A border patrol in Quảng Ninh Province seize 1,900 cigarette packs and 28kg of firecrackers smuggled from China. VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Hoàng

HÀ NỘI — Quảng Ninh Province has kept smuggling in check through its close surveillance of cross-border movement of goods.

Nguyễn Đình Hưng, director of Quảng Ninh Province's Market Surveillance Agency, said the number of smuggling cases in 2022 has dropped compared to 2021.

The decline can be attributed to Provincial Steering Committee 389's tough measures against smuggling and anti-smuggling task forces' increased patrols in the border.

"The trafficking of illegal goods on cross-country trails has been brought to an end," said Hưng.

With smuggling under control, the agency has developed a resolution that highlighted its shift of focus to counterfeiting. Under the resolution, the agency is determined to crack down on products without adequate labels.

The director said its on-site inspections detected 698 cases of smuggling and counterfeiting in the first nine months of 2022. Of which, 571 cases have been handled and 536 perpetrators have been fined. 

The figures for September alone were 104 detected cases, 95 handled cases and 91 fined perpetrators. Total value of seized contrabands and counterfeit goods stood at VNĐ1.4 billion during the month. 

One worth-noting case was on October 12, when Market Surveillance Task Force Number 1 inspected a firm in Móng Cái City and found some imported products without extra labels in Vietnamese language.

For the lack of adequate labels, the firm had to pay a fine of VNĐ27.5 million and have its products, valued at over VNĐ85 million, seized. In sum, roughly VNĐ113 million was added to State Budget.

The next day, the task force busted a fashion shop in Hạ Long City and found a number of counterfeit products that have been copied from famous brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior and Chanel. A fine of VNĐ55 million was imposed and all the products were confiscated.

Recently, the agency has worked in cooperation with Provincial Deparment of Finance, Department of Customs and People's Procuracy to have nearly VNĐ2 billion of contrabands and counterfeit goods destroyed and discarded.

The illegal items included VNĐ400 million of cigarette, VNĐ450 million of COVID-19 test kits, VNĐ120 million of cosmetics, and over VNĐ50 million of electronics.

Director Hưng said his agency will continue to step up inspection and keep a closer watch on ecommerce to clamp down on illegal trade practices in the late months of the year. — VNS