Chinese online retailers Temu and Shein have suspended operations in Vietnam as they attempt to register their e-commerce services with the Southeast Asian nation’s authorities, the two companies announced on Thursday ( Dec. 5 ).
The trade ministry said it was also concerned about potential sales of counterfeits, and the Asian government and private businesses have expressed concern about the effects of deep discounting by Foreign online platforms.
Shein and Temu were advised next month to file a state record with the country by the end of November, or they could lose access to their software and internet domains.
Strong clothing store Shein has been selling into Vietnam for at least two times, while Chinese e-commerce large PDD Holdings, owned by Temu, began allowing customers from Vietnam in October.
Temu’s business registration deadline was missed, according to the Vietnam trade government, which announced on Thursday that it had ordered it to halt operations there.
Temu procedures may be briefly suspended until the registration process is finished, according to the ministry’s speech.
The program has submitted an application for Vietnamese government ‘ review of its e-commerce service activities.
The government did not specify what actions Temu may take before it is lifted or how long the suspension would be in effect.
On Thursday, Vietnamese-language selections were missing from Temu’s site when accessed from Vietnam.
Temu announced in a observe on the website that it is working with the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to record its delivery of e-commerce service in Vietnam.
In response to a Reuters ‘ internet request for comment, Temu said it had submitted all paperwork required for the subscription, but gave no timeline for resuming activities.
It is not clear if the authorities even halted Shein’s operations, but its Asian site was absent, with the business saying it was working with the industry ministry to record services.
Shein stated in an emailed speech that while its Asian site was temporarily absent, customers in Vietnam may also make purchases from its international system.” Shein is committed to complying with the laws and regulations of the countries we operate in,” Shein said in an emailed statement.
A request for comment was not immediately received by the ministry.
Temu has also fallen in Indonesia, where authorities have asked Alphabet’s Google and Apple to halt its app stores in an effort to protect small businesses.
Last week, Vietnam’s parliament recommended that local operators of foreign e-commerce platforms pay value-added tax (VAT ) and that the low-cost import goods exemption be abolished.
The finance ministry claimed at the time that the elimination of the tax break had already been in progress.
The change is a blow to the largely foreign-dominated e-commerce sector, which has benefited from a VAT exemption and rules preventing duties on imports worth less than$ 1 million ( US$ 40 ) since 2010 as a result.  ,