1. Law on Electronic Commerce

On 10 December 2025, the National Assembly adopted Law No. 122/2025/QH15 on Electronic Commerce (the “LEC 2025”). The LEC 2025 takes effect from 1 July 2026, Below are some notable points of the LEC 2025.

Scope of application

The LEC 2025 applies to domestic and foreign organisations and individuals participating in e-commerce activities in Vietnam. E-commerce activities are defined as carrying out a part or the whole process of commercial activities on the electronic environment.

The LEC 2025 does not govern e-commerce activities in the fields that are regulated by specialized laws, including: banking services, intermediary payment services, securities trading services provided on digital platforms, goods exchanges, and online application stores.

Prohibitions

The LEC 2025 prohibits the trading of goods or services prohibited by laws, counterfeit goods, goods infringing intellectual property rights, smuggled goods, goods with unclear origin, expired goods, and goods violating regulations on quality and other relevant laws. It also includes a general prohibition on frauding and deceiving consumers and other organisations and individuals.

E-commerce platforms

E-commerce platforms include (i) sales e-commerce platforms, (ii) intermediary e-commerce platforms, (iii) social media e-commerce platforms, and (iv) integrated e-commerce platforms. Before operating an e-commerce platform, the operator is required to notify (applicable to domestic sales e-commerce platforms with online ordering function) or register with the competent authority. The operating conditions and procedures for notification or registration will be stipulated by the Government.

All operators must ensure that operator’s information, confidential policy, rights and obligations of the parties, and methods of receiving and handling feedback, requests and complaints are published on the platforms in the Vietnamese language. Operators of e-commerce platforms with online ordering function are required to publish additional information on their platforms, including pricing policy, service fees, conditions for selling goods or providing services, payment, priority for displaying goods and services, live streaming rules, delivery of goods or provision of services, policy for exchanging goods or terminating services and money refund.

The LEC 2025 contains additional responsibilities for sales e-commerce platform operators, intermediary e-commerce platform operators, social media e-commerce platform operators, and integrated e-commerce platform operators. These requirements generally ensure that the sale of goods and provision of services on e-commerce platforms comply with Vietnamese laws and consumer rights are respected and protected.

E-commerce activities involving foreign elements

Under the LEC 2025, foreign e-commerce platforms engaged in e-commerce activities in Vietnam are foreign e-commerce platform of which operators are lawful operated under foreign laws and which have a mechanism to select Vietnamese language or use Vietnamese domain name “.vn” or reach the prescribed transaction threshold with consumers in Vietnam (excluding sales e-commerce platforms without online ordering function). Operators of these platforms must register with the competent authority in accordance with the Government’s regulations.

The LEC 2025 requires operators of foreign e-commerce platforms engaged in e-commerce activities in Vietnam to:

• appoint an authorised entity in Vietnam if they manage and operate sales e-commerce platforms with online ordering function, except otherwise stipulated by Vietnamese laws.
• appoint an authorised representative if they manage and operate intermediary e-commerce platforms without online ordering function, or social media e-commerce platforms without online ordering function.
• establish a legal entity in Vietnam if they manage and operate intermediary e-commerce platforms with online ordering function, or social media e-commerce platforms with online ordering function, or integrated e-commerce platforms, except otherwise stipulated by Vietnamese laws or international treaties to which Vietnam is a party.

The LEC 2025 generally provides that the management and operation of intermediary e-commerce platforms, social media e-commerce platforms, and/or integrated e-commerce platforms is the sector for which market access is conditional for foreign investors, and leaves the details for the Government to regulate.

Penalties

A violation of the LEC 2025 may be subject to administrative sanctions, block of assessment, temporary suspension of transaction feature of platform, remedy of consequences and/or other penalties. The LEC 2025 also provides criminal liability for organisations and individuals that violate this Law.

Other issues

The LEC 2025 addresses some specific issues regarding conclusion of a contract on e-commerce platforms. It clarifies the responsibilities of e-commerce supporting service providers, e-commerce sellers, livestreamers and other organisations and individuals involved in e-commerce activities.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (“MOIT”) will develop and manage the e-commerce management system that will enable platform operators to carry out procedures for notification or registration through an online process. The list of e-commerce platforms which have been certified for notification or registration and the list of licensed electronic contract certification service providers are published on that system.

2. Amending Laws concerning agriculture and environment

On 11 December 2025, the National Assembly adopted Law No. 146/2025/QH15 (the “Law 146/2025”) amending various Laws concerning agriculture and environment. The Law 146/2025 came into force as of 1 January 2026, except certain provisions. Below are some key amendments related to environment, crop production and forestry.

Law on Environmental Protection amended

Under the Law on Environmental Protection, investment projects are classified into four groups (Groups I, II, III and IV) based on the scale, capacity and type of business; land areas, water surface, sea areas, natural resource exploitation scale; and sensitive environmental factors. The Law 146/2025 removes lands for wet rice cultivation of two or more crops from sensitive environmental factors of the Law on Environmental Protection. Those factors now cover: concentrated residential zones, water sources for domestic water supply, natural conservation zones and important wetlands, forests, cultural relics and other natural relics, requirement on relocation and resettlement of inhabitants and other sensitive environmental factors.

The Law 146/2025 amends the provisions on environmental impact assessment (EIA) to (i) provide that the EIA must be conducted by the project owner at the same time as preparation of the feasibility study report or equivalent document of the project, component project or investment segment of the project; (ii) specify the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (“MAE”), the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Public Security or the provincial People’s Committee in evaluating and approving EIA reports; and (iii) assign the MAE to detail application files for evaluation of EIA report, evaluation process and approval of evaluation results.

The Law 146/2025 also amends the authority to grant environmental permits to the MAE, the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Chairpersons of provincial People’s Committees. For inter-provincial projects or those located in maritime areas with undefined management boundaries, the Government shall stipulate in detail the authority of the provincial People’s Committees and the coordination mechanism between relevant localities.

Concentrated business zones must have a concentrated wastewater treatment system, However, the provincial People’s Committee may decide to exempt this requirement for concentrated business zones put into operation before 1 January 2022 that have no concentrated wastewater treatment systems if wastewater treatment systems of investment projects and business establishments operating in such zones have already existed and satisfied environmental protection requirements. Besides, the Law 146/2025 states that concentrated business zones may use the common concentrated wastewater treatment system.

Law on Marine and Island Natural Resources and Environment amended

In order to carry out dumping at sea, organisations and individuals must obtain a dumping permit from the Minister of Agriculture and Environment or the Chairperson of provincial People’s Committee depending on the location of sea areas. Dumping permit applicants are not required to submit a dossier for sea area allocation. The permit-issuing agency shall consider the allocation of sea areas used for dumping in the course of evaluation for issuance of the dumping permit.

Law on Crop Production amended

The Law 146/2025 removes Article 57 of the Law on Crop Production that required organisations and individuals building works on land converted from wet rice cultivation land to have a plan on use of the topsoil of such land.

The Law 146/2025 relaxes the conditions for fertilizer production and fertilizer trading. For instance, fertilizer traders are required to satisfy the following conditions: (i) having a lawful and clear business place and (ii) persons directly trading fertilisers must be trained according to the guidance off the MAE, except those who have an intermediate qualifications or higher in crop production, plant protection or relevant majors.

Law on Forestry amended

The Law 146/2025 amends the conditions for conversion of forests to other purposes as follows: (i) conforming with the forestry planning or the provincial planning or the land use planning; (ii) obtaining an approval on conversion of forests by the competent State agency; and (iii) having fulfilled the obligation to pay money for replacement afforestation.

The Law 146/2025 mandates payments for substitute forest planting when forest or forestry land use purposes are changed. The calculated area for payment is triple the actual area for natural forests, while remaining equal to the actual area for plantation forests or forestry land. Payments are deposited into the Provincial Forest Protection and Development Fund and must be utilized within 12 months.

The authority to approve the conversion of forests is also amended for consistency with the Land Law 2024.

3. New Law on High Technologies

On 10 December 2025, the National Assembly adopted Law No.133/2025/QH15 on high technologies (the “LoHT 2025”). The LoHT 2025 takes effect from 1 July 2026 and replaces the Law on High Technologies 2008, as amended.

The LoHT 2025 revises the definitions of “high technology” and “hi-tech product” to include not only products but also services created from high technology; and adds definitions of “strategic technology” and “core technology”. The list of high technologies prioritised for development, the list of strategic technologies, the list of hi-tech products encouraged for development and the list of strategic technological products will be promulgated by the Prime Minister. Those lists will be periodically assessed and updated to ensure the adaptation to technological change.

The LoHT 2025 sets out the criteria necessary for determining high-tech product manufacturing enterprises; strategic technology enterprises, and those for determining high-tech enterprises (which are classified as Group I high-tech enterprises and Group II high-tech enterprises). High-tech product manufacturing enterprises and Group II high-tech enterprises are entitled to incentives in accordance with laws. Meanwhile, strategic technology enterprises and Group I high-tech enterprises are entitled to the highest incentives in accordance with laws. Strategic technology enterprises can receive other supports provided under points (a) and (b) of Article 12.2 of this Law and relevant laws. Additionally, these enterprises are entitled to a risk-acceptance mechanism as stipulated in Article 9 of the Law on Science, Technology, and Innovation.

The LoHT 2025 provides for the development of an ecosystem centered on high-tech enterprises, with close coordination among regulatory authorities, research institutes, higher education institutions, and supporting organizations. The State encourages investment in essential technical infrastructure—including high-tech parks, R&D centers, national laboratories, and digital infrastructure. Organizations and individuals investing in such infrastructure are entitled to incentives on taxation, land, and innovation policies. At the local level, provincial People’s Committees play a key role in allocating land, conducting site clearance, and investing in connecting infrastructure to facilitate high-tech projects.

Besides the two existing parks including hi-tech park and hi-tech application agricultural park, hi-tech urban centre (“đô thị công nghệ cao” in Vietnamese”) is a new model of technical infrastructure for hi-tech activities introduced under the LoHT 2025. A hi-tech urban centre must satisfy the criteria of urban centre required by laws and the conditions set out in LoHT 2025 such as having hi-tech parks and scientific & technological organisations acting as development centres; having technical, digital and technological facilities for research, development and application of high-technologies and/or strategic technologies, etc. Further details on hi-tech urban centres will be regulated by the Government.

The LoHT 2025 makes certain amendments to the Law on Corporate Income Tax to prescribe incentives for hi-tech activities. Among these are (i) amending Article 12.2(a) to provide that venture investment for high technologies prioritised for development and strategic technologies, incubation of high-technologies and strategic technologies, incubation of high-tech enterprises and strategic technology enterprises, construction and operation of high-tech incubators and high-tech enterprise incubators shall be considered as preferential investment sector; and (ii) offering CIT rate of 10% for a period of 25 years to centres for research and development of strategic technologies, strategic technology enterprises, and centres for research and development of high technologies and Group I high-tech enterprises.

4. Decree implementing Resolution 198/2025/QH15

On 15 January 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 20/2026/ND-CP (“Decree 20”) implementing Resolution 198/2025/QH15 on policies for development of the private economy. Decree 20 takes effect from the date of signing, except some provisions.

Decree 20 provides guidelines on support for assess to land and manufacturing premises, lease of public houses and land areas, tax and fees, science and technology, human resource training, provision of consultancy services for small and micro sized enterprises. Below are some key points of Decree 20.

Further details on support for assess to land and manufacturing premises

Decree 20 requires the provincial People’s Committee to publish on its website: principles, criteria and level of support; land areas in each industrial zone being reserved for support-receiving enterprises as provided in Article 7 of Resolution 198/2025/QH15 (which include high-tech enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises and innovative start-up enterprises) to lease; and the land rental reduction rate for support-receiving enterprises.

The provincial People’s Committee will reimburse the amounts of land rental support that equal to the reduced land rentals to industrial zone developers that satisfy the  conditions specified in Decree 20. Land rental reimbursements for developers are processed either by offsetting against annual financial obligations or through direct payment from the state budget, depending on the developer’s current payment status. To obtain a reimbursement, a developer must submit a reimbursement request (on form contained in Annex I) with other documents required in Decree 20 to the provincial Department of Finance for appraisal and submission to the provincial People’s Committee for approval.

According to Resolution 198/2025/QH15, a support-receiving enterprise is entitled to land rental reduction for 5 years. Within that period, the support-receiving enterprise must repay to the Government the reduced land rental amounts if: (i) the investment project is terminated or the land is resumed by the State as a result of breaches of Vietnamese laws; or (ii) the support-receiving enterprise transfers its land use rights or land use rights and the assets attached to such land to another party that is not entittled to receive land rental support.

Tax incentives

Decree 20 guides the determination of the duration of corporate income tax incentives (CIT exemption for 2 years and 50% CIT reduction in the subsequent 4 years) that apply to income generated from innovative start-up activities provided under Article 10.1 of Resolution 198/2025/QH15. Further, it requires enterprises eligible for these incentives to separate accounting for income generated from innovative start-up activities.

Under Resolution 198/2025/QH15, enterprises or individuals are exempted from tax on income from the partial or full transfer of shares, capital contribution portions, the right to contribute capital, the right to purchase shares, and the right to purchase capital contribution portions (including business sales) in innovative start-up enterprises. Decree 20 confirms that such income does not include income from transfer of stocks and the right to purchase stocks of public companies and organisations listed or registered for trading under the law on securities.

Enterprises are entitled to set aside up to 20% of their taxable income to establish a Science, Technology, Innovation, and Digital Transformation Development Fund. Decree 20 further provides that large enterprises may include in their deductible expenses the costs of training and retraining personnel for small and medium-sized enterprises within their supply chains. Further, actual expenditures for research and development activities are deductible at 200% of the actual costs incurred when determining corporate income tax.

5. Water resources

On 17 January 2026, the Government issued Decree No.23/2026/ND-CP (“Decree 23”) amending Decree 53/2024/ND-CP and Decree 54/2024/ND-CP guiding the Law on Water Resources 2023.

With effect from 17 January 2026, Decree 23 amends, among others, the provisions of Decree 54/2024/ND-CP regarding water resource exploitation licences as follows:

Collection of public opinions is one of the conditions for granting water resource exploitation licences for projects on construction of water resource exploitation facilities that may significantly affect socio-economic development activities and people’s lives. Under Decree 23, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment is responsible for conducting, at the project owner’s cost, the collection of opinions from the relevant organisations and individuals.

Decree 23 amends the authority to grant water resource exploitation licences for certain water exploitation facilities. For example, ground water exploitation facilities with a flow of 5,000 m3/day or more (replacing the threshold of 3,000 m3/day or more under Decree 54/2024/ND-CP) requires licence from the Minister of Agriculture and Environment, ground water exploitation facilities below this threshold requires licence from the Chairperson of provincial People’s Committee.

The provisions on the duration of water resource exploitation licences, licensing principles, grounds and conditions for grant of licences were previously stipulated in the Law on Water Resources 2023, but were removed from that law by the Law 146/2025. These provisions are now included in Decree 23.

6. Special Consumption Tax

The Government issued Decree No. 360/2025/ND-CP (“Decree 360”) dated 31 December 2025 to implement the Law on Special Consumption Tax 2025. Decree 360 became effective on 1 January 2026 and replaced Decree 108/2015/ND-CP dated 28 October 2015, as amended.

According to Decree 360, the TCVN 12828:2019 standard on water-based beverages is applicable to define beverages with sugar content being greater than 5g/100ml subject to special consumption tax (SCT). Sugar content is calculated as total sugars presented on product labels pursuant to the nutritional labeling regulations of the Ministry of Health.

The principles of calculation of taxable prices of goods and services are contained in the Law on Special Consumption Tax 2025. Some of those principles are further specified in Decree 360 as follows:

• If the producer or importer sells the goods through its accounting defendant subsidiary the taxable price shall be the price at which the subsidiary sells the goods.
• Where goods subject to SCT are sold to trading entities which have the parent company-subsidiary relationship with, or are subsidiaries of the same parent company of the producer or importer or the trading entities have an associated relationship with the producer or importer, the SCT taxable price must not be lower than 7% of the average selling price of trading entities.
• The taxable price of casino business and of the business of electronic games with prizes shall be turnover from such business operations excluding the amount returned to customers and the amount of prizes paid to customers (if any) in which turnover is the amount collected from exchange of tokens and the amount collected at e-gaming machines.

When determining SCT payable at the production stage, taxpayers producing goods subject to SCT are entitled to a deduction of SCT already paid on raw materials imported or directly purchased from the domestic manufacturer. Similarly, taxpayers importing goods subject to SCT are entitled to a deduction of SCT already paid at the import stage when determining SCT payable on the goods sold domestically. For the amounts of SCT which are not deducted, taxpayers are allowed to record such amounts as deductible expense for the purpose of corporate income tax.

7. Economic and Efficient Use of Energy

On 21 January 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 30/2026/ND-CP (“Decree 30”) implementing the Law on Economic and Efficient Use of Energy. Decree 30 took effect from the date of signing and replaced Decree No. 21/2011/ND-CP dated 29 March 2011. Decree 30 applies to authorities, organizations, households, and individuals engaged in the production, business, transportation, and use of energy in Vietnam.

Similar to Decree 21/2011/ND-CP, under Decree 30, major energy-using establishments are (i) industrial production establishments, agricultural production establishments and transportation establishments that have a total yearly energy consumption of at least 1,000 tons of oil equivalent, and (ii) construction works used as headquarters, offices, accommodations, institutions of education, health-care, entertainment and sports, hotels, supermarkets, restaurants, and shops that have a total yearly energy consumption of at least 500 tons of oil equivalent. These establishments shall prepare their annual and five-year plans for economical and efficient use of energy in accordance with the MOIT’s guidelines.

Major energy-using establishments are subject to mandatory energy audit. They may conduct energy audit by themselves or hire an energy audit organisation that satisfies the conditions set out in Decree 30 to conduct energy audit.

Decree 30 provides three types of energy labels which include: comparative label, cortication label and label of vehicle. The MOIT and the Ministry of Construction (MOC) have the authority to provide the energy efficiency, energy consumption and heat features in comparative and cortication labels. Manufacturers, importers or traders of products subject to energy labelling must submit a dossier for energy labelling announcement to the MOIT (for devices and equipment) or the MOC (for transport vehicles and construction materials).

Decree 30 further requires manufacturers and importers of vehicles, equipment, and construction materials subject to energy labeling to submit annual reports on their business information, product quantities and types, energy efficiency, and consumption levels to the competent authorities. Such entities must also monitor and report on energy labeling activities, comply with periodic or ad hoc inspections, and are subject to penalties for violations. The Decree further sets out criteria for the phase-out of energy-using vehicles and equipment, including failure to meet safety standards, energy performance below the minimum threshold, or inconsistency with socio-economic development and regulatory requirements; the list of such products will be developed and promulgated by competent state authorities.

Decree 30 also provides incentive policies to promote energy efficiency, under which investment projects involving energy-saving technologies, greenhouse gas emission reduction, energy-efficient product manufacturing, and digital transformation in agriculture may be considered for inclusion in the green project classification list. Energy service organizations are entitled to incentives and support from the State, the Energy Efficiency Promotion Fund, and the National Program on Energy Efficiency. Energy-consuming entities that enter into voluntary agreements on energy efficiency with state authorities or authorized energy providers are also eligible for relevant incentives and support.