A market watch official checks goods at a store in Sơn La Province. Việt Nam Directorate of Market Surveillance is enhancing checks to help prevent smuggling and counterfeits ahead of  the Tết holidays. — VNA/VNS Photo Quang Quyết

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam Directorate of Market Surveillance said that prevention of smuggling, trade frauds and counterfeit goods will be stepped up in the months ahead of Tết (Lunar New Year) holidays to March 1, 2025.

The focus will be on products which are in demand for the Tết holidays such as tobacco, spirits, beer, sugar, food, electronics, clothing, footwear, livestock and poultry, firecrackers and fireworks.

Scrutiny of online shopping platforms will also be increased, including e-commerce platforms, websites and social networks like Facebook and TikTok, together with tightening the management on the transportation of goods for border provinces and international airports into the country.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, officials inspected more than 61,000 cases in the first ten months of this year and found more than 41,700 violations with more than VNĐ777 billion (VNĐ30.6 million) worth of goods and fines handled.

Violations including those related to product origins, intellectual property and food safety, with frauds concerning e-commerce businesses, especially livestreaming, increasing and becoming more sophisticated.

Statistics from the Việt Nam E-commerce Association showed that there are around 2.5 million livestreaming sessions per month on average, with the participation of more than 50,00 million sellers.

Director of Việt Nam Directorate of Market Surveillance, Trần Hữu Linh said that it’s time to have regulations to manage online businesses as if they were operating offline. — VNS