Market watchdogs in the capital will step up activities to prevent and control smuggling, trade fraud and production of counterfeit goods from now until the end of the year, as directed by the government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, according to the Hanoi Market Surveillance Department.

The department will coordinate with police, customs, Hanoi's Department of Taxation and its counterparts in industry and trade, health, agriculture and rural development, and finance to strengthen market control.

Chu Xuan Kien, Director of the Hanoi Market Surveillance Department, said the inspection will focus on preventing smuggling and illegal transportation of goods via air routes and from border provinces to the interior.

Authorities inspect goods of unknown origin at a grocery store in the capital. Photo courtesy of Hanoi Market Surveillance Department

In particular, they will continue to prevent and strictly crack down on cross-border smuggling, and improve the efficiency of state supervision of petroleum to ensure fuel supply.

"The move aims to help create a transparent business environment that protects the legitimate rights and interests of manufacturers, businesses and consumers at the end of 2024 and the Lunar New Year in 2025," Kien stressed.

The relevant forces will focus on handling non-compliance in the e-commerce environment, strengthening market information dissemination, enhancing trade promotion and stabilizing the local market in the current period. "We will focus the crackdown campaign on anti-counterfeiting and consumer protection in e-commerce from now until 2025," the director added.

Market management forces will coordinate with local authorities to improve the effectiveness of market inspection and control, and handle violations, especially targeting smugglers and checking warehouses storing prohibited, smuggled, unknown origin and counterfeit goods.

The authorities will focus on high-demand commodities at the end of the year, such as: wine, beer, soft drinks, confectionery, food, food additives, electronic cigarettes, electronics, fashion products, firecrackers, smuggled cigarettes and wildlife products.

"The inspection team will also pay special attention to pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, medical equipment; agricultural products such as livestock, poultry, fertilizers, pesticides, veterinary drugs, animal feed; energy products such as gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)," Kien said.

He stressed that the authorities will disseminate the law among consumers in the city to increase their sense of responsibility in the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods.

The interdisciplinary inspection team will conduct market inspection and control activities in 30 districts of Hanoi from now until December 25.

Statistics by the Hanoi Market Surveillance Department showed that, as of September, the market management force had detected and seized tens of thousands of cosmetics with counterfeit brands worth VND2 billion (US$82,000), confiscated nearly 7,000 imported cigars of all kinds, about 75,000 imported children's toys, and 700 boxes of functional food without invoices or documents proving their origin.