Livestream selling by FDI companies: advertising and tax rules

Livestream selling looks like a free-form marketing activity, but for an FDI company in Vietnam it touches three regulatory systems at once: e-commerce, advertising and tax. A single live session can inadvertently become unconfirmed advertising for special goods, a wrongly set up sales channel on a platform, and a misstated revenue stream if the company does not design compliance from the start.

E-commerce and advertising frames for a livestream session

Selling via livestream on platforms or social media falls under Law on E-commerce 122/2025/QH15, effective from 1 July 2026, and Decree 248/2026/ND-CP, which replaced Decree 52/2013/ND-CP at the same time. The selling company must provide truthful information on goods, prices and transaction conditions and bears seller responsibility, whether the live session is run by its own staff or an outside partner.

On advertising, livestream content presenting goods to the public is advertising activity. Special-group goods such as drugs, health supplements or healthcare services still need advertising content confirmation before release, and a live session is no exception. Claims about functions, discounts and comparisons made live must be substantiated; untrue or misleading advertising is penalised under Decree 87/2026/ND-CP, under which influencers carrying advertising face their own fine range in Article 51, from VND 40 to 100 million depending on the act, for individuals.

Tax on livestream revenue

Livestream revenue of an FDI company is ordinary sales revenue of the enterprise: e-invoices must be issued and value added tax and corporate income tax declared periodically as for any other channel. The distinctive point is platform collection: from 1 July 2025, Decree 117/2025/ND-CP requires e-commerce platforms with a payment function to withhold and remit tax for individual and household sellers, while a company with its own tax code self-declares under the corporate mechanism.

The practical tax risk for an FDI company sits in reconciliation: revenue reported by the platform, by the payment gateway and through promotional wallets must tie back to the accounting books and returns. Streamer commissions, platform-funded discounts and order gifts each have their own tax treatment, and collapsing them into one net revenue figure is the most common source of error when the online channel is audited.

Liability when an outside streamer is hired

When the company hires an individual or an agency to livestream, legal responsibility does not transfer wholesale to the performer. The company, as seller and advertising principal, remains responsible for product information, sale conditions and the function claims made in the session. The streamer answers in the capacity of advertiser or influencer, and the agency answers under its service contract and its actual role in the release chain.

A livestream hire contract should therefore settle: the script and the limits of permitted claims, the duty to disclose the sponsorship relationship under advertising rules, the duty to retain session recordings, and indemnities where one party goes off script and causes a violation. A clause often forgotten is the right to remove and correct content after the session, because advertising remedies commonly include taking down the offending content.

Frequently Asked Questions

What advertising and tax rules apply to FDI livestream selling?

An FDI company livestreaming must comply simultaneously with: e-commerce rules on seller and goods information under Law on E-commerce 122/2025/QH15 and Decree 248/2026/ND-CP; advertising rules, including prior content confirmation for special goods and the ban on misleading claims under Decree 87/2026/ND-CP; and tax duties as for any sales channel, including e-invoices and value added tax and corporate income tax declarations.

Does a livestream need advertising permission?

A livestream is not a separate advertising licence type, but if live content advertises special-group goods such as drugs, health supplements or healthcare services, that content must be confirmed before advertising like any other channel. For ordinary goods, the live session is still advertising activity bound by truthful information rules, and the company should keep recordings and scripts to prove what was released.

How is livestream revenue taxed?

Livestream revenue is declared as the company’s sales revenue: e-invoices are issued for transactions, output value added tax is declared and the amount enters corporate income tax income periodically. The platform withholding regime under Decree 117/2025/ND-CP applies to individual and household sellers; an FDI company with a tax code self-declares, but must reconcile revenue carefully across platform, payment gateway and accounting books.

Who is liable when an outside streamer is hired?

Liability follows roles and does not vanish when work is outsourced: the FDI company as seller and advertising principal answers for product information and claims made in the session; the streamer answers as advertiser or influencer, with a dedicated fine range in Article 51 of Decree 87/2026/ND-CP; the agency answers under its contract and actual role. The hire contract should lock the script, claim limits and indemnities.

Bottom line for e-commerce teams

An FDI company’s livestream is a full-obligation sales channel, not a marketing grey zone. The right design has three layers: seller and goods information under e-commerce law, live content compliant with advertising law, and a revenue stream that reconciles across platform, payments and the accounting books.