The low-value goods tax threshold in Vietnam changed fundamentally from February 2025, and most market information is still the old law. The current rule has two separate halves: import duty remains exempt for consignments with a customs value of VND 1,000,000 or less under Decree 134/2016/ND-CP, but value added tax is no longer exempt for express goods since Decision 01/2025/QD-TTg abolished the old exemption mechanism.
The import-duty exemption threshold: VND 1 million, still in force
Under Article 29 of Decree 134/2016/ND-CP — amended and supplemented by Decree 18/2021/ND-CP — imported goods sent via postal or express services with a customs value of VND 1,000,000 or less are exempt from import duty. This is an exemption by value of each import consignment, applied at clearance, and is the basis on which small cross-border e-commerce orders entering Vietnam bear no import duty.
Two cautions against misapplication: the value used for the threshold is the customs value of the goods — not in every case the price the buyer paid after platform discounts, and customs may redetermine value when under-declaration is suspected; and splitting one consignment into many small parcels to bring each under the threshold shows signs of evading tax duty, and can lead to tax assessment and sanctions when discovered.
Value added tax: exemption ended on 18 February 2025
Previously, Decision 78/2010/QD-TTg allowed small-value imports via express services to be exempt from value added tax as well. Decision 01/2025/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister abolished Decision 78/2010 in its entirety, effective from 18 February 2025 — from that point, cross-border e-commerce goods, however small, must pay import-stage value added tax at the rate applicable to the item, while import duty remains exempt if within the threshold above.
This is the most misread change in the market today: many sellers and articles still declare “orders under 1 million are tax-free” as a single block. The correct statement is: import duty exempt, value added tax not exempt. Operationally, VAT on cross-border goods is usually collected through the express company or the declaration mechanism of the foreign supplier or e-commerce platform.
Customs declarations: duty exemption is not declaration exemption
Low-value goods must still be declared to customs. The applicable procedure is the simplified procedure for goods exported and imported via express and postal services: declaration data is transmitted electronically, in most cases declared by the express company or an authorised unit on the recipient’s behalf from order information, and goods are channelled by risk management like any other consignment — goods selected for inspection are still held for physical inspection or document requests.
For foreign sellers and e-commerce platforms, the duty to declare correctly sits in the order data chain: goods description, value and HS code must match the actual parcel. Systematically under-declaring value to enjoy the exemption threshold is the largest risk of the low-value cross-border sales model, because customs aggregates data by sender and recipient to detect anomalies, rather than looking at each declaration in isolation.
Post-clearance recovery: a 5-year tail of risk
Cleared goods do not mean the tax duty is closed forever. Customs law allows the customs authority to conduct post-clearance audit of cleared dossiers and goods within 05 years from the declaration registration date; if declared value is found lower than actual value or the goods were not exemption-eligible, customs assesses and recovers the shortfall, with late-payment amounts and administrative sanctions in the customs field under Decree 169/2026/ND-CP.
The party bearing recovery is in principle the party with the tax duty for the consignment — usually the importer on the declaration or the subject identified as the buyer in Vietnam in the platform cross-border sales model. In transaction practice, platforms and foreign sellers usually take tax responsibility through declaration-on-behalf mechanisms, but where recovery arises from the seller’s misdeclaration, the contractual chain decides who ultimately bears it. Retail buyers should keep the order invoice and payment evidence to prove actual value when needed.
Frequently asked questions
Orders up to what value are exempt from import tax?
The exemption threshold applies to import duty: imported goods sent via post or express with a customs value of VND 1,000,000 or less are exempt from import duty under Article 29 of Decree 134/2016/ND-CP (amended by Decree 18/2021/ND-CP). Note that value added tax is no longer exempt: Decision 01/2025/QD-TTg abolished the VAT exemption mechanism for small-value express goods under Decision 78/2010/QD-TTg from 18 February 2025, so an order under VND 1 million must still pay import-stage VAT.
Must low-value goods have a full customs declaration?
Not a full declaration like ordinary commercial goods, but customs declaration is still mandatory. Low-value goods follow the simplified procedure for express and postal goods: electronic declarations are transmitted through the express company or an authorised declarant, with data drawn from order information. Exemption by value threshold does not mean exemption from declaration; goods are still risk-channelled and may be physically inspected or asked for additional documents when anomalies appear.
Can the buyer be subject to retroactive tax collection later?
Possibly, if the original declaration was incorrect. The customs authority may conduct post-clearance audit within 05 years from the declaration registration date; where under-declared value, misdeclared goods nature or consignment splitting to evade the exemption threshold is found, it will assess tax, recover the shortfall with late-payment amounts and sanction under Decree 169/2026/ND-CP. In principle the tax duty belongs to the importer of the consignment; in platform sales models, actual responsibility is allocated through the declaration-on-behalf mechanism and contracts among the platform, seller and customer.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council