Hanoi (VNA) – Market surveillance authorities across Vietnam processed nearly 20,000 cases involving smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods in the first six months of 2026, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
The MoIT's Agency for Domestic Market Surveillance and Development, which is the standing body of the ministry's Steering Committee 389 on anti-smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeits, said the domestic market remained generally stable during the period, with adequate supplies of essential goods meeting production, business and consumer demand.
However, it noted, smuggling, commercial fraud and counterfeits remained complex across many sectors and localities.
Statistics show that enforcement forces under Steering Committee 389 inspected 23,715 cases in the first half of the year, uncovering 19,937 cases with 22,669 violations.
The crackdown generated more than 330 billion VND (over 12.5 million USD) for the state budget, including nearly 306 billion VND in administrative fines, over 14 billion VND in illicit gains and other revenues, and more than 18 billion VND from the auction of confiscated goods.
The total value of goods seized reached nearly 209 billion VND, including almost 82 billion VND in confiscated products and more than 127 billion VND worth of destroyed goods.
Specifically, in the fuel sector, market surveillance forces examined 179 cases and handled 84 of them, collecting more than 5 billion VND for the state budget. Common offences included failing to maintain mandatory minimum fuel reserves, operating outside the scope of business licences, and selling fuel outside authorised distribution networks.
In the second quarter alone, authorities dealt with nearly 5,400 intellectual property-related cases, imposing administrative fines of almost 66 billion VND. Most involved counterfeit products, trademark infringement, violations of industrial property rights and the sale of goods of unknown origin, particularly through e-commerce channels.
Regarding online commerce, 424 cases involving e-commerce violations were investigated and sanctioned, with total fines of about 7.9 billion VND. Frequent offences included failing to register sales websites and applications, not fully disclosing business information, and trading products without clear origin.
Meanwhile, 2,124 food safety violations were handled, resulting in fines of around 16.9 billion VND. Inspections focused on producers and traders of health supplements, dairy products, confectionery and frozen foods.
The agency noted that illegal activities are increasingly moving into the digital environment, with offenders exploiting social media, e-commerce platforms, express delivery services and transit warehouses to distribute illicit goods while frequently changing transaction accounts and business locations to evade detection.
In response, market surveillance forces stepped up regular and surprise inspections under plans issued by the Government, the MoIT and Steering Committee 389 at all levels. Enforcement efforts focused on high-risk sectors, including counterfeit and smuggled goods, e-commerce, fuel, food safety, tobacco, agricultural inputs and essential commodities.
During the six months, authorities also referred 128 criminal offences to investigation agencies. In addition, the agency received 1,339 hotline calls and 274 email reports, forwarding 29 cases involving counterfeits and IP-related violations to provincial and municipal market surveillance authorities for further action./.
22 suspects prosecuted in transnational diamond-smuggling ring
The police determined that, from 2024, this ring has completed 141 shipments, smuggling more than 28,000 diamonds of various types from Hong Kong (China) into Vietnam for sale.
