What are the obligations of traders doing sales promotion in Vietnam?

What are the obligations of traders doing sales promotion in Vietnam? (Internet image) 

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. Who can do sales promotions in Vietnam?

Pursuant to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree 81/2018/ND-CP, traders doing sales promotion, including:

(i) traders involved in the production and trading of goods or services conducting sales promotion directly or through distribution trader such as wholesalers, retailers, agents, franchisers and other distribution traders as regulated by laws.

(ii) traders that do sales promotion for goods or services of other traders under an agreement.

2. What are the obligations of traders doing sales promotion in Vietnam? 

Pursuant to Article 16 of Decree 81/2018/ND-CP, the obligations of traders doing sales promotion are as follows:

- The trader doing sales promotion prescribed in Clause (i) of Section 1 is required to:

+ notify and register sales promotion with competent regulatory agencies;

+ be responsible to laws and customers for sales promotion programs, except for hiring traders that do sales promotion as prescribed in Clause (ii) of Section 1;

+ provide customers, distribution traders and relevant parties with sufficient, accurate and clear information required to be publicly notified as prescribed in Article 97 of the Commercial Law;

+ fulfill other obligations as prescribed in Article 96 of the Commercial Law and Decree 81/2018/ND-CP.

- The trader doing sales promotion prescribed in Clause (ii) of Section 1 is required to:

+ fulfill other obligations as prescribed in Clause 5 in Article 96 of the Commercial Law and Decree 81/2018/ND-CP.

+ be responsible to laws and customers for activities specified in the sales promotion service contract.

Thus, if you want to organize a sales program, you must notify and register to conduct the promotion with the competent state agency.

3. Registration of sales promotion in Vietnam

According to Article 19 of Decree 81/2018/ND-CP, regulations on registration of sales promotion are as follows:

(i) Traders must follow the administrative procedure for registration of sales promotion and must have their registration certified by competent state management agencies before conducting sales promotion programs in the forms prescribed in Article 13 of Decree 81/2018/ND-CP and other forms as prescribed in Clause 9 in Article 92 of the Commercial Law.

(ii) Competent state management agencies prescribed in Clause (i) of this Section include:

- the Department of Trade and Industry for promotional games of chance conducted in the locality of a province or centrally-affiliated city;

- the Ministry of Trade and Industry for promotional games of chance conducted in localities of 2 or more provinces and centrally-affiliated cities and other types of promotional games of chance

(iii) Traders may make registration in one of the following forms:

- Submitting an application for registration to competent state management agencies by post;

- Submitting an application for registration directly to the head office of competent state management agencies;

- Using the public online service system provided by competent state management agencies.

(iv) An application for sales promotion registration must include:

- an application form for registration of sales promotion according to Form no.2 provided in the Appendix issued together with Decree 81/2018/ND-CP;

- documented rules of sales promotion according to Form no.3 provided in the Appendix issued together with Decree 81/2018/ND-CP;

- proofs of prize winning or a detailed description of such proofs;

- an uncertified copy of document of the promotional product as required by laws

(v) Contents of registration of sales promotion contain:

- the name of the trader doing sales promotion;

- the name of the sales promotion;

- the locality where such sale promotion is done (province, city where the trader do the sales promotion);

- the type of sales promotion;

- the promoted product;

- the promotional product (prize or gift);

- time of sales promotion;

- customers of the sales promotion who benefit from the promotion

- prize structure and total value of the prizes of the promotion;

- details of the promotion (rules of the sales promotion)

- names of traders involved in the sales promotion and duty of each trader engaged in such promotion if the sales promotion is done by more than one trader.

(vi) Competent state management agencies in charge of commerce prescribed in Clause (ii) of this Section must consider and reply to traders whether to certify their registration of sales promotion programs and provide clear explanation as regulated by laws if refusing such registration within 05 working days from the day on which the application is received (according to the receiving date recorded in the delivery note if such application is sent by post or according to the date recorded in the confirmation note if it is submitted directly or the date recorded on the system if it is sent via the public online website system). Contents of certifying or refusing the registration must conform to Form no.4 or 5 provided in the Appendix issued together with Decree 81/2018/ND-CP.

(vii) For the case in which the registration is certified by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, such Ministry must notify the certified sales promotion program to the Department of Trade and Industry of the locality where such program is conducted for the purpose of cooperating in management.

(viii) The information on sales promotion programs registered by traders and certified by competent agencies must be published in suitable forms such as written form or via websites or others forms with equivalent effectiveness not sooner than the time of such programs by state management agencies. Information to be published must contain:

- the name of the trader doing sales promotion;

- details of the sales promotion

- time of sales promotion;

- the locality where such promotion is done

Nguyen Ngoc Que Anh

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