Question:
A Vietnamese trader, organization, or individual intends to establish a sales e-commerce website with an online ordering function to directly conduct business in Vietnam. In this case, is the entity required to carry out any administrative procedures, and what legal conditions and processes must be satisfied?
Answer:
Pursuant to the Law on E-Commerce No. 122/2025/QH15 and Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP detailing a number of articles of the Law on E-Commerce, the establishment and operation of a sales e-commerce website (currently defined as a ‘direct business e-commerce platform’) must satisfy conditions regarding legal status, information disclosure on the platform, and completion of administrative procedures.
Based on the available information, the following issues must be considered:
- Conditions regarding the platform owner
Pursuant to Article 23 of Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP, an entity establishing a direct business e-commerce platform must satisfy conditions regarding legal status or tax identification as prescribed by law. Specifically, if the entity is an organization, it must have an Enterprise Registration Certificate, a Household Business Registration Certificate, or a lawful Establishment Decision. If the entity is an individual, they must have a personal tax identification number or a personal identification number synchronized with tax data prior to commencing operations.
- Obligation to carry out the notification procedure
Clause 1, Article 23 of Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP stipulates that the owner of a direct business e-commerce platform with an online ordering function must obtain confirmation of notification from the competent state authority prior to officially operating the platform. Therefore, it is necessary to verify the actual technical features of the website. If the website integrates a shopping cart, an online ordering tool, or automated contract conclusion, carrying out the notification procedure is mandatory. Where the website merely introduces products and provides price quotations without an online ordering function, it is exempted from the notification procedure, provided that it still complies with the obligation to publicly disclose information on the website.
- Conditions regarding business lines and publicly disclosed content on the website
3.1. Conditions regarding conditional business goods and services
Pursuant to Point b, Clause 1, Article 24 of Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP, where the website is used to trade in goods or services included in the List of conditional business investment lines, the platform owner must hold the corresponding license, certificate of eligibility for business, practicing certificate, or written approval issued by a competent state authority.
3.2. Obligation to publicly disclose information and mandatory policies on the website
Pursuant to Article 17 of Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP, prior to submitting the notification dossier, the website interface must be finalized and must fully and clearly disclose mandatory information on its homepage. This information includes:
- Information about the platform owner (name, address, telephone number, tax identification number/enterprise registration number);
- Detailed information about goods, services, and prices; general transaction terms and conditions;
- Delivery and shipping policies;
- Return, exchange, and refund policies;
- Payment policies; and
- Consumer personal data protection policies.
3.3. Regulations regarding livestream sales features (if any)
Pursuant to Article 12 of Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP, it is necessary to verify whether the intended website integrates a live streaming (livestream) function for sales. If this feature is integrated, the platform owner must additionally promulgate and publicly disclose the Livestream Sales Operating Regulations on the website, and concurrently comply with the roadmap for electronic identity verification of livestreamers in accordance with prevailing laws.
- Dossier, authority, and sequence for carrying out the notification procedure
4.1. Competent authority
Pursuant to Article 24 of Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP, the authority to receive and confirm notifications for direct business e-commerce platforms rests with the provincial-level People’s Committee where the trader or organization has its head office or where the individual resides.
4.2. Dossier components and data interoperability mechanism
Clause 1, Article 24 of Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP stipulates that the notification dossier comprises: (i) An Information Declaration Form made using Form No. 01 in Appendix II issued together with the Decree; and (ii) A copy of the document evidencing business conditions for goods and services falling under conditional business investment lines (if any). The platform owner is not required to submit copies of documents evidencing business conditions if such documents already exist as electronic data and the administrative procedure-resolving authority can automatically retrieve them through connection and data sharing with National Databases.
4.3. Online processing sequence and time limit
Pursuant to Clauses 4 and 5, Article 24 of Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP, the procedure is conducted entirely online via the National Public Service Portal integrated with the E-Commerce Management System. Within 03 working days from the date of receipt of a complete and valid dossier, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall confirm the notification and issue a code snippet to embed the notified badge onto the website interface. Where the dossier requires clarification or supplementation, the platform owner must respond and finalize the dossier within a maximum time limit of 60 days from the date of the initial request; failure to validly supplement the dossier within this timeframe shall result in the termination of the dossier resolution process.
- Conclusion
The trader, organization, or individual must verify and prepare: (i) valid legal status, tax identification number, and sub-licenses for conditional business lines (if any); (ii) actual technical features of the website (whether it has an online ordering function); and (iii) the full publication of transaction policies, privacy policies, and platform owner information on the website interface. If all the aforementioned conditions and relevant legal requirements are fully satisfied, the entity may proceed with submitting an online dossier requesting the provincial-level People’s Committee to confirm the notification of the direct business e-commerce platform prior to official operation.
