How much are fines for doing sales promotion for prohibited goods or services in Vietnam?

According to Clause 3 Article 33 of Decree No. 98/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, a fine ranging from VND 20.000.000 to VND 30.000.000 shall be imposed for committing one of the following violations:

- Doing sales promotion for prohibited goods or services; restricted goods or services; goods or services the sale or supply of which is not yet permitted; wine, lottery, tobacco, breast-milk substitutes or curative medicines for human, including those sold with the permission of the Ministry of Health (except the sales promotion is done for a tobacco trader), healthcare services of public health facilities, educational services of public educational institutions or public vocational training institutions, goods or services banned from being sold in Vietnam or other goods or services for which the sales promotion is prohibited as prescribed by law;

- Using promotional goods or services which are prohibited goods or services; restricted goods or services; goods or services the sale or supply of which is not yet permitted; wine, lottery, tobacco, or curative medicines for human, including those sold with the permission of the Ministry of Health (except the sales promotion is done for a tobacco trader), goods or services banned from being sold in Vietnam or other goods or services for which the sales promotion is prohibited as prescribed by law;

- Providing sales promotion for alcoholic beverages for persons under 18; providing sales promotion for alcoholic beverages having at least 15 ABV or using alcoholic beverages having at least 15 ABV as promotional goods in any forms;

- Doing sales promotion involving false or misleading information about goods or services in order to deceive customers;

- Doing sales promotion to sell goods of poor quality;

- Doing sales promotion at schools, hospitals, offices of regulatory authorities, political organizations, socio-political organizations or armed forces;

- Contents of contests of a sales promotion program in the form of selling goods or providing services together with contest entry forms for selecting the prize winner according to the announced rules and prize are contrary to historical, cultural or ethic traditions, or fine traditions and customs of Vietnam;

- Doing sales promotion in the form of multi-level marketing in which participants benefit from purchase of goods by their downline distributors without obtaining the multi-level marketing registration certificate.

View more details at the Decree No. 98/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, effective from October 15, 2020.

Ty Na

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