Temu exchange will be blocked by technical measures if it does not comply with Vietnamese law.

If Temu still does not register as prescribed, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will discuss with the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Information and Communications to take technical measures to prevent it.

Recently, cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Temu, Shein, 1688... have conducted business activities in Vietnam but have not registered their operations with the Ministry of Industry and Trade , attracting great attention from consumers in Vietnam and becoming a hot topic in many media.

To strengthen state management in the field of cross-border e-commerce, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has drastically implemented a series of measures in recent times.

Specifically, the Ministry has sent a document to the Prime Minister on the issuance of a telegram on continuing to strengthen state management of e-commerce. In particular, it has studied and proposed the issuance of a specialized law on e-commerce to strengthen state management of cross-border e-commerce activities and amend Decision No. 78/2010/QD-TTg on the value of imported goods sent via express delivery services that are exempt from tax.

In particular, in response to Temu's violations in cross-border e-commerce, on October 26, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien signed Official Dispatch 8598/BCT-TMĐT to units under the Ministry on strengthening state management of e-commerce.

In particular, the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy is required to preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies and units in October 2024 to strengthen communication and guide consumers to be cautious when shopping online on cross-border e-commerce platforms in general and platforms such as Temu, Shein, 1688... in particular. In particular, absolutely do not conduct transactions with platforms that have not been confirmed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to register at the e-commerce management information portal.

Advise the Ministry's leaders to report to the Prime Minister to direct the Ministry of Finance to study a plan to monitor and manage imported goods circulating through e-commerce platforms that do not comply with the provisions of Vietnamese law.

At the same time, in October 2024, the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy must proactively contact Temu's legal team to request compliance with current Vietnamese laws, and if necessary, coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications to have appropriate technical solutions to prevent.

Coordinate with relevant agencies of the Government Office to update the progress of issuing the Prime Minister's Official Dispatch; Coordinate with relevant agencies of relevant ministries and branches to implement. Implementation time: according to the progress assigned in the Official Dispatch.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade also assigned the General Department of Market Management to preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies and units, and the General Department of Customs to strengthen supervision, detection, and handling of warehouses and goods gathering points (if any) of unregistered cross-border e-commerce platforms. This will be done regularly.

The National Competition Commission is assigned to preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies and units to strengthen the protection of consumer rights in cyberspace, take timely measures to disseminate information to consumers, and raise awareness of the risks when purchasing on cross-border e-commerce platforms.

The document also requests that in October 2024, the Legal Department shall preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies and units to review legal factors and propose solutions to handle cross-border e-commerce platforms operating illegally.

The Department of Trade Promotion is assigned to preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies and units to propose solutions to handle promotional forms that do not comply with legal regulations on e-commerce platforms.

In November 2024, the Domestic Market Department shall preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies and units to assess the impact on the domestic market (if any) when foreign goods enter the Vietnamese market through cross-border e-commerce platforms.

The units with inspection and examination functions under the Ministry need to strengthen inspection and examination activities, promptly detect and strictly handle violations in commerce, especially in the e-commerce environment. In the process of handling violations, problems related to handling mechanisms and regulatory legal regulations need to be reviewed and evaluated to recommend competent authorities to continue to improve and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement.

Industry and Trade Newspaper, Industry and Trade Magazine, Industry and Trade Television strengthen propaganda and warning work to raise awareness of consumers, the business community and the whole society in building and developing a healthy and sustainable e-commerce environment.

Temu has an e-commerce website and Vietnamese language application but has not registered with the Ministry of Industry and Trade. (Photo: Fortune)

In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Trade recently issued a notice warning consumers about the risks of shopping on unregistered cross-border e-commerce platforms.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, cross-border e-commerce platforms that have not completed their registration and licensing obligations in Vietnam as prescribed will not be subject to supervision by competent authorities regarding product quality or after-sales service commitments. Therefore, in the event of unexpected problems arising during transactions, consumers are at risk of facing some difficulties.

When making purchases on unregistered cross-border e-commerce platforms, consumers are often required to provide international payment information such as credit cards or e-wallet information. If this data is not managed and protected in accordance with Vietnamese law, it is at risk of being stolen or illegally exploited, leading to major risks to personal information security.

In particular, goods purchased from cross-border e-commerce platforms do not anticipate tax obligations on imported goods, leading to problems related to tax obligations and legal issues when products are imported into Vietnam. This can cause consumers trouble when products are detained at the border gate or incur additional costs due to taxes that are not expected or not as initially announced.

Sharing about this issue, Ms. Le Hoang Oanh - Director of the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy said that these cross-national e-commerce platforms have attracted the attention of users with promotional policies and fast shipping times.

As for the Temu e-commerce platform, it has not yet registered to operate as required by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, there are no regulations to protect consumers, promotions of over 50% are not in accordance with Vietnamese law, and it does not comply with regulations on taxes, competition, and multi-level marketing.

“The Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy has proactively worked with Temu and they have coordinated, sent representatives to work and said that they will seriously implement the provisions of the law and post a notice on the platform about the registration process. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has announced the regulations on cross-border e-commerce and requested them to comply. If this platform does not coordinate and does not register according to regulations, it will discuss with the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Information and Communications to take technical measures to prevent it,” said Ms. Oanh.

In addition, Ms. Oanh also said that the Ministry of Industry and Trade has also proposed to amend the Law on Value Added Tax in the regulation on exemption of value added tax for imported goods with a value of less than 1 million VND; amend customs regulations on import and export activities via e-commerce such as a mechanism to clearly classify which flow is commercial goods and which flow is e-commerce goods. At the same time, it proposed to strengthen the supervision of imported goods.

In an interview, Mr. Hoang Ninh, Deputy Director of the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (Ministry of Industry and Trade) added:

On behalf of the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy, we have worked with the law firm authorized by Temu in Vietnam. Accordingly, we request Temu to perform the following contents:

First , urgently post a warning banner on the website's homepage and the application's homepage to Vietnamese visitors about the website and mobile application being in the process of registering with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, so that consumers are aware that Temu has not been licensed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade to provide e-commerce services.

Second, review and remove illegal trade promotion services, remove all content related to hierarchical commission payments for marketing services according to the provisions of the Law on Consumer Protection.

Third, proactively research Vietnamese laws, not only on e-commerce but also on regulations on information security, tax, customs and other related contents.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/se-chan-san-temu-bang-bien-phap-ky-thuat-neu-khong-tuan-thu-qui-dnh-cua-phap-luat-viet-nam-356711.html