HANOI:The country’s efforts in cracking down on smuggling, trade fraud and fake goods have shown progress but there still remain challenges.
Participants from ministries and sectors agreed on the point last week at an online conference organised by the National Steering Board on the Prevention and Control of Smuggling, Trade Fraud and Fake Commodities or Steering Committee 389.
The meeting aimed to review the committee’s achievements over the last year and put forward tasks on the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and fake goods next year.
According to the statistics of the committee, as of November 15 this year, inspectors at all levels nationwide discovered more than 186,000 smuggling cases.
According to Do Thang Hai, deputy minister of Commerce and Industry, market management forces detected such key products as cigarettes and petrol at supermarkets and trade centres. As many as 7,372 direct communication campaigns on smuggling were conducted on business bases. More than 29,000 units signed commitments against fake goods.
However, uncovered cases have not been equivalent to the real situation. The number of prosecuted cases is still limited, said Le Quy Vuong, deputy minister of Public Security said.
Officers of ministries, sectors and localities have implemented their tasks with high responsibility, however, the more cases they cracked down on, they see the more complicated smuggling is, Nguyen Thanh Cung, deputy minister of National Defence said.
To address the issue, Cung highlighted the importance of responsibility and transparency of ministries, sectors and localities in the fight against smuggling while suggesting the improvement of inspectors’ abilities.
Punishment should be given to any government officials who colludes with smugglers, he said.
Addressing the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who also heads the Steering Committee 389, emphasised the seriousness and transparency of dealing with illegal trade activities.
He said that the urgent time to fight against smuggling and counterfeit goods is before, during and after Tet (Lunar New Year).
Phuc urged relevant ministries and sectors to step up cooperation in inspection, in addition to strengthening face to face and visual campaigns for people and improving the responsibility of organisations in these activities.
