Imported goods to be sent via express delivery services valued at VND1 million (over $39) or less will no longer be exempt from import tax and value-added tax, as from February 18, accrding to Prime Ministerial Decision No. 01/2025/QD-TTg (Decision 01), signed by Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc on January 3.

Decision 01 abolishes entirely Decision No. 78/2010/QD-TTg (Decision 78), dated November 30, 2010, which set the value threshold for tax exemption on imported goods sent via express delivery services.

Under Decision 78,  imported goods sent via express delivery services with a value of VND1 million or less were exempt from import tax and value-added tax.

According to the Ministry of Finance, when Decision 78 was issued,  customs supervision was manually conducted. The tax exemption policy helped reduce administrative procedures, expedite customs clearance, and decrease the number of goods subject to tax declaration and payment.

However, this policy is no longer suitable due to the rapid growth of e-commerce globally and in Vietnam in recent years, the ministry said. It reported that approximately 4-5 million small-value orders are shipped from China to Vietnam daily through e-commerce platforms.

Some opinions suggest that while domestically produced goods of the same type are still subject to value-added tax, exempting low-value imported goods from value-added tax has created price discrepancies, leading to unfair competition with domestically produced goods.

This situation has adversely affected the production and consumption of goods within the country.