Software to trace the origin of goods is coming soon, helping people detect counterfeit goods.

(Chinhphu.vn) - According to Deputy Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Long, when the system comes into operation, people can easily trace the origin of goods circulating on the market, thereby contributing to preventing trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and smuggled goods.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien: The fight against smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and intellectual property infringement is becoming increasingly fierce - Photo: VGP

On the afternoon of June 23, at the Government headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a nationwide online conference to review the work of the first six months of 2025 and summarize the peak period of combating, preventing, and repelling smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and intellectual property infringement.

According to Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, the fight against smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and intellectual property infringement is becoming increasingly fierce. "Since the beginning of the year, on average, the forces have handled several hundred cases per day, which is a significant number. However, the number of violations of regulations is growing," Minister Nguyen Hong Dien stated, while also outlining the fundamental causes of this situation.

According to the Minister of Industry and Trade, smuggling and trade fraud always bring huge benefits to businesses. Along with that, the emergence of e-commerce with its very rapid growth rate (25%/year) creates a very favorable environment for smugglers and trade fraudsters to operate.

Furthermore, the main force in the fight against this, namely the market management force, has been transferred to local authorities since February. While some localities have done a very good job directing these tasks, many others have not directed this force in a timely manner.

In addition, the laws, mechanisms, and policies still have many loopholes and need to be reviewed and improved. Another reason, according to the minister, is that some functional agencies have not performed their duties well, and some officials have even colluded with or legitimized these violations.

According to Deputy Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Long, from the beginning of 2025, the Ministry of Public Security has identified combating environmental crimes, food safety violations, smuggling, counterfeit goods, and intellectual property infringement as a key priority. Based on this, three comprehensive plans have been issued, launching intensive campaigns to comprehensively review and address these issues.

During the peak period, the police force focused on dismantling large-scale counterfeit food production and trading rings, particularly those dealing with products such as milk and dietary supplements. Following the principle of "handling one case to warn the entire region and sector," the Ministry of Public Security resolutely dealt with even complicity from relevant agencies, leaving no areas untouched.

To date, the entire force has initiated legal proceedings in 124 cases involving 297 defendants; the Investigation Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security alone has initiated legal proceedings in 7 cases, involving over 100 defendants, and seized counterfeit goods worth over 12,000 billion VND. Local police have handled nearly 1,000 cases administratively, collecting fines exceeding 15 billion VND.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Long: With the motto "handling one case serves as a warning to the entire region and sector," the Ministry of Public Security is determined to handle even acts of complicity from functional agencies, with no forbidden zones - Photo: VGP

Two prominent corporate groups involved in major violations are Z Holding and Big Holding. Z Holding was found to have sold nearly 7 trillion VND worth of counterfeit goods; Big Holding approximately 4 trillion VND. To evade authorities, these individuals forged test result certificates or colluded with testing units to provide fabricated results, conspiring with state agencies to facilitate the issuance of GMP certification for their manufacturing plants.

According to Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Hong Thai, in the first six months of the year, the functional forces of the Ministry of National Defense, in coordination with other forces, arrested 1,412 cases, including 293 cases related to drugs, 639 cases of illegal goods transportation, and 210 cases of other offenses.

"According to reports from various units, we see that counterfeit and substandard goods, and intellectual property violations, are not purely due to smuggling or transportation from abroad. Many of them are produced domestically, especially food and functional foods, in a very blatant manner, significantly affecting people's health," Deputy Minister Nguyen Hong Thai informed.

Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen: In the first six months of the year, regarding food safety, the entire health sector inspected over 170,000 establishments, detecting over 9,000 violations, accounting for 5.2%; and imposing fines totaling over 20 billion VND. - Photo: VGP

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen stated that in the first six months of the year, in the field of food safety, the entire health sector inspected over 170,000 establishments, detecting over 9,000 violations, accounting for 5.2%; and imposing fines totaling over 20 billion VND.

During the peak month, five inspection teams were established to check food safety at 17 establishments, including those violating regulations on product labeling and advertising.

In the food sector, during the first six months of the year, 106 establishments were inspected, 26 were found to be in violation, and fines totaling approximately 600 million VND were imposed. During the peak month, 59 establishments were inspected, and 21 were found to be in violation.

In the first six months of the year, the Ministry directed the collection of over 16,000 samples of medicines, cosmetics, and food products for testing. Notably, it discovered two establishments in Hanoi selling medicines of unknown origin and questionable quality.

Proposal to increase administrative penalties to enhance deterrence.

Deputy Minister of Public Security Nguyen Van Long emphasized that in the coming period, with the goal of preventing and strictly controlling the quality of goods in general, especially food safety and medicines, the Ministry of Public Security recommends that relevant ministries, sectors, and agencies improve their state management capacity in their assigned fields, and urgently review and perfect mechanisms, policies, and legal systems in a way that is consistent with reality, creating favorable conditions but without relaxing management.

According to the Deputy Minister, one of the tasks assigned by the Prime Minister to the Ministry of Public Security within the framework of Project 06 is to coordinate the development of a data platform on the origin of goods. Currently, the Ministry of Public Security is working with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and VNPT to develop this system, which is expected to be put into trial operation at the end of this year, initially applied to a number of product groups. When operational, the platform will help people trace the origin of products, contributing to preventing trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and smuggled goods, while also providing data for policy planning.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hong Thai: Regularly reviewing and proposing amendments to legal documents is necessary to ensure both favorable conditions for production and business, and to control the quality of goods and protect public health. - Photo: VGP

Deputy Minister of National Defence Nguyen Hong Thai suggested that it is necessary to continue effectively implementing the plans and directives of the Government, especially the Steering Committee 389, in the fight against smuggling, counterfeit goods, and intellectual property infringement.

In particular, more attention needs to be paid to the quality of legal documents – a key factor in preventing "policy corruption". According to the Deputy Minister, regularly reviewing and proposing amendments to legal documents is necessary to ensure both favorable conditions for production and business, and to control the quality of goods and protect public health.

Meanwhile, a representative from the Ministry of Health stated that they will also closely coordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to strengthen the management of advertising activities in the electronic environment. In particular, when violations are detected, not only the advertising unit but also the organization or individual who hired them to advertise misleadingly should be dealt with. The Ministry of Health has also issued a document requesting artists, celebrities, government officials, and scientists not to participate in promoting products that violate regulations.

The Ministry also recommended considering increasing administrative penalties, similar to Decree 168 in the field of traffic safety, in order to increase deterrence against violations.

Anh Tho

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/sap-co-phan-mem-truy-xuat-nguon-goc-hang-hoa-giup-nguoi-dan-phat-hien-hang-gia-102250623182347549.htm