Vietnamese consumers generate 4.1 billion postal items per year

Compared to when the Postal Law was enacted in 2010, Vietnam’s annual postal volume has surged from 330 million to over 4.1 billion items, underscoring the need to revise the law to keep pace with industry growth.

The Ministry of Science and Technology is currently drafting the revised Postal Law to adapt to sector-wide transformations and clearly define the operating scopes of postal and logistics services, thereby enabling appropriate regulatory mechanisms.

According to Ms. Nguyen Nhu Quynh, Director General of the Legal Affairs Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology, the core focus of the amended law lies in the sector’s transition toward the digital and e-commerce landscape, the restructuring of universal postal services in remote and rural areas, and the clear demarcation between postal services and freight transport.

The draft law is scheduled to be reviewed and passed by the 16th National Assembly at its second session this coming October, taking effect in July 2027. It outlines four policy pillars: redefining postal services based on the operational nature; expanding universal postal services to parcels and packages; developing postal systems into critical infrastructure for both the nation and the digital economy; and advancing digital postal services on data platforms.

Comprising 8 chapters and 51 articles, the draft law refines the statutory definition of postal services. Beyond the standard stages of acceptance, sorting, transport, and delivery, the draft incorporates warehousing, order fulfillment, packaging, and returns processing, provided that these operations are tied directly to individual postal items and conducted throughout service provision across the postal network.

Simplifying Administrative Procedures

Whereas traditional correspondence previously accounted for the vast majority, parcels and packages now make up more than 90% of total volume. Speaking at a mid-September online consultation conference with 34 provinces and municipalities, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Duc Long remarked that "postal systems serve as the critical infrastructure sustaining the 'physical flow' of goods, especially in e-commerce."

Accordingly, the amended Law aims to demarcate postal and logistics services based on the operational nature of the activities. Specifically, an enterprise operating a closed-loop service delivery network—encompassing item acceptance, sorting, line-haul and transport, tracking, and final-mile delivery to an agreed-upon address or collection point—is classified as providing postal services. Postal operators may own, lease, or collaborate to run some or all of these operational components.

Conversely, standalone logistics or freight activities—providing discrete stages such as warehousing, cargo handling, freight consolidation, or inventory management without forming a comprehensive end-to-end postal network—fall outside this regulatory scope. According to the drafting authority, this distinction resolves one of the most persistent ambiguities in today's market, enabling businesses to properly identify applicable business licensing criteria and associated legal obligations.

An annual volume exceeding 4.1 billion shipments also necessitates reforms in state regulatory approaches. A representative of the Legal Affairs Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology noted that the revision aims to pivot from ex-ante licensing to data-driven, risk-based ex-post oversight. Rather than applying a blanket regulatory approach across all operators amid surging volumes, regulatory resources will target high-risk operations. Simplifying administrative procedures is expected to yield substantial savings in time and compliance costs for market participants.

Deploying Advanced Transit and Traceability Technologies

One proposed regulatory mechanism is a standardized parcel identification and traceability framework. Each postal item will be assigned a unique system identifier, enabling end-to-end tracking from acceptance and sorting through transit and last-mile delivery. This serves as a vital tool to trace lost or damaged goods, detect the illicit exploitation of postal networks for trafficking contraband or smuggled items, and pinpoint liability when incidents occur.

The Ministry of Science and Technology also envisions establishing regulatory sandboxes for emerging technologies, including delivery drones, while incentivizing green postal solutions to reduce carbon emissions from transport fleets and packaging materials.

The drafting committee emphasizes that modernizing the Postal Law seeks to lower market entry barriers, spur innovation, and enhance service capabilities. Ultimate effectiveness will be demonstrated through service quality improvements, as well as a more convenient, secure, and resilient fulfillment network.

According to data from the Postal Department, Vietnam’s market has undergone structural shifts in both scale and business models since the enactment of the original law. In 2010, Vietnam had approximately 40 postal operators, an annual volume of 330 million items, and revenues of around 4,000 billion VND. By 2025, the number of licensed operators reached 760, annual volume surpassed 4.1 billion shipments, and total revenue exceeded 87,000 billion VND. Between 2020 and 2025 alone, total shipment throughput grew more than fourfold.

Source: VnExpress – By Nam Nguyen, Thanh Xuan