Framework for E-Commerce Platforms
Vietnam News: Small businesses under VNĐ200 million VAT exemption (2026 update)
