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Labeling of bran products manufactured in the province is being checked

The members of the Steering Committee, departments, sectors and functional forces have stepped up their inspection and settlement of detected violations. In particular, the provincial Public Security has strengthened their collecting and gathering information, grasping the situation, investigating, preventing and destroying the links, dens and groups of smuggling, producing and trading in counterfeit goods and those without bills, receipts and origin. Especially, the provincial Public Security also focuses on the fields and groups of key products on the occasion of the Lunar New Year in the beginning of the year: firecrackers, cigarettes, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, functional foods and so on. The Customs Department also discovered and handled 47 cases of violations, which are mainly involved in not declaring, submitting, presenting and providing customs dossier information within the allowed time, failing to declare or misrepresent names, types, quantity, quality, weight, code, tax rate and origin of goods and so on, which customs authorities have detected in the process of procedure clearance.

The Market Management Department has strengthened inspection and control activities in various aspects and groups of key commodities. In the first 6 months, the province’s market management forces checked 1,291 cases, thereby detecting 980 violations, handling 969 cases, and collecting fines totaling over VND3.5 billion dong. Typically, grocery stores are trading in confectionery and goods of unknown origins; selling and processing foods that use the additives which are not allowed to be circulated; selling stinky products which fail to ensure food safety and hygiene like spring rolls, chicken, alcohol, imported cigarettes, and so on.

According to the provincial Department of Taxation, in the first 6 months of this year it has inspected 1,180 cases, handled 1,051 cases and it is currently handling 129 other cases. The number of inspected and handled cases and the amount of fines and re-collected evaded tax have increased significantly compared to the same period 2018.

Since early this year, the inter-sector delegation 389 of Bien Hoa city has conducted more than 1,200 inspections of goods of all kinds, and combated smuggling and trade frauds, thereby discovering more than 1,000 violations. Currently, functional agencies are handling the violations of nearly 900 cases. In particular, 4 cases and 5 subjects were prosecuted. The city has decided to conduct administrative sanctions of violations with a total amount of over VND15 billion in fines. The smuggling and commercial frauds in the city in the past time have still developed complicatedly in terms of the items and acts of violations such as storing and trading in firecrackers, and counterfeit shoes and clothes of well-known brands. The bad people have taken advantage of such complicated areas as Long Binh, Long Binh Tan, Tam Phuoc, Phuoc Tan and Trang Dai to produce, transport and trading in banned goods and they have used many tricks to deal with functional agencies and gain illegal profits. Typically, there are cases like market management forces have coordinated with Ajinomoto Vietnam Company to detect 2 stores of selling the products that are counterfeited as the company’s products; deal with people who are trading and transporting the animals of unknown origins and who fail to ensure food safety, and prevent pigs from being infected, thereby, detecting and handling 53 violations and conduct administrative sanctions of violations with a total amount of over VND100 million in fines. In addition, Bien Hoa’s functional forces detected and handled the violations of 20 cases in which cosmetics and food products with a total amount of more than VND100 million are sold and paid to the state budget.

Confectionery products are the products that are easy to be counterfeited

According to the provincial Steering Committee 389, violations are mainly involved in small retail sales and business of goods of unknown origin and goods without invoices and documents. Therefore, administrative sanctions are not enough big to deter. There are many reasons why smuggling and trading in fake and poor quality goods in the province continue to become complicated, which increases the number of violations compared to the same period 2018 due to the fact that Ho Chi Minh City is in a transit position and a gateway into Ho Chi Minh city, the Southeastern region provinces, and the Mekong Delta, and Dong Nai. Besides, profits earned from illegal business activities are often high, causing subjects to use all tricks by grasping market demand/supply rules and the growing demand for a certain item. Particularly, common violations are mainly involved in trading in smuggled, banned and counterfeit goods from circulation to import and export, from simple to high-class goods, and from small-scale and organized and professional activities.

In addition, the subjects who have a good knowledge, economic conditions, and professional skills, and are aware of related fields to create links, dens, and groups of supplying the goods of counterfeit, commercial frauds, and infringement of industrial property tend to take advantage of loopholes of legal documents. Also, people’s loving to use branded and cheap foreign goods facilitates the activities related to commercial fraud and consumption of counterfeited goods.

According to the Steering Committee 389, the current difficulties in the fight against counterfeit and poor quality goods partly come from the incomplete provisions of the law, especially those for functional food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic products. Some substances in functional foods are harmful to human health but there has not been a legal document specifying the list of banned substances and the substances that are not allowed to be used, making it difficult for supervision and sanction.

According to the forecast, the smuggling and trade frauds in the coming time will develop complicatedly due to the need to store goods for the holidays and the New Year and African swine fever has not shown any declining signs. Therefore, according to the provincial Steering Committee 389 and the Steering Committees of districts and cities should proactively develop their plans and intensify their inspection and control to detect, prevent and handle violations in transporting, trading in banned and smuggled goods, and manufacturing and trading in counterfeit and poor-quality goods. In particular, it is necessary to focus on dealing with links, dens, groups, conspirators, and leaders trading in the food, medicine, cosmetic products that affect human health.

Also, it is essential to strengthen the forces that are in charge of preventing and combating the smuggling, trade frauds and counterfeited goods in an intensive manner to help the province and localities, and localities and departments and sectors in each key locality to cooperate effectively.

Duy Minh (Phuong Vy)