The issue was discussed at the Vietnam Cross-Border E-commerce Forum (VOIEF) 2026, held in Hanoi recently under the theme Impacts of Digital Transformation in Customs.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said Vietnam’s e-commerce market reached around $31 billion in 2025, placing the country among the world’s top 10 e-commerce markets and third in ASEAN.
Online exports grew 78 per cent, while the value of imports and exports conducted through e-commerce channels was about $4.45 billion, still a small share of national trade.
Tran Thuy Tien of the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA), under the MoIT, said in a presentation cited by local media that cross-border e-commerce could help Vietnamese businesses reach international consumers more directly while reducing intermediary costs and delays associated with traditional export channels.
Vietnam moved to streamline digital infrastructure and customs procedures for cross-border e-commerce after online exports grew 78 per cent in 2025.
Its e-commerce market reached $31 billion, while platform-based international trade remained limited.
Planned reforms included electronic identification, platform data sharing and advance shipment information to strengthen risk assessment for exporters.
Tien estimated Vietnam’s online exports at about $2 billion in 2025, while the global cross-border e-commerce market was projected at $791.5 billion for the same period.
Companies continue to face barriers in foreign-market regulations, product traceability, international payments, logistics and customs processes. Trịnh Thị Thu Hien, deputy director of the Import-Export Department under the MoIT, said online export potential should be considered across products, markets and support channels.
Vietnam already exports across fresh and processed agricultural products, consumer goods, textiles, footwear, machinery, computers and electronic products, but much of that activity still moves through conventional channels. The value of goods exported through e-commerce platforms remains limited, with platform-based trade concentrated in certain consumer goods and only narrow coverage for other product groups, added Hien.
Hien further said e-commerce exporters tend to focus on a number of nearby markets, while more distant destinations can be harder to serve because of transport requirements and import-country procedures. She also said businesses need accurate and sufficient information and should study destination-market regulations, including import and export requirements for goods sold through e-commerce platforms, rather than relying only on domestic authorities.
The revised Customs Law is expected to create a more specific legal framework for goods traded through e-commerce platforms. Nguyen Thu Huyen, deputy head of the Customs Management Supervision Division’s NV4 team, said the rapid growth of e-commerce and the emergence of different business models had created a need for dedicated customs procedures.
Previously, goods traded through e-commerce platforms could be handled under different procedures depending on transport mode, without a separate process for e-commerce transactions.
Under Article 16a on customs inspection and supervision of goods exported and imported through e-commerce platforms, such goods must undergo customs procedures and be subject to customs inspection and supervision.
Vietnamese organisations and individuals buying or selling goods with foreign countries through e-commerce platforms will have to carry out electronic identification and authentication. Platform operators will be responsible for connecting with the customs authority’s e-commerce data processing system when conducting those processes.
E-commerce platform operators, bonded warehouse businesses, carriers or their agents, and other organisations and individuals linked to goods traded through e-commerce platforms will also have to provide relevant goods information to customs authorities.
The customs authority is developing a system for electronic identity authentication and information exchange among State agencies, according to Huyen. The system is intended to link agencies including the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Security, with e-commerce platforms also connecting so that they can use the system instead of undertaking the task separately.
The digital customs system is being designed to manage imports and exports from the start to the end of the process, digitise customs procedures and share information from pre-arrival data through customs clearance. It is also being developed on an open architecture that can connect and exchange information with other government systems and international systems.
The customs authority said advance information on goods would allow risk assessment before shipments arrive, potentially reducing physical inspections and supporting faster clearance. The system is also intended to improve transparency in customs procedures and lower logistics costs, including warehousing and customs-processing expenses.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
