Proposal to reduce tax exemption threshold to 100,000 VND
According to information from the Customs Department, on August 25, 2026, the Ministry of Finance issued Official Dispatch No. 13362/BTC-CST seeking opinions from relevant ministries, sectors, and associations on the draft Decree detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the Law on Export Tax and Import Tax.
One of the notable contents in the draft is the proposal to adjust and reduce the tax exemption rate for small value goods. According to the Customs Department, the policy is expected to directly affect e-commerce businesses, logistics, express delivery and related organizations and individuals.
According to current regulations, imported goods sent through postal services or express delivery with a customs value of 1 million VND or less or a tax amount payable of 100,000 VND or less are exempt from import tax.
If the customs value exceeds 1 million VND or the total tax payable is over 100,000 VND, the import tax is calculated for the entire shipment.
Meanwhile, for goods not falling under the above case, the current tax exemption threshold is the total customs value from 500,000 VND or less or the total amount of export and import tax payable from 50,000 VND or less for one export and import.
The Ministry of Finance proposes to amend Article 29 in the direction of applying a unified threshold. Goods with a total customs value of 100,000 VND or less or with a total amount of export and import tax payable from 10,000 VND or less for one export and import will be tax-exempt.
Notably, this regulation will be applied uniformly to both goods sent through postal services and express delivery.
Thus, if the proposal is approved, the value threshold for goods imported through post and express delivery that are exempt from import tax will be reduced from 1 million VND to 100,000 VND. The threshold for tax payable that is exempted will also be reduced from 100,000 VND to 10,000 VND.
For other goods within the scope of Article 29, the devaluation threshold is from 500,000 VND to 100,000 VND and the tax amount threshold is from 50,000 VND to 10,000 VND.
E-commerce grows rapidly, the volume of small value goods increases
According to the Customs Department, the adjustment was made in the context of strong cross-border e-commerce development, leading to a large number of small value shipments imported directly to consumers through post and express delivery.
Information from the E-commerce Association cited by the Customs Department shows that the scale of Vietnam's e-commerce retail market in 2024 is estimated at over 25 billion USD, an increase of about 20% compared to 2023. In 2025, the market reached about 31-38.5 billion USD, with a growth rate of 21-25.5%.
In the first half of 2026, the market continued to grow two-digit, at 19%.
The development of e-commerce platforms helps consumers easily buy goods from abroad, while significantly increasing the number of low-value import shipments.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the tax exemption policy for small value goods is intended to reduce management costs and facilitate trade. However, as the scale of transactions increases rapidly, this policy reveals some limitations such as creating advantages for imported goods compared to domestically produced goods, generating the risk of dividing orders to enjoy tax incentives and affecting management efficiency.
Ministry of Finance explains the proposed tax rate of 10,000 VND
In Vietnam, from the beginning of 2025, policies for small value goods have had a step of adjustment. On January 3, 2025, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 01/2025/QD-TTg abolishing Decision No. 78/2010/QD-TTg, thereby ending the value-added tax exemption policy for small value imported goods sent via express delivery services.
Up to now, the tax exemption policy for small value goods is still applied to import tax according to the Law on Export Tax and Import Tax.
According to the Customs Department, maintaining a tax exemption threshold is also related to Vietnam's obligations when participating in the revised Kyoto Convention on simplifying and harmonizing customs procedures. The Convention requires national law to stipulate a minimum level below which no tax is collected, but does not set a common threshold for all countries.
Based on management practices and international trends, the Ministry of Finance believes that export and import taxes should not be exempted for small-value goods. However, because Vietnam is a member of the Kyoto Convention and the current Export and Import Tax Law still stipulates tax exemption for this group of goods, the drafting agency proposes to continue to maintain but sharply reduce the tax exemption threshold.
The proposed tax level of 10,000 VND corresponds to the customs fee for exported and imported goods sent through express delivery and postal services according to Circular No. 86/2025/TT-BTC.
For the threshold of 100,000 VND, the Ministry of Finance said that the average preferential import tax rate is currently about 11.8%. The drafting agency takes the tax rate of 10% to calculate, accordingly, the tax amount of 10,000 VND corresponds to a customs value of about 100,000 VND.
