Continue to review violations in e-commerce

Authorities will continue to review, monitor, and inspect violations in e-commerce, especially with cross-border digital platforms.

Many forms of violations in the field of e-commerce

In recent times, e-commerce has developed strongly, becoming an inevitable trend of the global economy, especially cross-border e-commerce activities. However, the rapid development of e-commerce also poses many challenges for transactions in cyberspace, management and supervision, and protection of consumer rights...

To improve the effectiveness and efficiency of state management in the field of e-commerce, in recent times, law enforcement on e-commerce has always been focused on.

Director of the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy Le Hoang Oanh shared at the conference to summarize the work in 2024 and deploy tasks in 2025. Photo: Ngoc Cham

The report at the Conference summarizing the work in 2024 and deploying tasks in 2025 of the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (Ministry of Industry and Trade) held on the morning of January 3 showed that in 2024, the Department received dossiers, provided advice and supported 8,794 enterprises, organizations and 1,520 individuals to register accounts; carried out notification procedures for 13,340 e-commerce websites and 583 websites providing e-commerce services to carry out registration procedures; received and handled 165 feedbacks, including major violations such as not registering, notifying websites/applications, providing products that do not ensure quality, impersonating other businesses to defraud customers, etc.

The Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy has also coordinated with the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-tech Crime Prevention (Ministry of Public Security) to detect cases with signs of taking advantage of e-commerce to trade in smuggled goods on a large scale and in large quantities of cosmetics, functional foods, household appliances, shoes, etc. with millions of orders sold. The inspection team temporarily seized 125,088 products of various types including food, cosmetics, etc.

In addition, e-commerce platforms have been requested to remove many products from wild animals such as bear bile, elephant tusks, tiger fangs, etc.; review and provide information on many e-commerce websites with signs of administrative violations to the General Department of Market Management and Departments in Hanoi City, Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Tri Province, Ha Nam Province, Bac Lieu Province, Dien Bien Province to handle 9 websites according to their authority in 2024.

In addition to directly chairing inspections and examinations, the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy has coordinated with the Inspection Teams of the Ministry of Justice, the National Competition Commission, the Department of Industry and Trade of Hanoi City and a number of localities in conducting inspections of a number of units with e-commerce websites.

In particular, regarding unlicensed cross-border e-commerce platforms, the Department has issued a document requesting relevant units under the Ministry to strengthen e-commerce management, stating a number of solutions that need to be implemented immediately for cross-border e-commerce platforms; coordinate with the General Department of Market Management and the General Department of Customs to strengthen supervision, detection, and handling of warehouses and goods collection points (if any) of platforms that have not been granted registration.

Strengthen communication to guide consumers to be cautious when shopping online on cross-border e-commerce platforms in general and platforms such as Temu and Shein in particular. Absolutely do not conduct transactions with platforms that have not been registered by the Ministry of Industry and Trade...

Strengthening supervision and enforcement

Although many positive results have been achieved, sharing at the conference, Director of the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy Le Hoang Oanh also frankly acknowledged that there are still many limitations and shortcomings that need to be overcome.

Although Decree 85/2021/ND-CP has initial regulations on conditions applicable to entities providing cross-border e-commerce services to the Vietnamese market, state management agencies still face difficulties in managing and supervising business activities with cross-border e-commerce platforms.

Many unlicensed cross-border e-commerce platforms or those in the process of licensing are still providing e-commerce services in Vietnam, selling cross-border products and goods into the Vietnamese market at low prices, causing negative impacts on the domestic consumption market, competitive pressure with domestic e-commerce platforms and greatly affecting consumer shopping behavior.

Livestream sales activities are a rapidly developing trend of e-commerce, but legal regulations on e-commerce only regulate them in general like an advertising activity accompanying sales, without separate regulations on subjects participating in livestreams, minimum information fields that must be provided to viewers, professional qualifications of livestreamers, identification of account owners and issues of information control during livestreams...

The issue of controlling counterfeit goods, fake goods, banned goods, goods that infringe intellectual property rights, poor quality goods, etc. also requires state management agencies to have more effective management tools.

Checking cosmetics businesses on e-commerce platforms. Illustration photo

In its role, the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy has proposed and recommended that the Ministry of Industry and Trade strengthen close coordination with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Information and Communications in requiring traders and organizations providing cross-border e-commerce services to comply with laws on e-commerce, tax laws, laws on personal data security, etc.

Continue to research and review the completion of legal policy infrastructure for e-commerce; research and propose the promulgation of specialized laws on e-commerce; strengthen the management and supervision of goods on the network environment, in order to create trust for consumers in online shopping activities, protect traders and healthy business organizations and promote the development of e-commerce.

At the same time, it is necessary to promote support activities and regional connectivity through e-commerce as an effective tool to connect domestic markets and boost domestic consumption. On the other hand, cross-border e-commerce also needs to be promoted as a channel to enhance export capacity, expand markets and quickly connect partners on the internet environment...

In 2025, the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy will continue to effectively and substantially implement strategies, focusing on perfecting institutional reforms and legal policies on e-commerce through the development of specialized laws on e-commerce and the National E-commerce Development Master Plan for the 2026-2030 period; continue to coordinate with ministries, departments and branches to promote management, supervision and law enforcement in e-commerce; strengthen the implementation of cross-border e-commerce as an effective export tool...

Source: https://congthuong.vn/tiep-tuc-ra-soat-vi-pham-trong-thuong-mai-dien-tu-367763.html