Foreign traders and organizations that set up websites with Vietnamese domain names or in Vietnamese language or establish e-commerce trading floors with 100,000 transactions per year from Vietnam would have to register e-commerce activities with competent agencies.
It is one of two options proposed by the MOIT in a draft decree revising Decree 52 of 2013 on e-commerce.
As per the second option, no fixed thresholds on the number of transactions, visits or orders from Vietnam would be set up for e-commerce trading floor. Instead, the MOIT would base itself on the development of e-commerce in each period to coordinate with relevant agencies to issue appropriate regulations.
However, whichever option is selected, there would also be three grounds for state management agencies to calculate the number of transactions, visits or orders from Vietnam, i.e. data provided by organizations and individuals engaged in cross-border e-commerce activities in Vietnam; information collected from related state agencies such as customs offices, tax offices, Internet regulators and banks; information from public and prestigious sources.
In addition, the draft states that foreign traders and organizations selling goods must comply with Vietnam’s regulations on operation of e-commerce trading floors.
Owners of e-commerce trading floors would have to verify the identity of foreign sellers when allowing them to join their floors. If foreign sellers are not present in Vietnam, floor owners would request foreign sellers to exercise the right to import and export in accordance with law; carry out import under the entrustment of buyers for goods sold by foreign sellers; or require foreign seller to appoint commercial agents in the country.
The draft also emphasizes that the provision of e-commerce services is a sector subject to conditional market access for foreign investors.
Accordingly, foreign investors wishing to invest in e-commerce activities in Vietnam must be on the list of global reputable technology companies engaged in the e-commerce sector. The list would be periodically released by the MOIT with reference to publications of specialized organizations, international news agencies and prestigious press.
Besides, foreign investors dominating one or more enterprise(s) in the group of five enterprises with dominant position in the e-commerce service market would have to obtain appraisal opinions from the Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Public Security. Companies having under 10 percent of market share on the related market would not be included in the group of top five e-commerce enterprises. Assessment of the dominant factor and the dominant market position would be based on current regulations on competition, enterprises and other related laws.- (VLLF)
