"Gaps" from shortcomings in management mechanisms
According to Lawyer Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai - Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Anti-Counterfeiting Fund (ACF): There are many reasons why counterfeit goods persist for a long time.
First of all, we must mention the huge profits from the production and trading of counterfeit goods. Counterfeiters save on product research investment costs, advertising costs, production costs and do not have to pay full taxes. Profits many times higher than those of genuine goods are the driving force behind the increase in counterfeiting crimes, despite sanctions. A typical example is the case of fake MSG production discovered in Hanoi in May 2023, when authorities discovered a factory packaging fake MSG with a capacity of tons per day, with estimated profits of up to billions of VND per month, while the production cost is only 1/3 compared to real products. Or recently, cases of fake food such as: Kera vegetable candy, fake milk, fake bird's nest, cosmetics containing mercury have also been discovered and handled.
Second, increasingly developed technology makes counterfeiting more sophisticated. The case of counterfeit medicine discovered in Ho Chi Minh City in 2022 is clear evidence that subjects have used modern printing technology to counterfeit boxes, stamps, and labels that are almost identical to real products, even with fake QR codes that are difficult for consumers to recognize. Only when there is close coordination between manufacturers and authorities can very small differences on the packaging be detected.
Third, the monitoring and handling of violations still has many shortcomings. For example, in some northern provinces, there are establishments producing fake alcohol of famous brands that have been operating for many years in residential areas without being detected. When asked by the authorities, local authorities in some areas said that this was due to a lack of human resources to regularly inspect and a lack of specialized equipment to detect counterfeit goods on the spot.
Fourth, consumer awareness is still limited. ACF's survey shows that up to 70% of consumers do not know how to distinguish between genuine and fake goods for daily consumer goods. Fifth, the development of e-commerce and online sales channels has created a favorable environment for the consumption of counterfeit goods.
Sharing about the causes of the current situation of counterfeit food, Ms. Tran Viet Nga - Director of the Department of Food Safety ( Ministry of Health ) commented: “This situation is partly caused by shortcomings in the management mechanism. Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP of the Government stipulates the mechanism for self-declaration of products, creating favorable conditions for enterprises to self-declare and take responsibility for the quality and safety of products. However, some enterprises have taken advantage of this mechanism to do illegal business...
With the self-declaration mechanism, enterprises can self-declare and produce immediately without having the state management agency review the documents. Taking advantage of this openness, some enterprises have self-declared medical nutritional products or products for special diets, especially food supplements. This is a "legal circumvention" that should be condemned.
Resolutely and synchronously deploy solutions
To protect consumers, Lawyer Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai said: ACF has made recommendations to help consumers identify genuine and fake products. In the coming time, ACF will continue to expand its activities and strengthen international cooperation, especially in preventing and combating counterfeit goods on cross-border e-commerce platforms. ACF is also implementing a project to apply blockchain technology in product traceability, helping consumers easily verify product information from the production stage to the consumer's hands.
Fake milk powder boxes have just been discovered by authorities. (Photo: VTV) |
In order to completely solve this problem, according to Vice President of the ACF Management Board Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai, it is necessary to synchronously implement solutions such as: Strengthening sanctions. Specifically: It is necessary to amend legal regulations in the direction of increasing administrative sanctions and criminal liability for acts of manufacturing and trading counterfeit goods; Especially for violations of manufacturing and trading counterfeit goods such as food, foodstuffs, food additives operating on e-commerce platforms; Thoroughly applying remedial measures, additional measures such as confiscating means and tools for manufacturing counterfeit goods and suspending business activities of violators; Publicizing information about violators on mass media;
Promote the application of technology in preventing and combating counterfeit goods: Encourage businesses to apply advanced technology solutions such as smart anti-counterfeit stamps, blockchain in traceability, helping consumers look up the entire process of production, transportation and distribution of products; Build a national database of counterfeit, fake and poor quality goods so that authorities can easily look up and verify information; Equip authorities with rapid testing equipment to help detect counterfeit goods right at the scene;
Raising consumer awareness: Organizing widespread communication campaigns on the harmful effects of counterfeit goods on health and the economy; Building mobile applications to help consumers easily look up, check and report counterfeit goods; Strengthening the role of organizations and associations to protect consumers in providing information and supporting people when they encounter problems with counterfeit goods;
Strengthening inter-sectoral coordination and international cooperation: Strengthening inter-sectoral cooperation on anti-counterfeiting at the national level with the participation of ministries, branches, localities, and associations, and needing to have a close coordination regulation; Promoting international cooperation in the fight against counterfeiting, especially with countries in the region;
Support legitimate manufacturing and business enterprises: Have policies to encourage enterprises to invest in brand protection and anti-counterfeiting systems; Support enterprises in protecting intellectual property rights, especially small and medium enterprises; Create an effective coordination mechanism between enterprises and authorities in the work of preventing and combating counterfeit goods.
Regarding measures to prevent counterfeit drugs, Dr. Ta Manh Hung - Deputy Director of the Department of Drug Administration (Ministry of Health) shared: “In addition to comprehensive and long-term solutions, the Ministry of Health also implements immediate solutions. We will focus on strengthening the management, inspection and examination of drug supply facilities, requiring facilities to have full invoices and documents proving the origin and source of drugs before importing and selling to people; Strengthening the inspection and supervision of pharmaceutical production and trading establishments, especially on e-commerce channels and social networks; Encouraging businesses to apply traceability technology and anti-counterfeit stamps such as QR codes to manage goods, reduce loss and prevent counterfeit drugs.
At the same time, we request the national testing system, including the Central Drug Testing Institutes and provincial and municipal testing centers, to increase drug sampling on the market, focusing on taking focused and key samples, both periodically and suddenly. In addition, we also request the People's Committees of provinces and cities to increase funding for sampling and purchasing activities as well as investing in facilities and training human resources for testing centers to improve the capacity to inspect and monitor drug quality locally."
“Ensuring the operation of legitimate production and business enterprises is not only the responsibility of state management agencies but also requires the cooperation of the whole society. The Anti-Counterfeiting Fund commits to continue to play the role of a bridge between enterprises, consumers and management agencies, in order to contribute to building a healthy market” - Lawyer Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai.
D.Trang - V.Huong
Source: https://baophapluat.vn/phong-chong-hang-gia-can-su-chung-tay-cua-toan-xa-hoi-post547936.html
Comment (0)