Also attending in person and online were representatives of the People's Committees of provinces and cities, Heads of the Provincial Steering Committee 389, departments and branches in the local Steering Committee 389; Leaders of the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee 389; representatives of relevant Departments and Offices under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and press and media agencies.

In the first 8 months of 2024, the Market Management force detected and handled 35,510 violations.

Reporting at the conference, Mr. Tran Huu Linh - General Director of the General Department of Market Management - said that in the first 8 months of 2024, the situation of violations in the business of smuggled goods, goods of unknown origin, counterfeit goods and violations of intellectual property rights, and violations of food safety remained complicated, especially during holidays and long vacations due to the high demand for food consumption of people, and the production, transportation, and trading of food products became more vibrant.

Violations by subjects are always changing. Smuggled goods, goods of unknown origin, counterfeit goods and goods violating intellectual property rights are gathered by subjects at border areas or transit warehouses on the circulation route to be smuggled into domestic consumption. Violations are mainly detected in groups of goods with high demand, such as: Fashion, cosmetics, electrical equipment, food, etc.

Mr. Tran Huu Linh - General Director of General Department of Market Management reported

Regarding cigarettes, e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and laughing gas (N2O), in the first months of the year, the proportion of violations related to cigarettes decreased compared to violations related to e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, with the main violations being smuggling, goods of unknown origin, and goods of unknown quality.

Provinces and cities that are hot spots for violations of this item include: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, An Giang, Long An, Khanh Hoa, Lang Son, Da Nang, Lao Cai, Quang Ninh... "Previously, the subjects transported themselves or hired transporters, but now they mix them in packages and send them through delivery and delivery service units, using non-owner phone numbers for transactions and sales, so it is very difficult to detect" - a representative of the General Department of Market Management informed and emphasized that this continues to be a key item for inspection and control by the force in the last months of the year.

Notably, in the first 8 months of 2024, the Market Management Department nationwide continued to focus on monitoring and inspecting the e-commerce sector and detected many violations nationwide. In the first half of June 2024 alone, the online environmental inspection project was implemented. Out of a total of 455 websites with signs of violations nationwide, the entire force handled 161 cases, with a fine of 3.6 billion VND. In the 8 months, 1,786 cases were inspected (an increase of 1,263 cases, an increase of 2,41% compared to the same period in 2023), 1,683 violations were detected and handled (an increase of 1,186 cases, an increase of 2,38% compared to the same period in 2023); 03 cases with signs of criminal violations were transferred to the Investigation Agency; administrative violations were fined nearly 31 billion VND (an increase of 23 billion VND, an increase of 2,881 TP3T compared to the same period in 2023); the value of infringing goods was over 28 billion VND (an increase of 24.5 billion VND, an increase of 7,001 TP3T compared to the same period in 2023). It is noteworthy that all 63/63 provinces and cities across the country had violations in the online environment.

In addition, in the context of many fluctuations in domestic gold prices, the General Department of Market Management closely followed the market situation, directed the Department of Market Management and the Market Management Departments of provinces and cities to strictly manage the area, strengthen professional measures, detect and strictly handle many violations nationwide, typically in Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh, An Giang, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An... Thereby, contributing to the effective implementation of the directions of the Government and the Prime Minister in the management of gold products.

Regarding coordination, inspection and handling of violations, the General Department of Market Management, as the Standing Agency of the Steering Committee 389 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, has promptly advised and proposed to the Ministry's leaders and closely coordinated with relevant units to focus on reviewing, proposing amendments and supplements to policies and mechanisms and strengthening the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods.

The local Market Management Department, as a standing body or member of the provincial Steering Committee 389, has advised and proposed to the People's Committees of provinces/cities and the provincial and municipal Steering Committee 389 to effectively implement the Regulations on coordination between functional forces; seriously and effectively implement programs, plans, and peak periods to strengthen market inspection and control; the local Market Management Department has presided over or coordinated with local functional forces to conduct inspection, control, and strictly handle violations.

In general, from December 15, 2023 to August 22, 2024, the Market Management force inspected 50,445 cases; detected and handled 35,510 violations; the total amount of money handled was 674 billion VND; of which, 395 billion VND was paid to the state budget, the value of confiscated goods was nearly 148 billion VND, the value of destroyed and forced-to-destroy goods was over 184 billion VND; 118 cases with signs of criminality were transferred to the Investigation Agency (a decrease of 9% compared to the same period in 2023).

Enhance coordination and data sharing

At the conference, representatives of the City People's Committee, Head of the Provincial Steering Committee 389, departments and branches in the local Steering Committee 389; Leaders of the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee 389; units under the Ministry (Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy, Department of Domestic Market, National Competition Commission) highly appreciated the efforts and achievements of the Market Management force in the role of the main force on the market inspection and control front. At the same time, they also pointed out difficulties, limitations and proposed specific recommendations and solutions to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Market Management work.

Mr. Do Hong Trung - Deputy Chief of the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee 389 - shared that the leaders of the People's Committees of the provinces and the Heads of the Steering Committees 389 of the localities highly appreciated the work of market management, the qualifications and responsibilities of the market management force, especially in the role of the Standing Head advising the Provincial People's Committee in the work of combating smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods.

Also appreciating the activities of the Market Management Department in the province for ensuring compliance with the instructions of superiors and practical requirements of the locality; and coordinating well with the functional branches of the province to inspect and control the market, Mr. Vu Van Dien - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province, Head of the Steering Committee 389 Quang Ninh - said that for many years, the province has always paid attention to the work of building forces in the Steering Committee 389 in general and Market Management Department in particular. However, to improve the quality and efficiency of the work, Mr. Dien proposed that the Ministry unify the mechanism for purchasing information, a permanent focal point in food safety work to unify the operating mechanism...

Meanwhile, Mr. Doan Thanh Son - Vice Chairman of Lang Son Provincial People's Committee, Head of Provincial Steering Committee 389 - said that in order to effectively perform the task of market management, in addition to strengthening inspection and control work, the market management force needs to proactively and regularly review and inspect internal procedures to ensure strict compliance, without loopholes or negative corruption violations.

Regarding violations in the e-commerce environment and coordination work of the market management force, sharing at the conference, Ms. Le Hoang Oanh, Director of the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (Ministry of Industry and Trade) said that in the past 8 months, the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy has transferred information on more than 500 websites and applications with signs of law violations to the police to prevent large-scale damage to the people. In addition, this agency has reviewed and transferred information on more than 110 e-commerce websites with signs of administrative violations to the General Department of Market Management and local market management forces for handling according to their authority.

The Department also coordinates with the General Department of Market Management and the Department of Industry and Trade to organize classes to disseminate e-commerce laws to managers and businesses to improve knowledge in this field, while strengthening the mechanism for sharing e-commerce data with market management forces, especially with tax authorities and the police, to identify violations of the law, as well as promptly warn consumers to avoid risks.

"The Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy will strengthen the review and transfer of information about websites and e-commerce applications with signs of violations to help the authorities handle them according to their authority."– said Ms. Le Hoang Oanh.

9 key tasks for the Market Management force

Concluding the conference, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien emphasized that in the past 8 months, under the synchronous and drastic leadership and direction of the Government, the Prime Minister, the National Steering Committee 389; the Party Executive Committee, the Ministry's leaders and local Party committees and authorities, the Market Management force has made great efforts in implementing its tasks and achieved results. However, the Minister also frankly pointed out the limitations and weaknesses in the organization and operation of the force.

Accordingly, the effectiveness of market management and the fight against violations and trade fraud (especially in e-commerce) has not yet met the requirements; counterfeit and smuggled goods of unknown origin are still being sold openly in many places, and the methods of violation are becoming increasingly sophisticated, even systematic. Violations of goods in e-commerce tend to increase. Although the number of detected and handled cases has increased compared to the previous year, compared to the actual violations, they are still very small and do not reflect the reality of violations taking place in the market.

Inspection and control of the areas of many teams, groups and grassroots units are not really thorough; inspection and control work mainly focuses on checking business licenses, origin of goods and price listing; other violations are not focused on and detected promptly; the application of sanctions is not enough to deter.

The management and education of cadres and civil servants, especially at the grassroots level, has not been highly effective; the situation of cadres violating regulations of the Industry, even violating legal regulations, continues to occur; the handling of violations in some places is not serious.

In the context of an increasingly deeply integrated economy, along with the strong growth rate of e-commerce, especially cross-border e-commerce, which will increasingly pose many challenges to market management work, the Commander of the Industry and Trade sector has set the general goal of market management work from now until the end of the year and next year to focus on fighting and minimizing smuggling and trade fraud, striving to create a healthy production and business environment, protecting consumers and promoting production, stimulating domestic consumption.

In order to effectively implement the above objectives and promptly overcome the limitations and weaknesses of the past time, continue to innovate, improve the quality and efficiency of work, and successfully carry out assigned tasks, the Minister also requested the leaders of the General Department of Market Management, grassroots units, and Party committees and authorities of provinces and cities, and the Industry and Trade sector to pay attention to performing well the following tasks:

One is: Continue to study and thoroughly grasp the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws; the direction and administration of the Government, the National Steering Committee 389 and the Party Executive Committee, the Ministry's leaders (through Decrees, Circulars, Directives, Official Dispatches, etc.), together with the recommendations of relevant ministries and branches and the direction of local Party committees and authorities to properly and fully perform the functions and tasks of the Market Management force, creating a healthy environment for production and business activities. At the same time, through the practice of management and implementation of public duties, the General Department and its affiliated units need to proactively and actively advise the Government and ministries and branches to issue new (or amend and supplement) regulations and policy mechanisms to ensure consistency and feasibility (especially the Decree on functions, tasks and organizational structure of the General Department and Market Management Departments after 5 years of implementing the new management model; Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 98/2020/ND-CP and Decree No. 17/2022/ND-CP of the Government on regulations on administrative sanctions in a number of fields (advised by the General Department of Market Management) to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the entire force's operations.

Two is: Focus on fighting against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods along routes and areas, especially during the peak season at the end of the year and Lunar New Year 2025. Specifically:

Market Management Departments at the northern border focus on handling the following items: Fireworks, cigarettes, alcohol, beer, soft drinks, fashion items, food, cosmetics, animal and poultry feed;

Market Management Departments at the Central Highlands border focus on handling the following items: Sugar, soft drinks, used electronics and refrigeration;

Market Management Departments at the Southwestern border focus on handling the following items: Gold, cigarettes, sugar, gasoline, used electronics and refrigeration, used clothes, fertilizers, and pesticides;

Market Management Departments of inland provinces strengthen the inspection and control of goods at commercial centers, wholesale markets, specialized markets, traditional markets, busy commercial streets, and production facilities; focus on checking price posting, selling goods at listed prices, preventing speculation, hoarding, and unreasonable price increases, especially for essential goods serving people's lives (recently, most localities have only paid attention to checking and handling violations of price posting and imposed light penalties, not enough to deter. Other violations have not been handled much).

At the same time, strengthen coordination with forces in the fight against smuggling and trade fraud in e-commerce; especially strictly implement the Resolution of the National Assembly Standing Committee on thematic supervision of e-commerce and the directions of the Government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the field of e-commerce (such as the Project on anti-counterfeiting and consumer protection in e-commerce until 2025 (Decision 319 of the Prime Minister), Directive No. 18 of the Prime Minister and Directives and directions of the Minister in this field.

Three is: Focus on rectifying discipline and order in command and management, and compliance awareness in the entire force. Review and improve regulations and procedures for handling cases, especially the mechanism for supervising public servants. The characteristic of Market Management is that it is a single-line, independent operation, so the management and supervision mechanism and procedures for handling issues and cases need to be developed and made public, so that the leaders of the Department and Team can supervise officers when performing their duties in the area.

Strengthen internal inspection and examination work; resolutely and promptly handle strictly and strictly in accordance with Party regulations and State laws against organizations and individuals who violate the law, especially the phenomena (behaviors) of protectionism, corruption, and negativity (especially in cases of repeated violations and serious violations).

The General Department needs to clearly define responsibilities and strictly handle the collective leadership, especially the head, if the above violations occur (pay attention to clearly applying the handling framework with the highest sanctions for typical violations to have a deterrent effect).

Four is: Focus on doing a good job of advising the Party Committee and the authorities at the same level in leadership and direction, creating favorable conditions for the Market Management force to operate effectively. At the same time, urgently develop, review and complete coordination regulations and work programs with the Office of Steering Committee 389 and local functional forces to improve the effectiveness of the fight against illegal production and business activities, contributing to the health of the market.

Five is: Each level and each unit needs to proactively review and handle complicated, urgent, and outstanding issues and incidents within the unit to promptly and thoroughly handle them in accordance with Party principles and regulations, State laws, and in accordance with the reality and situation in each place.

Pay better attention to personnel work, especially in the following stages: Education, training, planning, training, fostering, arrangement, use, appointment, promotion, rotation, transfer of staff, pay attention to doing a good job of commendation, discipline and implementing policies for staff. Continue to carry out the work of arranging leaders and managers who are not local people; rotate staff in charge of areas and management objects to ensure that such activities are objective, impartial and in accordance with the Ministry's guiding ideology.

Six is: Continue to promote information and communication work (on all channels) to create unity in awareness, consensus in action and sharing and support from society for the activities of the Industry; at the same time, increase the application of information technology and digital transformation in all activities, creating stronger changes in all aspects of work of the entire Force.

Seven is, Promote the application of information technology in professional activities, build a shared database to serve general market management work, the fight against and prevention of trade fraud; and have a mechanism for sharing information between units, for example: between market management and tax, customs, banks, etc.

Eight is, focusing on training, retraining and fostering knowledge and professional skills for staff and civil servants to meet job requirements, especially in e-commerce.

Nine is, Continue to enhance the role, leadership and direction of Party committees and organizations and promote the vanguard and exemplary role of collective leadership and leaders. Continue to implement a mechanism to strictly handle heads of organizations and individuals under their responsibility if violations occur. For places where violations occur repeatedly, it is necessary to resolutely handle them.

Regarding specific recommendations from units, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien assigned the General Department of Market Management to coordinate with the Ministry's Office to classify and report to the Ministry's leaders for direction to resolve according to their authority (or report to competent authorities for consideration and resolution) to improve the quality and effectiveness of the Force's operations.

According to Ministry of Industry and Trade