Illustrative photo Hanoi (VNA) – Consumers and businesses are called on tojoin authorities to curb counterfeit, fake, and smuggled goods on online shoppingplatforms, particularly as e-commerce has been thriving strongly in Vietnam.
Statistics from the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM) showthat in 2021, Vietnam’s retail e-commerce market size reached 13.5-13.7 billionUSD. In 2022, the figure increased to 16.4 billion USD and is forecasted toreach about 38 - 39 billion USD by 2025.
According to experts, the buying trend of consumers has changedrapidly in the past three years with all items due to the COVID-19 pandemic,from consumer goods, food, drinks, fashion, and cosmetics.
However, according to preliminary statistics from the Ministryof Industry and Trade (MoIT), authorities receive about 1,500 complaints viahotlines and written documents each year related to online shopping.
Tran Huu Linh, Director General of the MOIT’s General Departmentof Market Management, said that last year, the market management forcenationwide inspected 774 cases relating to e-commerce, detected 439 violations,and collected a total fine of nearly 5.9 billion VND (over 250,000 USD).
“This is still quite a modest number compared to reality,” hesaid.
Nguyen Thi Minh Huyen, Deputy Director of the MOIT’s E-Commerceand Digital Economy Authority, said that violations that exist in conventionaltrade all appear in e-commerce. Moreover, it’s easier to conduct violations onthe internet while it’s much more difficult to detect and handle them becausesellers don’t set up physical warehouses/stores, or goods are stored in manyplaces and they only accept online orders.
Moreover, online stores are easily created and closed in a shorttime. The product information posted online may be real, but the productdelivered to buyers can be fake, she said.
Nguyen Duc Le, Deputy Director of the Operations Department,General Department of Market Management, said that acts of trading counterfeitsmuggled goods, those infringing intellectual property rights, and goods ofunknown origin are increasingly sophisticated and occur more often in theonline environment.
E-commerce activities are based on technology infrastructure, soduring the inspection, violators can hide and delete pieces of evidencequickly, making it difficult for law enforcement force.
In addition, for transactions on social networks, it is verydifficult to prove them commercial transactions as sellers and buyers usepersonal accounts to contact each other and pay online too.
Nguyen Huu Tuan, Head of the Department of E-commerce Managementunder MOIT’s E-Commerce and Digital Economy Authority, said that in many cases, consumers know that the goods are fake or of unknown origin, but still buy or donot denounce them. Meanwhile, many businesses have not paid attention toanti-counterfeiting and brand protection.
Deputy Director of the MOIT’s E-Commerce and Digital EconomyAuthority Huyen said that to strengthen the control over online counterfeiting goodsand promote the development of e-commerce, it is necessary to review andperfect relevant legal framework and increase public legal understanding,especially for traders, organisations and individuals.
It’s also a must to increase the responsibility of e-commerceplatforms and social networking sites in screening, preventing, and preventingaccounts that do not provide sufficient information, and accounts with signs oftrading infringing goods.
Moreover, the agency has planned to offer training for businessesand owners of protected trademarks to create a favourable mechanism forcomplaint settlement, verifying infringing goods as well as strengtheningcoordination among relevant agencies./.
