Market management staff inspect goods at a convenient store. The ministry is currently drafting a decree to amend and supplement several articles of Decree 98 on the penalties for administrative violations in commercial activities, production and trade in counterfeit and prohibited goods. — Photo thuonghieucongluan.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has proposed adding new regulations on penalties for the production and sale of counterfeit and prohibited goods to enhance consumers protection and safeguard the legitimate interests of business establishments.

The ministry is currently drafting a decree to amend and supplement several articles of Decree No. 98/2020/NĐ-CP, issued on August 26, 2020, on the penalties for administrative violations in commercial activities, production and trade in counterfeit and prohibited goods. Decree 98, amended to align with Decree No. 17/2022/NĐ-CP dated January 31, 2022, introduced stricter criteria and higher fines for violations related to commercial activities, production of and trade of counterfeit or banned goods.

However, after more than three years of implementation, the decree has revealed some shortcomings due to overlapping regulations in other legal documents governing administrative violations, leading to inconsistency in application.

Recently, several new legal documents have been issued with many new contents, raising the need to review rules on administrative violations to ensure the cohesive legal system and the effectiveness of law enforcement against violations.

On June 20th, 2023, the National Assembly passed the Law on Protection of Consumers' Interests No. 19/2023/QH15, effective from July 1, 2024, setting out urgent requirements to review, amend and supplement regulations related to administrative violations in protecting consumers' interests, as stated in the Decree 98.

MoIT explained that the draft decree aims to amend and supplement regulations with a focus on better protecting consumers' interests. This amendment is designed to enhance the feasibility and convenience for various entities, including branches, agencies and law enforcement forces in their efforts to combat smuggling, commercial fraud and counterfeit goods, while promoting the law compliance of organisations, businesses and consumers.

One of notable changes is the fine level mentioned in the in Article 4, Point b of Chapter II, which applies to most administrative violations by individuals, except for specific ones listed in various articles. If an organisation commits a violation, the fine is twice the amount for individuals.

Additionally, Section 9 of Chapter II, which covers violations related to consumer rights protection, now includes specific sanctions for various violations such as protecting consumer information, safeguarding vulnerable consumers' rights, and ensuring consumer rights in transactions with unregistered commercial individuals.

In Decree 98, fines for selling counterfeit product range from VNĐ300,000 to VNĐ30 million. For illegally imported goods valued under VNĐ3 million, fines range from VNĐ200,000 to VNĐ1 billion. — VNS