Online shop owners are fleeing the market after receiving invoices for revenues exceeding 1 billion VND?

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - From January 1, 2026, the regulation requiring invoices for each order with a revenue of 1 billion VND will create a shockwave in the online trading community. With bottlenecks in sourcing, fear of costs, and a silent but fierce wave of shop closures and business closures, this trend is unfolding.

In the final days of the year, Ms. Thanh (Ha Dong, Hanoi ) is busy taking photos, posting articles, and packing jars of creams and boxes of dietary supplements to deliver to customers on time. As a major player in the business of selling imported cosmetics and dietary supplements from Germany, Australia, the US, and Japan, Ms. Thanh has never felt so much pressure. It's not because business is slow, but because she's racing against time to clear out her inventory of unregistered goods.

"I'm trying to sell off the remaining imported goods, accepting a cut in profit, even a slight loss, to get them sold quickly. These goods were imported through unofficial channels, so there are no input invoices. With stricter regulations coming soon, businesses with revenue exceeding 1 billion VND will have to issue invoices for each individual order. I don't know how I'll explain this situation if I keep this pile of goods," Ms. Thanh shared.

Her plan for next year is to switch entirely to official import channels. "I know the profit margin will be smaller and the taxes higher, but if I don't do this, I can't survive," she revealed.

Ms. Thanh's story is not unique. Browsing online business groups, it's not difficult to find posts filled with anxiety and confusion. Keywords like "issuing invoices," "tax collection," and "shop transfer" appear frequently.

According to the amended Tax Administration Law, effective from January 1, 2026, business households and individuals engaged in e-commerce with annual revenue of 1 billion VND or more are required to maintain complete accounting records and documentation, meaning they must issue sales invoices for each order. This regulation is seen as a "steel punch" to the spontaneous online business model that has existed for many years.

From January 1, 2026, business households with annual revenue of 1 billion VND or more are required to use electronic invoices according to Decree 70. Many online shop owners are considering transferring ownership of their stores (Illustrative image: Cam Ha).

A dilemma: No input, no output.

In reality, the biggest obstacle causing sleepless nights for online businesses lies in the issue of input invoices.

Most online stores today, especially those selling fashion , accessories, and household goods, import their products from unofficial sources (border areas, wholesale markets) or through unofficial channels. The common characteristics of these sources are low prices and diverse designs, but a complete lack of invoices and documentation.

When the regulation mandating the issuance of output invoices came into effect, an illogical problem arose: how can retail (output) invoices be issued when the origin of the goods (input) cannot be proven?

Discussing this thorny legal issue, lawyer Le Hieu from Hieu Hung Law Firm noted that many businesses are struggling with years of accumulated inventory without invoices.

"According to current legal regulations, there is no mechanism to retroactively legitimize input invoices for goods purchased in the past. This is consistent with the principles of invoice and document management in the 2019 Tax Administration Law and Government Decree 123/2020," lawyer Hieu affirmed.

However, lawyers also offer a way to avoid legal risks for business owners: the law does not prohibit household businesses from declaring and continuing to circulate inventory without invoices if they proactively conduct an inventory, create a list, and provide a truthful explanation.

Specifically, based on Article 17 of the 2019 Tax Administration Law (amended and supplemented in 2024), taxpayers need to declare truthfully. Lawyer Le Hieu recommends that business households prepare inventory records, detailed lists of goods, and substitute documents (bank statements, receipts). Most importantly, they should submit a written explanation to the managing Tax Department before January 1, 2026. Proactive declaration is a legal shield to avoid the risk of being considered as concealing revenue.

The burden of operating costs: "Petty profits, enormous bureaucratic procedures"

While the input problem can be solved by switching to official sources, the operational and cost issues present another "shock."

Online business, especially on e-commerce platforms, is essentially retail. A store with an annual revenue of 1 billion VND may have to process thousands, even tens of thousands, of small orders each year.

"Before, we just worried about packing and shipping orders, and once the money came in, that was it. Now, even for orders worth tens of thousands of dong, we have to worry about issuing electronic invoices. Who's going to do it? Hiring an accountant is too expensive because the profit margin in the online retail industry is extremely thin now, and competition is fierce. And the platform is about to increase fees again," shared an anonymous user from an online sales group.

He said he's selling his online shop, which he's built up over the past four years, because after calculating the costs of staff, accounting software, taxes, platform fees, and the time spent managing the books, he's losing money.

From an economic perspective, lawyer Le Hieu argues that applying a single standard to all industries is not entirely reasonable.

"With the same revenue of 1 billion VND/year, household businesses selling goods (electronics, supplies) have very low profit margins compared to service sectors. Applying the same threshold and level of compliance obligations could easily lead to a disproportionate cost burden, potentially stifling small-scale businesses," lawyer Hieu analyzed.

He also suggested that the 2019 Tax Administration Law allows for the design of appropriate mechanisms, therefore, the tax authorities should study the classification of industries or apply flexible revenue thresholds to nurture revenue sources instead of maximizing collection.

Many online and offline sellers are busy pushing out imported goods without invoices before January 1, 2026 (Illustrative image: DT).

The inevitable consequence of standardizing processes and increasing tax transparency is that product prices will rise. Ms. Hien (Cau Giay, Hanoi), an avid online shopper, said that recently she has seen many shops start slightly increasing prices or cutting back on discount codes. Sellers explain that this is due to increased tax and operating costs. Although unhappy, she has to accept it; buying goods with invoices provides more peace of mind regarding their origin.

Clearly, the new regulations are a necessary step to create a healthier e-commerce market and a level playing field between online and offline businesses. However, in the short term, they are creating a harsh purge. Those who fail to adapt quickly, or lack the necessary financial management and sourcing capabilities, will be forced out of the game.

For online shop owners, the period from now until January 1, 2026, is no longer a time to complain on social media, but rather a "golden opportunity" to restructure their business model and make their cash flow transparent if they want to succeed in the long run.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/doanh-thu-1-ty-dong-buoc-xuat-hoa-don-chu-shop-online-dang-thao-chay-20251215223817235.htm