Consolidated Document 09/VBHN-BCT: Regulations on Managing E-Commerce Websites
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Based on:09/VBHN-BCT - Government Official Gazette
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This is an official consolidated document published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) in the Official Gazette, merging Circular 47/2014/TT-BCT on managing e-commerce websites together with five subsequent amendments (Circulars 04/2016, 21/2018, 42/2019, 01/2022 and 38/2025/TT-BCT) into a single reference text. It does not create new obligations; it simply compiles the currently applicable rules. The Circular applies to traders, organizations and individuals who set up online selling websites; to owners of e-commerce marketplace, online-promotion and online-auction platforms; to sellers on those platforms; and to organizations conducting website trust-rating (certification) activities. Owners of a selling website must file a simpler 'notification' with MOIT through the E-Commerce Management Portal (online.gov.vn), while marketplace, promotion and auction platform owners must complete a more detailed 'registration' (including a service-provision plan, operating rules, and a model service contract). Businesses must update their filing annually, report activity statistics, and notify MOIT within 7 working days of any change of information or cessation of operation. Websites that violate the rules or fail to report can have their registration revoked and be placed on a public violation list on the Portal. The most recent change folded into this consolidated text is Circular 38/2025/TT-BCT (effective July 1, 2025), which mainly reassigns which administrative level handles these procedures under Vietnam's new two-tier local government model - it does not add new compliance duties for businesses. Owners of e-commerce websites and platforms should use this consolidated version as the single up-to-date reference instead of checking each amending Circular separately.
Overview
Consolidated Document 09/VBHN-BCT, issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), merges Circular 47/2014/TT-BCT dated December 5, 2014, «Regulations on Managing E-Commerce Websites», together with its amending Circulars: 04/2016/TT-BCT, 21/2018/TT-BCT, 42/2019/TT-BCT, 01/2022/TT-BCT and 38/2025/TT-BCT. This is a legislative-technique consolidation (not a new legal instrument in itself) intended to give businesses and regulators a single up-to-date reference text.
Scope and applicable entities
The Circular implements Decree 52/2013/ND-CP on e-commerce and applies to:
- Traders, organizations and individuals who set up an online selling website
- Traders and organizations that set up a website providing e-commerce services (marketplaces, online-promotion sites, online-auction sites)
- Sellers on the above e-commerce service websites
- Organizations conducting website trust-rating (certification) activities
- Organizations and individuals who report violations through the E-Commerce Management Portal
Notification procedure for selling websites
Owners of an online selling website file online at www.online.gov.vn in a 4-step process: register a system account, wait up to 3 working days for MOIT's response, submit website details via the standard form, and receive confirmation within a further 3 working days. If no correction request is received within 3 working days of submission, the filing is automatically deemed complete and valid. Any change of information or cessation of operation must be notified within 7 working days, and the filing must be refreshed once a year.
Registration procedure for e-commerce service-provider websites
Owners of marketplaces, online-promotion or online-auction sites must submit a fuller dossier: an application (Form TMDT-1), a copy of the business registration certificate, a service-provision plan, website operating rules, a model service contract, and general transaction conditions (if any). The process runs through 5 steps on the Portal, with a 7-working-day response window and confirmation within 5 working days after the paper dossier is submitted. Registration can be revoked if the website commits prohibited e-commerce acts, fails to meet reporting obligations, or is suspended under a violation-handling decision.
E-contract certification services and trust-rating
The Circular also covers electronic-contract certification services (operating rules, rights and obligations of the parties, dispute-resolution mechanisms) and the registration procedure for website trust-rating organizations (rating program plan, criteria, process, and the trust mark itself).
Public disclosure and enforcement
MOIT publishes on the Portal: the list of websites that have completed notification/registration, an annual list of the top 5 e-commerce service market leaders, the list of registered trust-rating organizations, and the list of websites found in violation of the law or reported as suspected violators (once a website receives 5 or more reports and fails to explain within 10 working days).
Effective dates and amendment timeline
The original Circular 47/2014/TT-BCT took effect January 20, 2015; the successive amendments took effect July 20, 2016, October 18, 2018, February 5, 2020, March 8, 2022, and most recently July 1, 2025 (Circular 38/2025/TT-BCT, which mainly reassigns administrative-procedure authority under Vietnam's two-tier local government model and does not add new compliance duties for businesses).