The Ministry of Industry and Trade requires Temu to comply with Vietnamese law

Since early October, Temu belongs to PDD Holdings (China) – the group that owns the e-commerce site Pinduoduo – and has not officially registered to operate in Vietnam, but users can access application stores on their phones. to download the app and make purchases and payments on this platform with the Vietnamese version.

In addition to Temu, recently, other cross-border e-commerce platforms such as Shein and 1688 also operate business in Vietnam but have not registered with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

In an official dispatch dated October 26, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien requested the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy to proactively contact Temu’s legal team to request compliance with Vietnamese law. This must be done in October. If necessary, this Ministry coordinates with the Ministry of Information and Communications to “have appropriate blocking technical solutions”.

According to regulations, cross-border online retail platforms with Vietnamese domain names, Vietnamese display language, or with over 100,000 transactions a year from Vietnam must register their operations with the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This is to ensure compliance with standards on consumer protection, information security and relevant legal regulations. However, the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy admitted that there are still platforms that do not comply with this regulation.

Leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade also requested the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy to guide consumers to be cautious when shopping online on e-commerce platforms, including the above cross-border platforms.

Authorities advise people not to transact with platforms without confirmation of registration at the E-commerce Activity Management Portal.

The Department of Trade and Digital Economy is also assigned to advise the Ministry’s leaders to report to the Prime Minister to direct the Ministry of Finance to study plans to monitor and manage imported goods circulating through unregistered e-commerce platforms. .

The Ministry of Industry and Trade also assigned the General Department of Market Management to coordinate with the General Department of Customs to increase supervision, detection, and handling of warehouses and goods gathering points (if any) of cross-border e-commerce platforms. not registered yet.

In October, the Legal Department reviewed and proposed plans to handle illegally operating platforms. The Import-Export Department was asked to propose a plan to control goods imported into Vietnam through e-commerce channels.

In November, the Ministry of Industry and Trade assigned the Domestic Market Department to assess the impact on the domestic market when foreign goods enter the Vietnamese market through cross-border e-commerce platforms.

The Department of Science and Technology must develop standards and regulations for items under the management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This is to help businesses improve product quality and brands, increase consumer trust and compete for Vietnamese goods.

The business form of e-commerce platforms like Temu is to directly connect buyers with manufacturers. The cheap factory sales model helps them attract users looking for cheap products. In the beginning, goods sold on this platform were heavily advertised, with discounts of up to 70-90%. At the discussion session in the socio-economic group, many National Assembly delegates feared that the Temu tornado with cheap goods from abroad would destroy domestically produced goods and businesses.

Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc said that cross-border e-commerce platform Temu is also subject to taxes like Google, Facebook… He asked the General Department of Taxation to review Temu’s registration to declare and pay taxes. In case Temu does not pay taxes, the management agency will inspect and handle it.