Upcoming: Completion of the legal framework on multi-level marketing management in Vietnam

Upcoming: Completion of the legal framework on multi-level marketing management in Vietnam (Illustrative photo)

The completion of the legal framework for managing multi-level marketing activities in line with actual requirements and industry development is one of the six specific goals under the "Scheme to enhance the efficiency of state management in multi-level marketing activities in Vietnam for the period 2021-2025."

To achieve this goal, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has set forth the task of updating and completing legal documents on multi-level marketing to fit the practical requirements of multi-level marketing activities. At the same time, strict handling of illegal multi-level marketing activities, especially unauthorized multi-level marketing, will be enforced.

To be specific, the central state management agency in Vietnam has proposed the following solutions:

- Review, amend, and supplement regulations in Decree 40/2018/ND-CP dated March 12, 2018, of the Government of Vietnam on the management of multi-level marketing activities. Execution period: 2021-2022

- Amend regulations on handling legal violations in multi-level marketing activities to ensure compatibility with content regulations and to provide a deterrent. Execution period: 2021-2022

- Amend, supplement, or replace Circular 10/2018/ND-CP dated May 24, 2018, detailing the implementation of several articles of Decree 40/2018/ND-CP dated March 12, 2018, of the Government of Vietnam on the management of multi-level marketing activities. Execution period: 2021-2022

- Research, assess the implementation of Article 217a of the Criminal Code 2015, amended and supplemented in 2017 on violations of regulations on multi-level marketing, and propose amendments and supplements if necessary. Execution period: 2023-2024

In addition to completing the legal framework for managing multi-level marketing to enhance state management efficiency in this activity, it is more important to raise community awareness of the law on managing multi-level marketing activities in Vietnam. Hence, the following tasks have been proposed:

- Increase community awareness and understanding of the law on multi-level marketing, especially concerning disguised forms;

- Conduct comprehensive and accurate communication about the role, state management activities, particularly of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in stabilizing the multi-level marketing market of enterprises that have been granted certificates of registration for multi-level marketing activities in recent years;

- Affirm that unauthorized multi-level marketing, disguised multi-level marketing like financial investment, cryptocurrency... are legal violations that can be subject to administrative or criminal handling, the majority of which fall under criminal handling.

To be specific, to realize this goal, Decision 2837/QD-BCT outlines the following solutions:

- Conduct 02 surveys at the time of 2021 (the first year of Scheme implementation) and 2025 (the final year of Scheme implementation) to:

• Assess  public  awareness  of  the  law  on  multi-level  marketing;
• Set  a  premise  for  building  plans  and  content  for  communication  activities  in  subsequent  years;
• Provide  a  basis  for  evaluating  the  results  of  communication  solutions  about  the  law  on  managing  multi-level  marketing  activities  within  the  Scheme  of  the  Departments  of  Industry  and  Trade.

- Develop and implement a Communication Plan on the management of multi-level marketing activities. Execution period: annually

- Organize seminars to exchange, discuss, and disseminate the law on multi-level marketing, recognizing illegal multi-level acts on radio and television. Execution period: annually, 02 events/year

- Organize the contest "Effective communication solutions for the law on multi-level marketing at the local level" in the form of theme videos, documentaries recording effective communication measures implemented in localities. Execution period: 2022 and 2024

The nature of multi-level marketing is not inherently bad; it is merely a special business model based on relationships and word-of-mouth marketing, differing from the traditional business model. However, in practice, this activity has been distorted, leading to negative perceptions. Completing the legal framework for managing multi-level marketing in the near future will be crucial in steering this activity towards a more positive direction in Vietnam.

Thuy Tram

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