From August 1, Imported Goods Worth Less Than VND1 Million Will Be Subject to Automatic VAT Collection
The Customs Department has just announced the implementation of Circular 29/2025 regulating the automatic collection of value-added tax (VAT) for low-value goods imported via express delivery services. According to the new regulations, imported shipments worth less than VND1 million will be subject to the automatic VAT collection process via express delivery units.
Statistics from the authorities show that, previously, each day, about 4-5 million small-value orders (under VND1 million) were transported from China to Vietnam via e-commerce platforms.
Previously, imported goods via express delivery with a value of less than VND1 million were exempt from both import tax and VAT. However, this VAT exemption policy was abolished from February 18, with goods under VND1 million still exempt from import tax but required to pay VAT.
During the policy implementation process, the problem arose that the customs system had not been updated to collect VAT for these low-value shipments. Therefore, customs authorities and businesses declared and collected taxes manually, which was time-consuming, labor-intensive and prone to errors.
Therefore, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular 29/2025 to create a legal and technical basis for automatic VAT collection on the customs system with the goal of modernizing, reducing administrative procedures and ensuring correct and sufficient tax collection for the state.
According to the plan, the pilot phase from July 9 to July 31 was applied to a number of businesses. After that, the Customs Department officially applied it to all express delivery businesses via all forms of air, road, and rail from August 1.
