You are using an outdated browser and your browsing experience will not be optimal. Please update to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Install Microsoft Edge

September 21, 2023

Myanmar Issues Guidelines for E-commerce Businesses

Subscribe to Updates

Myanmar’s Ministry of Commerce has announced its E-commerce Guidelines to regulate stakeholders engaging in e-commerce. The guidelines—which were issued on September 5, 2023, and took immediate effect—are mandatory for e-commerce business operators (both entities and individuals), and failure to comply with the guidelines’ requirements may result in penalties under relevant laws.

The E-commerce Guidelines come as Myanmar seeks to increase its regulation of e-commerce activities. The guidelines were preceded by a July 2023 notification requiring e-commerce business operators to register their activities with the Ministry of Commerce by January 21, 2024.

Definitions

“E-commerce” is defined as the sale of goods or services on the internet or other digital platforms. The term also covers sales promotions, marketing, logistics, ordering, and delivery. An “e-commerce platform entrepreneur” is a person who manages an e-commerce platform where two or more entrepreneurs can conduct e-commerce. An “e-commerce business operator” is a person operating or authorized to operate e-commerce activities. This includes e-commerce platform entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs selling on e-commerce platforms, and sellers through social media platforms.

Electronic Contracts

Acceptable forms of electronic contracts, which must comply with the Electronic Transactions Law, Contract Act, and other relevant laws, include:

  • Click-wrap, click-through, and web-wrap contracts;
  • Browse-wrap contracts; and
  • Agreements between seller and buyer on social media platforms, such as by accepting or rejecting an offer via direct message.

Samples of contract forms are appended to the guidelines.

Consumer Protection

Disclosure notices for consumers must be comprehensible, correct, consistent, simple, accessible, and visible. They can be written in Myanmar language, English, or Myanmar language and another language. They must also comply with the relevant provisions of the Consumer Protection Law.

The guidelines provide that if the agreed delivery date is eclipsed by more than 15 days, the consumer may terminate the contract and request a full refund of payment unless the contract specifically provides otherwise. To address problems like returns, refunds, and exchanges, e-commerce operators must establish clear, equitable, and transparent procedures or mechanisms to handle complaints and facilitate compensation for damage.

Marketing and Advertising

E-commerce business operators must ensure that their marketing and advertising of goods and services on online platforms comply with the Consumer Protection Law and the Competition Law. The guidelines also include provisions on native ads with a similar form or function to the media content being published (for example, promotional ads and paid ads published on Facebook), paid endorsements from digital influencers and celebrities, and advertising restrictions aimed at vulnerable groups (i.e., the elderly, children, and persons of unsound mind).

Additionally, e-commerce business operators must promote consumer education and awareness of rights, responsibilities, and online consumer procedures by including a link on their website that directs consumers to resources relating to consumer education programs or government-run programs.

Dispute Resolution

Disputes with consumers on online platforms must be settled in compliance with the Consumer Protection Law. The guidelines also recommend that e-commerce platform entrepreneurs and e-commerce business operators consider establishing internal complaint-handling mechanisms and taking advantage of alternative dispute resolution methods, as resolving domestic and transborder consumer complaints directly with the business operator rather than resolving them in the courts plays an important role in consumer dispute and redress systems. Consumer satisfaction-measuring systems or other conflict management systems should be included in such mechanisms.

Online Consumer Ratings and Reviews

Under the guidelines, e-commerce business operators may not:

  • Make use of ratings and reviews that are not written by an actual user of the product; or
  • Prevent consumers from posting honest reviews and ratings that are unfavorable.

E-commerce business operators are required to be open and honest about how ratings and reviews are handled. They must disclose the schedule, the rating and aggregate score standards, and the justifications for accepting or rejecting particular reviews.

Payment Terms and Conditions

Online payment service providers must provide customers with a record of their transactions for the last three years free of charge upon request, and e-commerce business operators must keep evidence of purchase and payment records for at least three years.

Additionally, payment service providers are liable for making up for any losses that consumers incur resulting from fraudulent transactions or security lapses that weren’t due to their own negligence.

Intellectual Property

E-commerce business operators must avoid any kind of direct intellectual property infringement under the Trademark Law, Industrial Design Law, Patent Law, and Copyright Law. E-commerce platform entrepreneurs must take necessary steps to take down infringing content related to goods and services sold on their platform. Failing to perform such a necessary takedown action will be deemed as the e-commerce platform entrepreneur having the same responsibility for the infringement as the relevant e-commerce entrepreneur.

The guidelines also broadly mention rules that both e-commerce business operators and consumers must follow:

  • Basic principles of protecting privacy and personal data;
  • Cybersecurity rules;
  • Taxation and minimum pricing rules; and
  • Transborder e-commerce rules.

For more details on Myanmar’s latest rules and requirements for e-commerce, please contact Tilleke & Gibbins at [email protected].

Related Professionals

Industries

Consumer Products

Technology

Practices

Regulatory Affairs

Location

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

August 4, 2026
Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019) (PDPA) could soon see some important changes, as a draft bill to amend the PDPA has been introduced in the House of Representatives. The draft amendment is currently in the public consultation phase, with comments accepted from July 16 to August 15, 2026. If enacted in its current form, the amendment would make three key changes: expanding the government exemption to cover anticorruption operations, introducing a statutory definition of “government agency,” and restructuring the lawful bases for personal data processing to align with international standards. Background The PDPA has encountered several enforcement challenges since its implementation, including three core problems identified by the bill’s sponsors: (1) the current exemptions for government agencies do not cover anticorruption and misconduct-prevention operations; (2) the PDPA lacks a clear statutory definition of “government agency,” causing legal uncertainty as to which entities are covered; and (3) the existing framework for lawful bases of data processing does not align with international standards—particularly the multiple-lawful-bases system in the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)—making compliance inflexible for both government and private sector entities. Expanded Government Exemption The current PDPA exempts government agencies performing duties related to national security (including fiscal security), public safety, anti-money laundering, forensic science, and cybersecurity. The proposed amendment adds “prevention and suppression of corruption and misconduct” to this list of exempted functions. This would allow anticorruption bodies—most notably the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which is identified as a directly affected party—to collect, use, and disclose personal data without being subject to PDPA requirements when carrying out their duties. New Statutory Definition of “Government Agency” Notably, while the current PDPA use the term “government agency” in several provisions, the term is not comprehensively defined, creating potential uncertainty as to its scope. The draft bill therefore
Read More
August 3, 2026
On July 23, 2026, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) released for public comment its draft Notification on Digital Channel Security, which would significantly expand the scope and stringency of Thailand’s existing mobile banking security framework. If finalized in its current form, the draft notification would extend mandatory security requirements to credit card providers and credit providers, cover internet banking in addition to mobile applications, phase out SMS one-time passwords (OTPs) for transaction authentication, and introduce biometric verification requirements for high-value transactions. The public comment period is open through August 24, 2026. Background The BOT’s existing Mobile Banking Security Notification, issued in 2024, sets minimum security standards for financial institutions, specialized financial institutions (SFIs), and e-money providers, significantly reducing “money-draining app” fraud. However, fraudsters have since shifted to nonbank providers and internet banking channels, prompting the BOT to propose broader security requirements. Expanded Scope of Regulated Entities and Channels The existing Mobile Banking Security Notification covers only financial institutions, SFIs, and e-money providers offering mobile banking services. The draft expands coverage in two key areas: entities and channels. On the entity side, it adds credit card providers and credit providers that offer fund transfers to third parties at other financial service providers or that provide cash withdrawal services to individual retail customers. On the channel side, it broadens coverage to include internet banking in addition to mobile banking. Strengthened Customer Authentication The draft introduces enhanced authentication requirements in three areas: Service enrollment and device changes. Providers must implement rigorous identity verification, notify customers of enrollment results through out-of-band communication channels, and adopt risk-mitigation measures such as cooling-off periods and temporary transaction limits. Transaction-level authentication. Providers must use two-factor authentication for fund transfers, cardless ATM withdrawals, and transaction limit increases. Secure authentication factors. Key requirements include the following: “What-you-know” factors must
Read More
July 28, 2026
Data protection officers (DPOs) have become a fixture of Thailand’s privacy compliance landscape since the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019) (PDPA) took full effect and the Office of the Personal Data Protection Committee (PDPC) began requiring certain organizations to appoint them. On July 7, 2026, the Office of the PDPC presented draft guidance on DPOs as part of a public consultation on a series of draft personal data protection manuals and recommendations. The draft offers the clearest indication yet of how the regulator expects the DPO role to work in practice, addressing recurring implementation issues under the PDPA—including when an organization must appoint a DPO, how the DPO should operate independently, how to manage conflicts of interest, and how data subjects and regulators should be able to contact the DPO. Because it remains in draft, organizations have an opportunity to weigh the practical implications now before the guidance is finalized. When a DPO Must Be Appointed The draft guidance clarifies the triggers for mandatory DPO appointment, including: Regular and systematic monitoring of personal data or systems on a large scale, such as tracking, analyzing, or predicting behavior, attitudes, or individual characteristics. Core activities involving large-scale processing of sensitive personal data, such as health data, biometric data, or criminal records. Certain foreign-organization representative arrangements. Public-sector coverage under relevant notifications identifying government entities that must appoint a DPO. Processing involving 100,000 or more data subjects may be considered large-scale. The guidance also contemplates voluntary DPO appointment for organizations that wish to raise their privacy governance standards, and such organizations should still comply with the standards applicable to DPOs under the law. Independence and Reporting Lines The draft guidance identifies lack of DPO independence as a core risk because an ineffective or constrained DPO may be unable to raise deficiencies
Read More
July 27, 2026
Vietnam’s new E-Commerce Law, which took effect on 1 July 2026 along with its implementing Decree No. 248/2026/ND-CP (Decree 248), marks a significant development in the country’s approach to online intellectual property (IP) enforcement, reflecting a clear shift from a reactive model of intermediary liability to one that expects platforms to play a more active role in preventing infringement. From notice-and-takedown to platform responsibility The most significant change introduced by the E-Commerce Law is the transformation of the legal role of e-commerce platforms. The existing safe harbor provisions under the IP Law and the copyright notice-and-takedown regime established by Decree 17/2023/ND-CP (Decree 17) largely required intermediaries to act only after receiving notice of infringement. Once infringing content had been removed, the platform’s legal obligation was generally considered fulfilled. The new legislation adopts a fundamentally different approach. Article 17 of the E-Commerce Law requires intermediary platforms to screen information relating to goods and services before publication in order to prevent listings involving counterfeit or IP-infringing goods, and goods of unknown origin. Rather than relying exclusively on complaints from rights holders, platforms are now expected to implement preventive measures before infringing listings become publicly available. Decree 248 further requires platforms to update keyword filters based on recommendations issued by competent authorities. These filtering mechanisms are intended to prevent prohibited listings from appearing on the platform and represent a further move away from a purely complaint-driven enforcement model. The legislation also introduces Vietnam’s first statutory stay-down obligation. Under the E-Commerce Law and Decree 248, major digital platforms must maintain automated systems capable of reviewing, warning against, and removing unlawful listings while also implementing measures to prevent repeat violations, defined under Decree 248 as conduct that has previously been identified and handled by the platform, but continues to recur. This obligation addresses one
Read More