Trading in hand-carried goods shall be fined up to VND 100 million

Specifically, recently, the Government of Vietnam has issued the Decree No. 98/2020/NĐ-CP prescribing penalties for administrative violations against regulations on commerce, production and trade in counterfeit and prohibited goods, and protection of consumer rights.

According to Clause 1 Article 15 of Decree No. 98/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, fines for trade in contraband goods corresponding with the value of contraband goods are specified as follows:

Moreover, according to Clause 2 Article 15 of Decree No. 98/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, the fine that is twice as much as the corresponding fine for trading in contraband goods prescribed above shall be imposed in the following cases:

- The violating entity directly involves the illegal import of goods worth less than VND 100.000.000 or VND 100.000.000 or more, if not liable to criminal prosecution;

- The contraband goods are included in the list of goods banned from import or the list of goods temporarily suspended from import;

- The contraband goods are foods, food additives, food processing aids, food preservatives, preventive drugs, drugs, medicinal ingredients, cosmetics, medical devices, chemicals, insecticidal and microbicidal preparations for household and medical use, aqua environmental remediation products, livestock waste treatment products, veterinary drugs, fertilizers, cement, animal feeds, pesticides, growth stimulants,  plant varieties or animal breeds.

In which, according to Clause 6 Article 3 of the Decree No. 98/2020/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, “contraband goods” include:

- Imported goods included in the list of goods banned from import or the list of goods temporarily suspended from import as prescribed by law, unless they are imported with the Prime Minister’s permission;

- Goods imported without the required import license or without meeting given import conditions as prescribed by law;

- Goods imported without going through a prescribed border checkpoint or without following customs procedures as prescribed by law, or the information on quantities or types of which is falsified when following customs procedures;

- Imported goods sold on the market without accompanied invoices and documents as prescribed by law, or with unlawful invoices and documents;

- Goods, which are subject to import labeling, imported without bearing stamps as prescribed or with bearing false or used stamps.

Thus, any individual who trades in hand-carried goods without accompanying invoices and documents, without going through border gates, without customs procedures, etc. (imported goods) shall be subject to a maximum fine of up to VND 100 million. In case individuals or organizations violate the provisions of Clause 2 Article 15 of Decree No. 98/2020/NĐ-CP, they shall be subject to a fine twice the level of the fine in Clause 1 (ie fines for individuals shall be up to VND 100 million and fines for organizations shall be up to VND 200 million).

Thu Ba

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