What is the information on sales e-commerce websites in Vietnam?

Hello, Lawnet would like to answer as follows:

1. What is an e-commerce website?

According to the provisions of Clause 8, Article 3 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP, e-commerce website (below referred to as website) is an electronic information page set up to serve part or the whole of the process of buying and selling goods or providing services, from displaying and introducing goods or services to concluding contracts, providing services, making payment and providing after-sales services

According to Clause 1, Article 3, Decree 52/2013/ND-CP, e-commerce activity means conducting part or the whole of the process of commercial activity by electronic means connected to the Internet, mobile telecommunications network or other open networks.

Thus, an e-commerce website needs to have a connection to the Internet, mobile telecommunications network or other open networks to be able to carry out e-commerce operations including goods buying and selling activities, service provision, payment and after-sales service...

2. What is the information on sales e-commerce websites in Vietnam?

According to Article 28 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP amended by Clause 10, Article 1 of Decree 85/2021/ND-CP, the information on sales e-commerce websites in Vietnam includes:

- Information about the owners of the websites;

- Information on goods and services;

- Information on terms of sales and purchase contracts applicable to goods and services introduced on the websites as specified in Articles 29 thru 34 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP.

Thus, information needs to be provided on the sales website according to the provisions of Article 29 to Article 34 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP amended by Decree 85/2021/ND-CP specifically:

Information about the owners of the websites

Traders, organizations or individuals that own sales e-commerce websites shall publish the following minimum information on the website homepage:

- Name and address of the head office of the trader or organization or name and address of permanent residence of the individual.

- Number, date and place of issuance of the business registration certificate of the trader or the number, date of issuance and issuer of the organization’s establishment decision or individual’s personal tax identification number.

- Telephone number or another method of online contact for receiving feedbacks about quality of goods/services.

Information about goods and services

- Sellers must provide information about their goods/services introduced on websites to customers to accurately determine properties of goods/services and avoid misunderstanding when making decisions on conclusion of contracts.

- Information about goods published on websites must include required information shown on labels of goods as prescribed by the Law on labeling of goods, except distinguishing characteristics of each product such as date of manufacture, expiry date, lot number, chassis number or engine number.

- A seller of goods/services subject to certain business conditions must publish information about number, issue date and issuing authority of the license, certificate of eligibility, certification, confirmation or another document type as prescribed by relevant laws on business conditions for trading of such goods/services

Information about price

- Information on prices of goods or services, if any, must be made clear that prices are inclusive or exclusive of the costs related to the purchase of goods or services, such as taxes, packing cost, shipping cost and other arising costs.

- Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, if the information about the prices of goods or services listed on the website does not clearly indicate the price is inclusive or exclusive of the costs related to the purchase of goods or services such as tax, packing cost, shipping cost and other arising costs, the price is understood to have included all the above costs.

- For services on e-commerce service provision websites specified in Sections 2 and 4 of this Chapter, the websites must publish detailed information about the method of calculation of service charge and payment mechanism.

 Information on general trading conditions

Traders, organizations or individuals shall publish the general trading conditions for goods or services introduced on the website, including:

- Conditions or restrictions on the provision of goods or services, such as limits on time or geographic scope, if any;

- Policies on inspection of goods; policies on return of goods, including time limit and methods for returning or changing goods, methods for money refund and refund fees;

- Product warranty policy, if any;

- Service standards, service provision process, charge tariff and other terms related to the provision of services, including conditions and restrictions, if any;

- The seller’s obligations and customer’s obligations in each transaction.

Note: 

- The general trading conditions must have a font color contrast with the background color of the website on which the general trading conditions are posted and the languages expressing the general trading conditions must include Vietnamese.

- In case the website has the online ordering function, the seller must have a mechanism for customers to read and express their consent to the general trading conditions before sending a proposal for conclusion of contract.

Information about shipment and delivery

Traders, organizations or individuals shall publish the following information about the conditions for shipment and delivery applicable to goods or services introduced on the website:

- Method of delivery of goods or provision of services;

- Estimated time limit for the delivery of goods or provision of services, taking into account the geographical distance and method of delivery;

- Geographical limits of the delivery of goods or provision of services, if any.

- Delegation of responsibility of logistics service providers to provide documents on goods during delivery of goods.

Note:

In case of delay in the delivery of goods or provision of services, traders, organizations or individuals shall promptly notify customers thereof and create opportunities for them to cancel the contracts if so wished.

Information about payment methods

- Traders, organizations or individuals shall disclose all payment methods applicable to goods or services introduced on the website, together with clear and accurate explanations so that customers can understand and choose the appropriate payment method.

- If the e-commerce website has the online payment function, traders, organizations or individuals shall create a mechanism for customers to use this function to review and confirm detailed information about each transaction before making the payment.

Such information must satisfy the following requirements:

- Being obvious, accurate, searchable and understandable;

- Being arranged in the corresponding sections on the website and accessible online;

- Being storable, printable and displayable later;

- Being displayed clearly to customers before the time they send a proposal for conclusion of contract.

- Publish on the homepage of the website links to the information specified in Article 32, Article 33, Article 34 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP if the website has online ordering functions. 

Thus, according to the above regulations, the sales website needs to provide information such as: information about the website owner; information about goods and services; price information; information on general trading conditions; Information about shipping and delivery and information about payment methods.

At the same time, the above information must be presented clearly, accurately, and in a way that is easy to find and understand. If the sales website has an online ordering function, there must be a link to information about delivery conditions. General translation, shipping and delivery information, and information on payment methods.

Please Login to be able to download