Cross-border E-commerce Vietnam

Overview

Cross-border e-commerce into Vietnam means selling to Vietnamese buyers from outside the country, shipping parcels directly or through a platform program. It is a low-cost way to test demand, and for years small parcels enjoyed tax advantages that made imports from China especially cheap. Those advantages have narrowed: since 18 February 2025 every express parcel pays import VAT, and a 2026 draft decree would also remove most of the import-duty exemption. This article explains the current rules, the platform routes, what drives landed cost, and when to move from cross-border to local stock. For the full step-by-step see the cross-border e-commerce guide.

Policy timeline

Officials framed the 2025 change as a fairness measure: low-value imports had been exempt from VAT while similar domestic goods were taxed. The General Department of Customs estimated that VAT on these imports could generate about VND 2.7 trillion (about US$105.6 million) a year. Estimates suggested up to five million small parcels a day were shipped from China to Vietnam through e-commerce platforms before the change, though that is an estimate rather than a customs statistic. Early enforcement faced practical challenges.

How landed cost works now

For a typical shipment, three layers add to the product price:

1. Import duty. Parcels worth more than VND 1,000,000 pay duty of 0% to 30% depending on the HS code. Parcels of VND 1,000,000 or less are still exempt from duty today, but not for long if the draft decree is adopted.
2. VAT. The standard rate is 10%, temporarily 8% on many goods until 31 December 2026. It applies to every express parcel, including low-value ones.
3. Shipping and platform fees. Freight, last-mile delivery, payment and platform commissions come on top.

Use the landed-cost calculator to model a specific product and the regulation tracker to check whether the duty rule has changed.

Platform routes

• Shopee. Cross-border seller accounts exist for sellers in many markets; the SIP program is invite-only and covers a few countries.
• Lazada. LazGlobal accepts sellers from Japan, South Korea and mainland China including Hong Kong.
• TikTok Shop. There is no simple ship-from-abroad program. Foreign brands generally need a Vietnamese business registration, a local partner or an agency.
• Own website or social selling. Possible, but a site with Vietnamese language or a .vn domain can make you a platform under the new E-Commerce Law, with registration and a resident representative. Customer data handling falls under the Personal Data Protection Law.

Programs and eligibility change often; confirm them in each platform’s seller center.

When to move to local stock

Cross-border works best for validating demand or for high-margin, low-volume niche products. Our guide gives a rule of thumb: many brands move to local 3PL stock or a 100% foreign-owned company once monthly sales reach about US$50,000 to US$100,000, because faster delivery, lower per-order shipping, easier returns and better conversion outweigh the setup cost. That is a rule of thumb, not a regulation, and the break-even depends on category and margin. VAT on every small parcel pulled that break-even point down.

A local entity brings its own rules: Decree 342/2026/NĐ-CP, effective 18 October 2026, sets Business Licence requirements for foreign-invested companies that import, distribute or retail goods, and the investment rules changed in 2026. See Vietnam digital business regulations.

Risks

• Rule changes. The duty exemption could shrink quickly, which would raise landed cost on small orders.
• Delivery time and returns. Cross-border parcels take longer and returns are costly, which hurts conversion against locally stocked competitors.
• Compliance by category. Cosmetics, supplements and food have product registration and labelling requirements. See the guides for each.
• Seller identity and tax. Platforms verify sellers’ identity, and tax treatment depends on whether you sell as a company or an individual.

Limits of the data

We found no public customs statistics on parcel volumes by platform after the 2025 change, so the effect on Temu, Shein or AliExpress shipments is not documented here. Parcel estimates come from press reports. Rates and thresholds in this article reflect the rules at the date above and the draft decree may change.

Sources

• Tuoi Tre: Vietnam considers tighter tax rules for low-value imports
• Vietnam News: VAT on express-imported goods under US$40
• ASEAN Briefing: Vietnam’s VAT on low-value imported goods, one month in
• Bloomberg Tax: Vietnam issues decision abolishing VAT exemption for certain imported goods
• DHL: Vietnam import tax and duties
• Vietnam regulation tracker