Total effort to prevent smuggled and counterfeit goods in Ho Chi Minh City

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A shipment of imported electric cables with signs of intellectual property rights infringement discovered by Ho Chi Minh City Customs has been prosecuted and transferred to Ho Chi Minh City Police for investigation. Photo: T.H

Strict control of 5 product groups

Ho Chi Minh City Steering Committee 389 has just issued a peak plan to combat smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods before, during and after the 2024 Lunar New Year Giap Thin in Ho Chi Minh City.

Accordingly, the City Steering Committee 389 requires functional forces to focus on implementing key contents.

Specifically, continue to strictly implement the guiding documents of the Government, National Steering Committee 389 and Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee on strengthening the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods; Develop and organize the effective implementation of the peak plan to combat smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods before, during and after the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin in 2024 according to functions, tasks of the area and field of responsibility.

Proactively grasp situation developments; Identify new methods and tricks of smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods; Identify routes, areas, key objects, develop plans to arrange patrol forces and vehicles, strictly control and strengthen professional measures, inspection and strict control at airports civil works, roads, railways, waterways, wholesale markets, commercial centers, and other inland trading areas to effectively detect and prevent smuggling and transportation activities. Illegally transferring goods across borders; trading and transporting prohibited goods, smuggled goods, and goods of unknown origin; tax evasion and trade fraud; producing and trading counterfeit goods.

Units need to pay attention to 5 groups of items and fields including: group of prohibited items, items affecting social order and safety; Group of essential goods for the Lunar New Year; Group of agricultural, forestry, aquatic products, agricultural materials and fertilizers; group of construction materials and equipment, products and goods on the list of prohibited imports; commodity products belonging to the market stabilization group.

The City Steering Committee 389 requests to promote close coordination between functional forces and specialized inspectors in strengthening the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods in Ho Chi Minh City; Direct competent agencies to receive and effectively handle denunciations and information about crimes and recommend prosecution of smuggling, illegal transportation of goods, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, especially seriously implementing the transfer to investigative agencies for cases with criminal signs.

Prevent smuggled goods from border gates

With the function of being an economic gatekeeper at the border gate, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department is assigned the task of strictly inspecting and controlling areas of land border gates, seaports, river ports, international civil airports, international post offices and other locations under customs control.

The City Border Guard Command is assigned to strengthen patrols, inspections, and controls at estuaries, seaports, and port border areas, especially buoy lines, anchorages, and cargo loading and unloading on rivers; ferry terminals, vehicles carrying passengers, sailors, and crew members from ship to shore. Timely detect and arrest when there are smuggling activities and illegal transportation of goods through the city's seaport border gates, focusing on a number of key and strategic goods: petroleum, minerals, chemicals, cigarettes, wood, sugar, consumer goods; prohibited goods: firecrackers, drugs.

Ho Chi Minh City Market Surveillance Department reviews key targets, traffickers and groups and implements professional measures according to regulations to promptly detect, inspect and strictly handle violations in accordance with the provisions of law; promptly report and propose coordination with Provincial Market Surveillance when it is necessary to investigate the place of production of goods or warehouses and storage points of goods outside the city.

Strengthen inspection, detection and handling of acts of trading in smuggled goods; producing and trading counterfeit goods, banned goods, and goods of unknown origin; intellectual property rights infringement; Violations of laws on quality, measurement, price, food safety and commercial fraud according to legal regulations. Focus on controlling groups of goods banned from import, banned from business and subject to conditional business; Groups of goods with high tax rates, special consumption tax, goods that greatly affect the economy: cigarettes, alcohol, gasoline, sugar, etc and essential goods for the Lunar New Year.

Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade proactively coordinates closely with authorities to strengthen regular inspection and control; Strictly handle according to the provisions of law in e-commerce activities, production and trading of petroleum, preparation solvent, etc in Ho Chi Minh City.

At the same time, regularly increase reviews of social networking sites, e-commerce applications, product groups and common violations to properly assess the current situation; promptly detect, exchange information, and coordinate with forces such as Market Surveillance, Police, Taxation, etc to conduct inspections, tests, and strictly handle organizations and individuals that violate the law in e-commerce activities.