Vietnam: Fines of up to 80 million VND for manufacturing tobacco without stamps

According to Article 19 of Decree No. 98/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, the following fines shall be imposed for trading in domestically manufactured tobacco products which do not bear “domestically sold tobacco” stamps or which are improperly stamped with “domestically sold tobacco” stamps:

- A warning or a fine ranging from VND 200.000 to VND 500.000 shall be imposed for the violation involving goods worth less than VND 1.000.000;

- A fine ranging from VND 500.000 to VND 1.000.000 shall be imposed for the violation involving goods worth from VND 1.000.000 to under VND 2.000.000;

- A fine ranging from VND 1.000.000 to VND 2.000.000 shall be imposed for the violation involving goods worth from VND 2.000.000 to under VND 5.000.000;

- A fine ranging from VND 25.000.000 to VND 30.000.000 shall be imposed for the violation involving goods worth from VND 80.000.000 to under VND 90.000.000;

- A fine ranging from VND 30.000.000 to VND 35.000.000 shall be imposed for the violation involving goods worth from VND 90.000.000 to under VND 100.000.000;

- A fine ranging from VND 35.000.000 to VND 40.000.000 shall be imposed for the violation involving goods worth VND 100.000.000 or more.

A fine that is twice as much as the corresponding fine prescribed above shall be imposed upon tobacco manufacturers for failing to stamp their tobacco products with "domestically sold tobacco” stamps as prescribed.

Concurrently, applying the following additional penalties:

- The license for trade in tobacco products shall be suspended for a fixed period of 01 - 03 months if the violation is repeated or re-committed;

- The license for trade in tobacco products shall be suspended for a fixed period of 03 - 06 months if the violation is repeated or re-committed.

Thus, based on the value of cigarettes used to commit violations, the violating entity can be fined up to VND 80 million or may be applied with an additional sanction depending on each violation act.

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

Thuy Tram

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