Lack of co-ordination among market-watch units allows contraband and fake goods to flood through the southern borders of Viet Nam.
Lack of co-ordination among market-watch units allows contraband and fake goods to flood through the southern borders of Viet Nam.
Head of HCM City's Market Watch Department Dang Van Duc said it was common to see contraband cigarettes being transported on buses and motorbikes on highways stretching from Tay Ninh to HCM City.
Duty-free goods continue to be carried through by local people hired by smugglers to buy wine, cigarettes, mobile phones, electronic goods at duty-free superstores before travelling back to Viet Nam by bus.
Cambodian-passport holders usually buy as much as they can, given that they are not under an imposed-value quota.
Duc said contraband and fake products were illegally imported from Cambodia mainly at border gates in Tay Ninh, Long An, An Giang and Kien Giang Provinces.
Head of one market-watch team, Ly Ngoc Thang, said there were many fake products on the market.
He said some enterprises were wary of announcing this in the mass media for fear of their businesses losing prestige - and customers.
Market-watch departments in 19 southern cities and provinces reported more than 1,000 cases of fake products and intellectual property violations in the first six months of this year. The figure was released at a recent conference called to review six months of co-ordination between market-watch departments.
Deputy head of Dong Nai Province's Market Watch Department Tran Trong Ky said his department recently uncovered a manufacturer of counterfeit ink. The product was made in large volumes and sent to HCM City before being distributed.
However, Ky said the provincial department could not seize and impose fine on the manufacturer because it was the city authorities who had granted an operating licence to the business.
He said co-ordination between market-watch departments had not yet been fully implemented and stopped merely at passing on informing about places where contraband and fake products entered the country.
According to the head of a market-watch team in HCM City, Nguyen Lam, some regulations in Circular 60 are difficult for market-watch officers to process.
One regulation gives the owners of goods to provide invoices and legal papers within 72 hours of being questioned.
"This is enough time for violators to regularise all invoices," said Lam.
Yet, vice chairperson of HCM City People's Committee, Nguyen Thi Hong, said encouraging results had been made in co-ordinating market-watch departments.
(Source: VNS)
