The General Department of Taxation (GDT) on December 15 officially operated its e-commerce information portal and launched electronic invoices from cash register.

The maximum loan provided by the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to economic organizations lawfully established and operating in difficulty-hit areas would be lifted to VND 1 billion (USD 42,800) from the current VND 500 million (USD 21,400).

Fintech is the combination of two factors: Finance and Technology. For the time being, there is no official or legal definition of Fintech. It should be noted that how Fintech is defined hinges upon the specific contexts and different approaches. However, the common denominator in most definitions is the application of technologies to enhance financial services.

Starting from March 21, cross-border e-commerce platforms may send in their tax forms via a new e-portal at http://etaxvn.gdt.gov.vn or Etax Mobile app under the management of the Ministry of Finance.

The Trade Promotion Agency and Alibaba.com jointly organized a conference on March 18 to discuss the export of goods through the e-commerce platform and inaugurate the Vietnam Pavillion on Alibaba.com.

A seminar on technical assistance for Vietnamese female entrepreneurs engaging in cross-border e-commerce was held on January 21 within the framework of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

The number of criminal cases showing signs of money laundering in Vietnam is on a rapid increase, reaching over 11,000 cases per year on average. In some cases, the appropriated money amount mounts to trillions of Vietnam dong. Every day, the Anti-Money Laundering Department of the State Bank of Vietnam receives, analyzes and processes thousands of reports on suspicious transactions.

Customers who buy goods via international e-commerce platforms would not be required to pay import duty for goods valued at VND 1 million (USD 43.8) or under but each may enjoy duty exemption for at most one order per day and four orders per month.

More Vietnamese goods are available on foreign supermarket shelves but enterprises still need to overcome a number of challenges if they want to enhance their brand image. Online newspaper Hanoimoi.com.vn cited Makoto Nakamura, an international trade consultant at the Japan External Trade Organization as saying that when consuming food products, health and safety was the top priority of Japanese people and then the price.

By 2030, domestic trade will account for 15-15.5 percent of the national GDP, according to the strategy for domestic trade development through 2030, with a vision toward 2045.