Tax watchdog to put retailers selling through livestreaming under scrutiny

A seller livestreams at Tủa Chùa night market in Điện Biên Province. The General Department of Taxation has asked local tax authorities to review and make lists of retailers selling through livestreaming to carry out risk-based inspections. — VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Tư

HÀ NỘI — The General Department of Taxation has asked local tax authorities to review and make lists of retailers selling through livestreaming on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Tiktok to carry out risk-based inspections.

They also have requested that tax management on individuals and organisations with high revenues from livestreaming selling must be enhanced as better scrutiny of e-commerce is needed to prevent tax losses.

Data from market research company NielsenIQ showed that 95 per cent of online shoppers make purchases via livestreaming sessions.

There are 2.5 million livestreaming sessions on average each month, with the participation of more than 50,000 sellers, according to the Việt Nam E-commerce Association.

The department worked with nearly 43,000 enterprises and individuals in tax declaration and payments in the first six months of this year to collect nearly VNĐ9.98 trillion in taxes, up VNĐ3.48 trillion over the same period last year. More than 4,560 violations were handled with total fines of nearly VNĐ300 billion.

Under the established regulations, online sellers must pay value added tax (VAT) and individual income tax if they have revenues of VNĐ100 million per year or higher. — VNS