Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - E-commerce platforms must be electronically connectedwith tax management agencies from the beginning of next year, not from nextmonth, as the tax watchdog aims to better collect taxes from sellers operating onthe platforms.

The deadline delay was part of a roadmap recently issued by the GeneralDepartment of Taxation to implement Circular No 40/2021/TT-BTC issued on June 1and taking effect from the beginning of August about value-added tax, personalincome tax and tax management of individual sellers.

Under the circular, e-commerce platforms would be responsible for sellers' taxdeclarations and payments, provisions that have received complaints about theirreasonableness and consistency with established tax regulations.

The circular also dictated that e-commerce platforms must provide informationon sellers, including revenue, banking accounts and products, to tax managementagencies to aid tax collection.

Some have complained that this regulation would cause great difficulties fore-commerce platforms.

According to the Vietnam e-Commerce Association, e-commerce platforms onlyprovide technology infrastructure to connect sellers and buyers and helpthem conduct transactions. E-commerce platforms do not pay the sellers,meaning e-commerce platforms are not responsible for declaring and paying taxeson behalf of the sellers.

Some regulations were infeasible and could have large impactson e-commerce platforms and thousands of sellers, the association said.

Dau Anh Tuan, head of the legal department under the Vietnam Chamber ofCommerce and Industry, said the regulation could be a burden on therapidly-developing e-commerce sector with huge potential in Vietnam.

Implementing this regulation would increase costs for e-commerceplatforms, Tuan said.

He said that under the Law on Personal Income Tax, organisations andindividuals were responsible for declaring and paying their own taxes. Askinge-commerce platforms to declare and pay taxes on behalf of the sellers could beinconsistent, he said.

Vietnam's e-commerce market is developing rapidly and grew by 15 percentin 2020 to a value of 3.2 billion USD, the highest in Southeast Asia.

The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a golden opportunity for e-commerce platformdevelopment, however, many organisations and individuals have notfulfilled their tax obligations despite their huge online revenue.

In response to the complaints, the General Department of Taxation said that theregulation would be implemented following a roadmap, not from the beginning ofAugust when the circular came into force.

From now to August 1, the General Department of Taxation will work with theMinistry of Industry and Trade to survey several e-commerce platforms toprepare a data format and collect opinions from e-commerce platforms.

From August 1 to October 1, the General Department of Taxation will propose astandard data format for information connectivity.

From October 1, 2021, to January 1, 2022, the General Department of Taxationand e-commerce platforms will carry out upgrades to ensure smooth electronicinformation connectivity.

From the beginning of next year, e-commerce platforms will be electronicallyconnected with tax management agencies./.