E-commerce, digital platforms and consumer protection: the E-commerce Law 2025 and Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP, platform types, registration with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, foreign platforms and the 100,000-transaction threshold, livestreaming and affiliate marketing, seller identification, consumer rights in remote sales, large digital platforms, online advertising, electronic contracts and tax

From decrees to a law

For more than a decade, e-commerce in Vietnam was regulated by decree: Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP, substantially amended by Decree No. 85/2021/ND-CP, which required sales websites to notify, and e-commerce service platforms to register with, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) through its online portal. Law No. 122/2025/QH15 on E-commerce, passed by the National Assembly on 10 December 2025, took effect on 1 July 2026 and puts the regime on a statutory footing. It is implemented by Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP, issued on 30 June 2026 and effective the next day, except for the electronic identification of sellers and livestreamers, which applies from 1 January 2027. Under the transitional provision in Article 41, websites, apps and e-contract authentication providers that were notified or registered before 1 July 2026 may continue on their approved contents until 30 June 2027, by which time they must complete the new procedures.

The law sits alongside the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights, the Law on Electronic Transactions, the Advertising Law, the Personal Data Protection Law and the tax laws, each of which applies to online business. Foreign investment in e-commerce is also subject to the market access rules for distribution and retail and the business licence regime for foreign-invested traders (Market access for foreign investors).

Platform types and core duties

Article 4 classifies platforms by the nature of their operations and their involvement in transactions: direct business platforms, on which the operator sells its own goods or services; intermediary platforms, on which third-party sellers trade; social networks engaged in e-commerce; and integrated platforms combining several functions. Every platform must disclose in Vietnamese the identity of its operator, its privacy policy, the parties' rights and obligations and its complaint mechanism, and, where it has an ordering function, the prices, payment, delivery, return and refund terms, the criteria for prioritising the display of products and its livestreaming rules (Article 11). Buyers must be able to review and confirm an order before it is placed, and records must remain accessible afterwards (Articles 12 and 13). Transaction data must be kept for at least three years, even after a seller's store closes.

Intermediary platforms carry the heaviest duties: verifying sellers and separating business from personal accounts, connecting seller information with the national databases, removing infringing and unlawful listings, cooperating with authorities, and handling disputes. From 1 January 2027 sellers must complete electronic identification: individuals by name, date of birth and personal identification number; organisations by name, head office, identification number and the legal representative's identity; foreign individuals by passport valid for at least six months; and foreign organisations by their registration details and the legal representative's identity. MOIT operates an E-commerce Activity Management System linked to the National Public Service Portal for registrations, complaints and risk monitoring, and publishes lists of compliant and non-compliant entities (Article 37).

Livestreaming and affiliate marketing

The law regulates livestream selling and affiliate marketing for the first time. A platform that allows livestreaming must publish livestreaming rules, verify hosts' identities, monitor content and advertising, handle viewers' complaints, stop livestreams and remove content that breaches the law or that a competent authority identifies, warn of unsafe goods and keep livestream data for at least one year (Article 22). A seller must provide the host with documents on its business eligibility, the quality of the product and, where advertising content must be verified, the approved content before the livestream (Article 23). A host must verify its identity, follow the platform's rules, refuse to promote where the seller's documents are insufficient, and not give misleading information (Article 24). Affiliate marketing providers must verify marketers' identities before links are created and remove links to unlawful goods; marketers must provide identity information and remove infringing links on request (Articles 25 and 26). A foreign brand that uses Vietnamese influencers to sell through livestreams is therefore responsible for giving them accurate product and advertising documents.

Foreign platforms

Article 27 requires every foreign platform operating in Vietnam to register with the competent authority. Under Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP the obligation is triggered by any of three facts: the platform offers a Vietnamese-language option; it uses a .vn domain name; or it reaches 100,000 or more transactions with buyers in Vietnam in a calendar year, in which case it must register within 60 days of reaching the threshold. A foreign direct business or intermediary platform with an ordering function must establish a legal entity in Vietnam or appoint an authorised representative; an intermediary platform or social network without ordering must appoint an authorised representative. Where a platform with ordering has not established a legal entity, it must keep a deposit of at least VND 20 billion at a commercial bank or foreign bank branch in Vietnam for as long as it operates, topped up within 30 days if deductions reduce it, failing which MOIT terminates the registration. Material changes, such as the platform name, legal representative or transaction conditions, must be notified within 20 working days.

The local entity or representative is responsible for legal procedures, violations, complaints and consumer protection, and for compliance with the data protection, cybersecurity and advertising laws (Articles 29 to 31). Payment, logistics, infrastructure and e-contract authentication providers must refuse or suspend services to platforms that fail to comply (Articles 33 to 36). For foreign providers of online services, the trigger-based data localisation and local office rules under the Cybersecurity Law apply in addition (Cybersecurity, data localisation and cross-border transfers).

Consumer protection online

Law No. 19/2023/QH15 on Protection of Consumer Rights, in force since 1 July 2024, and Decree No. 55/2024/ND-CP apply to all sales to consumers and contain specific rules for remote transactions, including online sales. The trader must give clear information on itself, the goods, the price including taxes and fees, delivery, payment and the terms of exchange and return, including time limits, procedures and a contact point, and must publish its complaint procedure (FAQ 87). Model contracts and general trading conditions for goods and services on the Prime Minister's list, such as electricity, water, telecommunications and passenger air transport, must be registered with the consumer protection authority before use and displayed publicly. Defective products must be withdrawn from sale within 24 hours of discovery or a State request, and recalls announced within three working days for products risking life or health.

A large digital platform, defined by Decree No. 55/2024/ND-CP by reference to its number of users in Vietnam or its status as a large intermediary platform, must publish its search ranking criteria, label paid and sponsored results, maintain an online reporting account and provide requested data to the authority within five working days. The National Competition Commission under MOIT is the central consumer protection authority, with provincial Departments of Industry and Trade enforcing locally; consumers, and social organisations acting on their behalf, may also bring claims. Unfair terms in standard-form contracts, such as clauses excluding the trader's liability or allowing unilateral changes, are void.

Online advertising and influencers

Law No. 75/2025/QH15 amending the Advertising Law, passed on 16 June 2025 and in force from 1 January 2026, brings social networks, online applications and internet-connected digital platforms expressly within the advertising rules. Advertising content must be clearly identified as such. Advertising conveyors, the individuals who promote, endorse or verify products online, must check the advertiser's credentials and the accuracy of the product information, disclose that they are advertising before and during the promotion, comply with consumer protection law, pay tax on their advertising income and provide documents to the authorities on request. Platforms must give users tools to disable and report inappropriate advertising, and violating advertisements must be removed or blocked within 24 hours of a request from a competent authority. Offshore advertisers promoting to users in Vietnam must work through a Vietnamese advertising service provider. Advertising for regulated products, such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food supplements and medical devices, still requires content to be confirmed or notified before publication under the sector rules.

Electronic contracts, payments, data and tax

Online orders form contracts by electronic means. Law No. 20/2023/QH15 on Electronic Transactions, in force since 1 July 2024, gives electronic contracts and data messages legal effect, and Decree No. 23/2025/ND-CP governs digital signatures and trust services (FAQ 90); the rules, and the documents that still need notarisation, are in Commercial contracts in Vietnam. Payments to consumers' accounts and e-wallets are regulated by the State Bank and are not covered here. Customer data collected online is personal data: marketing consents, tracking technologies and transfers to offshore systems must comply with the Personal Data Protection Law (Personal data protection).

Vietnam has no separate digital services tax. Foreign suppliers of digital services and goods sold through platforms to customers in Vietnam bear VAT and corporate income tax on a deemed basis, collected by withholding by Vietnamese business buyers, by deduction by platform operators, or by direct registration through the tax authority's portal for foreign suppliers (VAT and e-invoicing; Foreign contractor tax and tax treaties). Platforms also deduct and pay tax on behalf of household and individual sellers under the tax administration rules, and must provide seller and transaction data to the tax authority.