The Government Office recently announced Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son's conclusions from a national online conference of the National Steering Committee against Smuggling, Trade Fraud, and Counterfeit Goods. During this conference, the Deputy Prime Minister urged amendments to regulations to increase penalties for smuggling and counterfeit goods. He also directed ministries, localities, and functional forces, including the police, customs, border guards, market management, and coast guard, to intensify their efforts against these illicit activities. This fight is identified as a key, top priority task.
This directive from the government leader comes amidst a challenging situation where the number of detected and handled violations related to smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods remains high. In 2025, functional forces discovered over 123,000 such cases. Among these, over 3,100 cases led to criminal prosecution, marking a 2.75% increase compared to 2024. State budget revenue from these efforts reached over 15,390 billion VND, an increase of more than 4% from 2024.
Despite these figures, the detected violations do not fully reflect the actual scale of the problem, causing public concern and negatively impacting citizens' health and the investment environment. Violations are increasingly sophisticated, organized, and involve close links across different stages of operation. Furthermore, some officials and civil servants have shown lax management, even covering up illegal activities.
Deputy Prime Minister Son emphasized that inspection and control efforts must focus on critical areas such as border routes, checkpoints, seaports, and airports. Special attention should be paid to goods directly affecting public health, including: medicine, milk, food, and cosmetics. Functional forces are required to coordinate closely to promptly prevent and apprehend wrongdoers. Any officials found aiding or abetting illegal acts will face severe penalties, guided by the principle of "handling one case to deter an entire region or sector."
Currently, acts of smuggling and dealing in counterfeit goods are subject to relatively strict penalties under both administrative and criminal frameworks. Small-scale sales of counterfeit goods typically incur financial penalties based on the value of the merchandise, with the highest fines reaching 200 million VND. However, repeat offenses or organized smuggling operations lead to criminal prosecution. The proposed increase in penalties aims to strengthen this existing framework and enhance its deterrent effect.
Phuong Dung
