In a document answering National Assembly (NA) deputies' queries on e-commerce management, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien stated that e-commerce has been growing strongly in recent years. In 2023, e-commerce activities in Vietnam continued to grow robustly at a rate of 25 percent compared to 2022, ranking among the top 5 countries with the fastest growth rate in the world. It is forecast that in the coming years, e-commerce activities in Vietnam will continue to grow positively.

However, the rapid development of e-commerce has also posed challenges to management agencies that are responsible for supervision and consumer protection in the face of counterfeit goods, poor-quality goods, intellectual property infringements, and violations of consumer protection laws.

To address these challenges, the MoIT has built and operated an online petition and feedback mechanism for consumers through the E-commerce Management Portal (www.online.gov.vn) and the Consumer Protection Call Center at the MoIT and 52 provinces and cities with the toll-free number 1800.6838 since 2015 to directly advise and support consumers on good quality-related issues. The MoIT receives over 11,000 calls per year.

Functional forces have also regularly monitored, supervised, detected, and handled violations through online sales and live streaming. In 2023, the MoIT requested e-commerce platforms and websites to block and remove 6,254 shops with 23,359 violating products. Market surveillance forces have paid visits to 834 business establishments detecting 764 cases, and fined VND12 billion.

In addition, the Ministry has closely coordinated with the National Steering Committee 389, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Health, and functional forces to review and handle hundreds of violating websites/applications each year as well as transferring documents of many cases to the police for further investigation for preventing consumers’ loss due to buying fake commodities.

However, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien admitted despite the implementation of many solutions, the management, supervision, and protection of consumer rights in e-commerce still have many shortcomings and limitations such as the complicated situation of counterfeit, imitation, and poor-quality goods. E-commerce is having an increasingly large impact, especially on young people, the elderly, and people living in rural, mountainous, and remote areas, which has led to some negative consequences such as online scams and shopping addiction.

The head of the MoIT said that the Ministry will urgently build and submit to the Government a draft amendment to Decree No. 98/2020/ND-CP on regulating administrative penalties for violations in trade, production, trading of counterfeit goods, prohibited goods, and protecting consumer rights and Decree No. 17/2022/ND-CP on penalties for the production of counterfeit goods, prohibited goods, chemicals, and explosives. The amendment will strengthen sanctions for violations of consumer protection laws in e-commerce.

Besides, the regulations related to e-commerce will also be further studied and proposed for amendment, such as supplementing new concepts in line with the regulations of the 2023 Law on Electronic Transactions and the (amended) 2023 Law on Consumer Protection; supplementing regulations on verifying personal seller accounts and providing information on websites and applications providing e-commerce services.

Moreover, owners of digital platforms/intermediary digital platforms, and influencers must be responsible for their personal products while the responsibility of intermediary service providers supporting e-commerce activities such as logistics will be focused on. Additionally, there will be regulations for the management of foreign-invested organizations providing e-commerce services in Vietnam.

Sai Gon Giai Phong