What is an e-commerce trading floor? Regulations on provision of e-commerce trading floor in Vietnam

What is an e-commerce trading floor? Regulations on provision of e-commerce trading floor in Vietnam (Internet image)

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

1. What is an e-commerce trading floor?

According to Clause 9, Article 3 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP, e-commerce trading floor is an e-commerce website permitting traders, organizations and individuals that are not the website owner to conduct part or the whole of the process of buying and selling goods or services on that website.

2. Regulations on provision of e-commerce trading floor in Vietnam

Provision of e-commerce trading floor services according to Article 35 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP (amended Decree 85/2021/ND-CP) are as follows:

- Traders or organizations that provide e-commerce trading floor services are traders or organizations setting up e-commerce websites for other traders or organizations to conduct a part or the whole of the process of sale and purchase of goods and services on these websites.

- Forms of operation of e-commerce trading floors:

+ A website that allows its members to open booths for displaying/promoting their goods or services;

+ A website that allows its members to open accounts to carry out the conclusion of contracts with customers;

+ A website that has specific trading categories or tabs that allow its members to post listings of goods and services;

+ A social network that operates in one of the forms specified in Points a, b, c of this Clause and makes its members directly or indirectly pay fees for carrying out such activities.

- Websites operating as goods exchanges:

+ Traders or organizations setting up e-commerce websites that permit participants to sell and purchase goods according to the method of goods exchange must have a license for goods exchange establishment and shall comply with regulations on the goods exchange;

+ The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall specify the mechanism of monitoring and connection of transaction information between the state management agencies and the goods exchange and other requirements on the operation of the website operating as a goods exchange.

3. Responsibilities of traders or organizations providing e-commerce trading floor services in Vietnam

Responsibilities of traders or organizations providing e-commerce trading floor services according to Article 36 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP (amended Decree 85/2021/ND-CP) are as follows:

- To apply for establishment of a website providing e-commerce trading floor services as prescribed in Section 2 Chapter IV of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and publish information about the website owner as prescribed in Article 29 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP on the website’s homepage.

- To develop and publish on the website regulations on operation of the e-commerce trading floor under Article 38 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP; monitor the e-commerce trading floor and ensure the implementation of these regulations.

- To request sellers on the e-commerce trading floor to provide information as prescribed in Article 29 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP when they apply for use of services. Foreign sellers must transcribe specific names into Vietnamese or Latin characters.

- To apply a mechanism of examination and monitoring to ensure the seller’s information provided on the e-commerce trading floor is correct and adequate.

- To store the registration information of traders, organizations or individuals participating in the e-commerce trading floor and regularly update relevant changed or supplemented information.

- To establish a mechanism to permit traders, organizations or individuals participating in the e-commerce trading floor to perform the process of conclusion of contract as specified in Section 2, Chapter II of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP if the website has the online ordering function.

- To apply necessary measures to ensure the safety of information relating to business secrets of traders, organizations or individuals and consumers’ personal information.

- To take timely remedial actions when detecting or receiving reports about any business acts in violation of laws on the e-commerce trading floor. To be specific:

+ Prevent and remove from the website information on goods/services included in the list of banned goods and services or the list of banned business lines as prescribed by law;

+ Remove information on goods/services in violation of laws within 24 hours from the receipt of the request from a competent authority;

+ Cooperate with holders of intellectual property rights to review and remove products infringing intellectual property rights according to procedures announced in Regulations on operation of the e-commerce trading floor;

+ Give warnings or refuse to provide services for a fixed or indefinite term to individuals, traders or organizations that violate the laws;

+ Take other measures as specified in Regulations on operation of the e-commerce trading floor.

- To assist state agencies in carrying out investigations and taking actions against business acts in violation of laws and settling disputes and complaints. To be specific:

+ Provide information about entities showing signs or acts in violation of laws on the e-commerce trading floor to competent authorities when detecting or receiving such information;

+ Frequently update keywords as recommended by competent authorities and filter information on goods/services using such keywords before publishing it on the website;

+ Receive and respond to complaints, feedbacks and disputes about the e-commerce trading floor on the E-Commerce Management Portal of the Ministry of Industry and Trade at online.gov.vn.

- To publicly announce the mechanism to settle disputes arising during transactions on the e-commerce trading floor. When customers on the e-commerce trading floor have conflicts with the sellers or their lawful interests are damaged, to provide customers with information about the sellers and actively assist customers in protecting their rights and legitimate interests.

- With regard to an e-commerce trading floor that has online ordering functions, in addition to the abovementioned obligations, the e-commerce trading floor service provider must also:

+ Appoint a contact point to receive requests and provide information online to regulatory authorities about the entities denoting violations against laws. This contact point shall provide information within 24 hours from the receipt of the request to promptly serve the inspection, handling of violations, complaints and denunciations;

+ Represent foreign sellers on the e-commerce trading floor in settling consumers’ complaints about goods/services provided by such foreign sellers and notify tax obligations to be fulfilled by such foreign sellers when performing trading activities on the e-commerce trading floor in accordance with the law of Vietnam;  

+ Act as the contact point to receive and settle complaints from consumers if a transaction conducted on the e-commerce trading floor involves more than 02 parties;

+ Retain information about ordering transactions conducted on the e-commerce trading floor in accordance with regulations of the Law on accounting;

+ Jointly make compensation for damage in case of failure to fulfill the obligations in Clause 8 and Clause 9 of Article 36 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP resulting in damage.

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