Hanoi (VNA) – Several serious cases of counterfeit goods uncovered recently revealed negligence from certain agencies and localities in management and control efforts, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed while chairing a working session with ministries and central agencies on May 14 to assess the efficiency of smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods prevention and combat so far this year and discuss future tasks.
The Government leader cited cases such as the fake milk scandal in Hanoi, counterfeit medicines in Thanh Hoa, fake food in Phu Tho, counterfeit dietary supplements in Hanoi, and counterfeit goods in Ho Chi Minh City.
Counterfeit products are being sold widely on social media, with reports of price manipulation, hoarding, and illegal mark-ups, he noted, emphasising that these activities negatively impact public health, people's trust, security and order, and lead to significant revenue losses, further disrupting many aspects of social life.
He questioned whether this is due to a lack of responsibility, overlapping tasks, or negligence in oversight.
The PM requested that strict reviews must be carried out to clarify the causes and identify the responsibility of organisations and individuals involved. He also urged the proposal of tasks, solutions, and accountability from agencies, localities, and enforcement bodies to stop and ultimately eliminate smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods.
According to the National Steering Committee against Smuggling, Counterfeit Goods and Trade Fraud (National Steering Committee 389), while the volume of exports, imports, passengers and cargo traffic through border gates has continued to rise, at border areas, illegal activities such as the trafficking of banned goods, including drugs, fireworks, foreign cigarettes, smuggled goods, and counterfeit, substandard items like petrol, oil, gold, alcohol, beer, sugar, cosmetics, dietary supplements, clothing, food, frozen goods, and household products have become more rampant.
Within inland areas, violations related to the production and sale of counterfeit goods, intellectual property rights infringements, products with illegal labels, expired goods, smuggled items, and goods without invoices or receipts have continued to occur in most provinces and cities, with illicit trading carried out openly on social media.
Authorities have handled over 34,000 violations, including over 8,200 cases of smuggling and trafficking of banned or illegal goods, more than 25,100 cases of trade fraud and tax evasion, and over 1,100 cases involving counterfeit goods and intellectual property rights violations. They collected more than 4.89 trillion VND (188.34 million USD) for the state budget. Additionally, nearly 1,400 criminal cases have been prosecuted, involving over 2,100 suspects.
However, the situation of smuggling and illegal cross-border trafficking remains complicated. Within the country, the production and sale of counterfeit and substandard goods, along with products of unclear origin or intellectual property infringements, continue to be openly traded in many areas. The situation is exacerbated in the booming e-commerce environment, with large-scale and long-term illegal activities directly impacting public health.
The illegal sale of invoices, tax evasion, and exploitation of favourable import policies for smuggling and trade fraud remain undetected and unaddressed in a timely manner, according to the steering committee./.
