Cross-border e-commerce: Policies need catch up with the trend

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The meeting. Photo: N.L

On 23 April 2019, Deputy Director General of Vietnam Customs, Mai Xuan Thanh, chaired an online meeting with provincial and municipal Customs Departments on the scheme of managing e-commerce activities for import and export goods. A number of units under the Ministry of Finance and express delivery and postal enterprises attended the meeting.

Mr. Thanh said that the development of the scheme aims to facilitate the development of e-commerce activities. Currently, e-commerce is strongly developing aroundthe world. In Vietnam, e-commerce is also increasing.Meanwhile, Vietnam still applies the legal provisions of traditional trade activities to manage e-commerce activities. Therefore, it need to amend and supplement these provisions to catch up with market development.

“Traditional provisions cannot be applied to the management of e-commerce.Because, in the e-environment, the documents are no longer sale contracts, and the payment is not the same as traditional orders,” Mr. Thanh said.

In addition, the management mechanisms and policies must ensure the goal of anti-smuggling, trade fraud, illegal transportation of weapons and drugs into Vietnam via e- commerce.

The scheme also ensures the connection and synchronization with ministries and sectors, thereby streamlininge-commerce activity.

Mr. Thanh saidthe scheme must solve the problems in the short term. Firstly, legal framework; secondlyinfrastructure; thirdlythe procedures.

According to the drafting board of the Scheme, e-commerce in Vietnam has developed rapidly. The advent of a series of e-commerce websites shows that Vietnamese consumers are no stranger to buying products on e-commerce transaction floors.

The outstanding feature of cross-border e-commerce is quick transactions, easy payment and easy receipt of goods. Therefore, the management agency also needs to change in a simple, consistent and transparentmanner and find management measures to quickly release goods while still ensuring compliance with the law.

At the meeting, participations discussed the contents on e-commerce activities in Vietnam and focused on the model and management methods for cross-border e-commerce activities, issued related to Customs valuation, tax calculation, specialized inspection and Customs clearance time.

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The comments of units attending the meeting will be appreciated by the General Department of Vietnam Customs to improve the draft to report to leadership at all levels. Mr. Thanh proposed express delivery and postal enterprises to study and provide initiatives and propose to the General Department of Customs to build a management model for ecommerce activity in line with the current trend.

In Decision 1254/QD-TTg, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Finance to develop and implement the overall scheme of managing e-commerce activities for import and export goods to connect government agenciesand parties in the supply chain (including: commercial banks, insurance, import-export enterprises and logistics) related to e-commerce activities for exported and imported goods based on the National Single Window, ASEAN Single Window, including completing the policy of managing e-commerce activities for exported and imported goods; studying, amending and supplementing administrative procedures to manage e-commerce activities for exported and imported goods; establishing payment, guarantee mechanism and building a national database on transactions and e-commerce for imported and exported goods.