Summary of fines for violations of general regulations pertaining to advertising in Vietnam

No.

Type of violations

Violation

Fine

1

Violations against regulations on advertising goods and services banned from advertising

Advertising tobacco

Advertising wine with 15% alcohol content and above

A fine of from 40,000,000 VND to 50,000,000 VND

Advertising milk for babies under 24 months of age as a substitute for breast milk; dietary supplements for children under 6 months of age, baby bottles and artificial nipples

Advertising prescription drugs; advertising OTC drugs that are recommended by competent authorities to be used limitedly or under the supervision of a physician

Advertising other goods and services banned from advertising

Advertising other goods and services banned from advertising

A fine of from 70,000,000 VND to 100,000,000 VND

Advertising pornographic products

Advertising hunting guns and their ammunition, sports guns, or the products that incite violence

2

Violations against regulations on prohibitions in the advertising industry

Hanging, placing, fixing, or painting advertisements on electric posts, traffic light posts, and trees in public places

A fine of from 1,000,000 VND to 2,000,000 VND

Using the words “best”, “only”, “number one” or any work with similar meanings without legitimate evidence in writing

A fine of from 10,000,000 VND to 20,000,000 VND

Using advertisements that affect the landscape, traffic safety, or social order, except for the case mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article, Point a Clause 2 Article 63 and Clause 3 Article 66 of Decree No. 158/2013/NĐ-CP

Using advertisements that are racist or xenophobic, infringing the freedom of religion, sexist, or discrimination against the disabled

Forcing another organization or individual to make or take advertisements against their will

Advertising goods and services that infringe intellectual property rights

A fine of from 20,000,000 VND to 30,000,000 VND

Using pictures or words of a person in an advertisement without his consent, except for the cases in which this is allowed by law

Using advertisements to damage the reputation of another organization or insult another person

A fine of from 30,000,000 VND to 40,000,000 VND

Using advertisements that contain direct comparison between the price, quality, and effect of a product or service provided by an entity to the price, quality, and effect of the product or service provided by another entity

Using advertisements that cause children to think, say, or act against the ethical values or fine traditions, negatively affect the health, safety, or the normal development of children

Using advertisements that false information about the history, culture, ethical values, and fine traditions of Vietnam

Using advertisements that contain false information about the quality, effects, brand names, designs, categories, packages, origins, geographical indications, method of service, shelf life, expiration date, warranty period of the product, except for the case mentioned in Point d Clause 3 Article 68, Point c Clause 3 Article 69, Point a Clause 2 Article 72, Point b Clause 1 Article 75, and Clause 1 Article 78 of Decree No. 158/2013/NĐ-CP

A fine of from 50,000,000 VND to 70,000,000 VND

Using advertisements that cause confusion to the public, consumers, or customers about the advertised organization, individual, or product and the another organization, individual, or product, or confusion about the features or effects of the advertised product, except for the cases mentioned in Clause 4 Article 68, Point a Clause 3 Article 69, and Clause 4 Article 70 of Decree No. 158/2013/NĐ-CP

Using advertisements that cause damage for manufacturers, sellers, or advertisement viewers

Using the map of Vietnam that fails to show the entire territory in the advertisement

Using the map of Vietnam that fails to show the entire territory in the advertisement

Using advertisements that that trivialize the respectability of the National flag, the National symbol, the National anthem, or the Socialist Party’s anthem, except for the case tax exemption Point b Clause 2 Article 63 of Decree No. 158/2013/NĐ-CP

A fine of from 70,000,000 VND to 90,000,000 VND

Using advertisements that that trivialize the respectability of national heroes, cultural celebrities, leaders of the nation or the Communist Party, except for the case mentioned in Point b Clause 2 Article 63 of Decree No. 158/2013/NĐ-CP

3

Violations against regulations on the use of words in advertisements

Advertising goods and services without using the Vietnamese language, except for the brand names, mottos, and proper names in foreign languages; the international words that cannot be replaced with any Vietnamese words; books, newspapers, websites, and other publications in Vietnam’s ethnic languages; radio and TV shows in Vietnam’s ethnic languages and foreign languages

A fine of from 5,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND

The text in the foreign language exceeds 3/4 the size of the Vietnamese text and is not placed below the Vietnamese text in the same advertisement that uses both Vietnamese language and a foreign language, except for the cases mentioned in Points a, b, c, and d Clause 2 Article 66 of Decree No. 158/2013/NĐ-CP

The Vietnamese text is not spoken before the foreign language text in the same commercial on radio or TV or other audio-visual, , except for the cases mentioned in Point a Clause 2 Article 68, Clause 2 Article 69, and Clause 1 Article 70 of Decree No. 158/2013/NĐ-CP

4

Violations against regulations on advertising conditions

Failing to provide documents proving the conformity of advertised goods or services, except for the cases mentioned in Point d Clause 3 Article 68, Point b Clause 3 Article 69, and Point a Clause 2 Article 70 of Decree No. 158/2013/NĐ-CP

A fine of from 10,000,000 VND to 15,000,000 VND

Advertising property without a Certificate of ownership or rights to use

5

Violations against regulations on hiring advertising service providers

Failing to hire a Vietnamese advertiser to advertise products, services, or operation of a foreign entity

A fine of from 30,000,000 VND to 50,000,000 VND