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During the Lunar New Year holiday, there have been numerous violations of laws regarding smuggling, counterfeit goods, and commercial fraud in many areas. The provincial market management sector is intensifying inspections and control measures to stabilize the market and best serve the needs of the people.

Price control and stability

At this time, the market in 9 districts, cities, and provinces in the province is bustling with preparations for the Tet holiday. Supermarkets, traditional markets, and small businesses have completed plans to increase their stock of goods, focusing on processed food, technology food, rice, fish sauce, cooking oil, and other popular products for consumers during the Tet holiday. Therefore, market management teams are intensifying their efforts to inspect and control the market according to the plan.

The provincial market management agency coordinates with the relevant authorities to dispose of the confiscated goods. Photo: Thanh Hong

Mr. Huynh Van Son, Captain of Market Management Team 2 - managing 2 areas in Thuan An city and Di An city, stated that in recent days, the unit has proactively established 3 teams and increased the deployment of officers for inspections to be familiarized with the areas, and implemented coordination regulations with the communes and towns in the inspection and handling of violations. The teams collaborate with relevant departments from the two cities to conduct specific inspections of markets and businesses in the upcoming days, particularly focusing on the food safety and hygiene plan.

Mr. Nguyen Phuong Dong, Director of the provincial Market Management Department, stated that there are 16 supermarkets, 6 large shopping centers, as well as convenience stores and traditional markets in the province. In order to proactively control, timely detect, combat, and effectively prevent commercial violations, the provincial Market Management Department has issued a high-priority plan before, during, and after the 2024 Lunar New Year from November 20, 2023 to February 29, 2024.

To implement this plan, market inspection and control activities are being actively carried out by Market Management Teams. Goods inspection is concentrated at key locations such as supermarkets, shopping centers, wholesale markets, traditional markets, bustling commercial streets, and distribution agents. In this regard, there is a focus on inspecting the implementation of price listing, selling products at listed prices, preventing speculation, hoarding, and sudden price increases. Additionally, the teams are also intensifying inspections on key commodities and sectors with high consumer demand, such as confectionery, alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, foodstuffs, tobacco, clothing, footwear, fireworks, petroleum, gas, animals, and animal-derived products. At the same time, information dissemination and promotion of legal regulations related to commercial business activities, implement measures to prevent the transportation, trading, and storage of fireworks as well as dangerous toys for children being sold in the market should be enhanced.

The need of consumers’ cooperation

Binh Duong currently has about 2.8 million people, and the retail market is thriving with a projected 14% growth in the commercial sector in 2023. Therefore, in recent times, the operational activities of production, business, commerce, and services, as well as the livelihood of the people in the province, have been relatively stable. Although not a hot spot for the flow of goods nationwide, the province still harbors complex developments in illicit trade, counterfeit goods, and fake products. These activities occur in various sectors and employ multiple methods and tactics.

Market management forces inspect and temporarily seize counterfeit fashion shoes with fake famous brands

In 2023, the provincial market management force has uncovered numerous violations. The predominant acts of commercial fraud include trading in smuggled goods, counterfeit products, infringement of intellectual property rights, substandard goods, and unclear origins of goods. The focus is on certain commodities such as petroleum, cigarettes, electrical equipment, electronics, various types of food, pharmaceuticals, functional foods, and other essential goods.

Typically, the provincial Market Management Department has taken the lead in coordinating with relevant authorities in the area to conduct inspections and uncover major cases such as violations of fuel quality (over 15,000 liters), based on which the provincial People's Committee's advisory board issued a decision to impose fines totaling nearly 885 million VND. The provincial market management agency also discovered 3,455 counterfeit textbooks labeled as goods and transferred the case files to the Investigative Police Agency. For electronic devices, the cargo inspection industry detected 880 used items on the list of prohibited imports, including air conditioners, refrigerators, gas stoves, and electric bicycles, with a total value of 336 million VND. The department recommended that the provincial People's Committee issue a decision to impose fines totaling 180 million VND. Comming up next was the case of 32,000 suspected counterfeit fabric hats bearing protected exclusive brand labels, or the transportation of 4,350 packages of various foreign-produced cigars.

To prevent commercial violations, especially during the Lunar New Year season, in addition to the inspection and handling of violations by relevant authorities, the involvement of consumers and businesses that have goods on the market is crucial. In the current stage, consumers need to thoroughly understand the products and demand that sellers provide invoices, documents, and information on the origin of goods. They should promptly report to the relevant state agencies when they discover or suspect counterfeit or fake goods. For manufacturing and business enterprises, it is essential to proactively coordinate and file complaints with relevant authorities when they encounter counterfeit or imitation products being openly sold in the market. In addition, districts, towns, and cities should pay attention and provide stronger guidance to specialized departments, committees, and socio-political organizations in their efforts to vigorously promote propaganda, combat counterfeiting, and contribute to the healthy development of the market, safeguarding the rights and ensuring the safety of people's health during the festive season.

Reported by Thanh Hong – Translated by Vi Bao