Preventing acts of taking advantage of e-commerce for smuggling

E-commerce activities in Vietnam has significant developments

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for less direct contact with organizations and individuals providing products and goods increased. The organizations and individuals have taken advantage of e-commerce activities, mainly through express delivery, through websites to advertise, introduce, provide false information about products, and selling smuggled goods, goods of unknown origin, goods without invoices and documents, goods infringing intellectual property rights, counterfeit goods of famous brands, goods of poor quality, goods with restricted business, conditional trading goods and expired goods.

The competent forces at central and local levels have detected, fought, prevented and handled many violations with a complicated nature and many participants. The material evidence is prohibited goods, counterfeit goods and goods infringing intellectual property with high values.

To proactively detect and prevent this situation in a timely and effective manner, contribute to cleaning up the business environment, creating trust for consumers, promoting e-commerce to develop sustainably, and avoiding tax loss for the State, minimize loopholes and prevent subjects from taking advantage of e-commerce activities to commit acts of smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods, in Official Dispatch No. 3986/VPCP-V.I dated June 28, 2022, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, Director of National Steering Committee 389, requested the Steering Committees 389 of ministries, sectors and localities to continue effectively implementing Plan No. 399/KH-BCD389 of the National Steering Committee 389 on strengthening the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeiting in e-commerce activities and related documents.

At the same time, actively and firmly grasping the situation, strengthen inspection and control of e-commerce activities (advertising, introducing, offering for sale, transportation, delivery of goods); promoting the application of science and technology to promptly detect and handle acts of trading banned goods, smuggled goods, counterfeit goods, and goods infringing intellectual property rights through social networks and e-commerce channels.

Furthermore, strengthening coordination between units and competent forces in task performance; promptly detecting inadequacies, loopholes and overlaps in order to unify recommendations and propose competent authorities to amend, supplement or issue new relevant legal documents.

In addition, promoting communication and dissemination of legal provisions and results of detection and handling of violations in e-commerce activities to raise awareness and law observance of organizations and individuals; widely publicizing phone numbers, e-mail addresses and hotlines of the National Steering Committee 389 and Steering Committee 389 at all levels to ensure collection and handling of information from people and businesses about acts of smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods in the e-commerce environment in accordance with the Regulation on receipt and handling of information; having solutions to support and improve the capacity of law enforcement for the team in charge of management, inspection, examination and handling of violations in e-commerce.

The Deputy Prime Minister also requested to reward collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements. At the same time, strictly handling collectives and individuals that cover, abet and protect smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods in e-commerce activities.

The Deputy Prime Minister assigned the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee 389 to monitor the implementation and summarize the results and report to the Director of the Committee; advise the National Steering Committee 389 to organize a preliminary review of the two years of the implementation of the 399 Plan, on that basis, propose the Director of the Committee to continue directing in the future.