The Prime Minister directed to strengthen state management in the field of e-commerce and business on digital platforms.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has just signed Official Dispatch No. 56/CD-TTg dated June 6, 2024 requesting ministries, branches and localities to continue strengthening state management in the field of e-commerce and business on digital platforms.

Telegrams sent to the Ministers of Industry and Trade, Finance, National Defense, Public Security, Information and Communications; Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam ; Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities.

The official dispatch stated: In recent years, e-commerce has been developing strongly, becoming a major trend in global trade. In Vietnam, e-commerce and digital platform business activities have also developed positively, becoming an important distribution channel supporting businesses in selling products, meeting the needs of the people, and contributing to the development of financial services and electronic payment services. The Government and the Prime Minister have issued many directives to develop e-commerce, improve the effectiveness of management, supervision, consumer protection, and tax management in e-commerce activities.

However, the rapid development of e-commerce and digital business activities also poses challenges to the management, supervision, and protection of consumer rights against counterfeit and substandard goods, intellectual property infringement, violations of consumer protection laws, and tax collection management. To further promote and enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of state management in the field of e-commerce and digital business activities, the Prime Minister requests:

1. The Minister of Industry and Trade presides over and coordinates with relevant ministries and agencies:

a) Continue to review current legal documents to promptly propose amendments, supplements and improvements to legal policies on e-commerce management.

b) Urgently complete and submit to the Government a Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 98/2020/ND-CP regulating administrative sanctions for violations in commercial activities, production and trading of counterfeit and banned goods and protection of consumer rights (amended and supplemented in Decree No. 17/20222/ND-CP dated January 31, 2022) before June 15, 2024 to strengthen sanctions for violations in storing and providing information for e-commerce entities; summarize and evaluate the implementation of the National E-commerce Development Master Plan for the 2021-2025 period, on that basis, research, develop and submit to competent authorities for consideration and approval of the Plan for the next period.

c) Continue to coordinate with the Ministry of Finance in detecting and handling violations in e-commerce activities according to the law for enterprises, business households and individuals who do not declare and pay taxes according to regulations.

d) Promote the dissemination of information and guidance to businesses to enhance compliance with the law and protect consumers in cyberspace; strengthen warning and guidance for consumers through e-commerce; inspect and handle acts of smuggling, commercial fraud, trading in counterfeit goods, goods infringing intellectual property rights, and unfair competition in e-commerce.

d) Preside, coordinate, and guide localities in organizing and implementing programs and projects to support businesses in applying e-commerce to improve production and business efficiency and enhance competitiveness.

Strengthen inspection and supervision of livestreaming sales activities.

2. The Minister of Finance presides over and coordinates with relevant ministries and agencies:

a) Preside over and coordinate with ministries and agencies to continue researching and reviewing the reduction of administrative procedures, facilitating taxpayers to declare and pay taxes; optimize customs clearance procedures for imported and exported goods via e-commerce; ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of tax obligations, strengthen the implementation of tax collection solutions, prevent tax losses, and strictly handle tax and customs violations in e-commerce activities.

b) Strengthen propaganda and support for domestic and cross-border e-commerce businesses and organizations to register, declare and pay taxes according to regulations.

c) Develop a tax management database for e-commerce, applying modern technologies and risk management methods to e-commerce and digital business activities; gradually tighten control over input invoices to ensure that businesses, organizations, and individuals declare and pay taxes in accordance with the law from production to distribution, from import to sales; strengthen information exchange, connection, and data sharing with relevant ministries and agencies.

d) Strengthen inspection and examination of livestream sales activities. In case of detecting organizations or individuals selling goods or receiving commissions from advertising or sales with signs of violating the law, transfer to competent authorities for handling in accordance with the provisions of law.

d) Closely coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security in implementing Decision No. 06/QD-TTg dated January 6, 2022 of the Prime Minister approving the Project on developing applications of population data, identification and electronic authentication to serve national digital transformation in the period 2022 - 2025, with a vision to 2030.

Synchronize population data with civil registry, tax, banking data, etc.

3. The Minister of Public Security presides over and coordinates with relevant ministries and agencies:

a) Promote the progress of connecting the national population database with databases and information systems of ministries, branches and localities to carry out electronic identification and authentication; synchronize population data with civil status, tax, banking data... to serve the identification and authentication of individuals and organizations to prevent fraud and tax evasion in e-commerce activities.

b) Research and develop a mechanism to access and effectively exploit the Electronic Identification and Authentication System to serve state management of online business activities in each field.

c) Directing functional units to strengthen the implementation of tasks to ensure economic security and public order in electronic transactions and e-commerce; implementing preventive measures, combating and strictly handling violators in accordance with the law.

Strengthening monitoring of online transactions, combating commercial fraud

4. The Minister of Information and Communications presides over and coordinates with relevant ministries and agencies:

a) Preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies to develop technological solutions to strengthen the monitoring and management of transactions in the online environment, combat commercial fraud, trade in counterfeit goods, counterfeit goods, goods that violate intellectual property rights, and protect consumer rights; coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in providing information and managing social network users with e-commerce activities.

b) Coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies in developing legal documents to strengthen tax management for Internet service providers and cross-border digital content services and to be able to suspend and revoke operating licenses in the network environment for cases of tax law violations.

Develop electronic payment integration utilities for widespread use in e-commerce models

5. The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam presides over and coordinates with relevant ministries and agencies:

a) Strengthen inspection and supervision of electronic payment transactions in banking activities; improve the efficiency of management and operation of the inter-bank electronic payment system, and support e-commerce transactions.

b) Direct credit institutions and payment intermediary service providers to provide information of foreign suppliers without fixed business establishments in Vietnam, organizations and individuals with income arising from cross-border platforms in accordance with the provisions of law and guidance of tax authorities.

c) Responsible for building and developing a national e-commerce payment system and integrated e-payment utilities for widespread use in e-commerce models; establishing a mechanism for managing and monitoring payment transactions to support tax management for cross-border service provision in e-commerce as stipulated in the Law on Tax Administration.

Preventing smuggling and commercial fraud in e-commerce activities

6. The Minister of National Defence directs functional units to strengthen state management measures on protecting national sovereignty in cyberspace, combating high-tech crimes, contributing to ensuring national cybersecurity; and to closely coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies in the prevention and combating of smuggling and commercial fraud in e-commerce activities.

7. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Government agencies; Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, according to their assigned functions and tasks, continue to resolutely, synchronously and effectively implement the tasks and solutions assigned in Decision No. 645/QD-TTg dated May 15, 2020 of the Prime Minister on approving the Master Plan for national e-commerce development for the 2021-2025 period; Directive No. 18/CT-TTg dated May 30, 2023 of the Prime Minister on promoting connection and data sharing to serve e-commerce development, combat tax loss, and ensure monetary security; Official Dispatch No. 889/CD-TTg dated October 1, 2022 of the Prime Minister on improving the efficiency of tax collection management for e-commerce activities, business on digital platforms...; To enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of e-commerce management, serving citizens and businesses, protecting domestic production, facilitating trade, creating a transparent and fair import and export environment, contributing to improving national competitiveness, preventing smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, substandard goods, and illegal cross-border transportation of goods, and ensuring social order and safety; and to promptly propose and report to the Prime Minister on emerging issues beyond its authority.

8. Assign Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai to directly direct the implementation, urge and handle difficulties in the process of implementing this Official Dispatch.

9. The Government Office, according to its assigned functions and tasks, monitors, urges, synthesizes the situation, and promptly reports to the Prime Minister on issues arising in the process of implementing the Official Dispatch./.

According to VGP News

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