REGULATORY DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE FIELD OF GOODS LABELING AND PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
– Customs Law dated June 23, 2014 (from Article 73 to Article 76);
– Intellectual Property Law dated June 29, 2009;
– Decree No. 105/2006/ND-CP dated September 22, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Intellectual Property Law; Decree No. 119/2010/ND-CP dated December 30, 2010 of the Government amending and supplementing Decree No. 105/2006/ND-CP;
– Decree No. 43/2017/ND-CP dated April 14, 2017 of the Government regulating goods labels;
– Circular No. 13/2015/TT-BTC dated January 30, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance regulating inspection, supervision, and temporary suspension of customs procedures for exported and imported goods that require insurance. protect intellectual property rights, control counterfeit goods and goods that infringe intellectual property rights.
1. Important concepts to note 
– A goods label is a written, printed, drawn, photocopy of words, drawings, or images that are pasted, printed, attached, cast, engraved, or engraved directly on the goods, the commercial packaging of the goods, or on other materials attached to goods and commercial packaging of goods;
– Original label of goods is the label shown for the first time by the organization or individual producing the goods attached to the goods or commercial packaging of the goods;
– Secondary label is a label showing mandatory contents translated from the original label of the goods in a foreign language into Vietnamese and supplemented with mandatory contents in Vietnamese according to the provisions of Vietnamese law that the original label of missing goods;
– Commercial packaging of goods is the packaging that contains the goods and circulates with the goods; Commercial packaging of goods includes two types: Direct packaging and outer packaging
– Circulation of goods is the display, promotion, transportation and storage of goods during the process of buying and selling goods, except in the case of transportation of goods by organizations or individuals importing goods from the border gate. storage warehouse;
2. Mandatory information shown on the product label
According to Article 10 Decree 43/2017/ND-CP, mandatory product labels need to show the following information:
2.1 Name of goods
– The name of the goods must be in a prominent and easy-to-read position on the product label. The writing of the product name must be the largest letter size compared to other mandatory content on the product label.
– The name of the goods recorded on the label is set by the organization or individual producing the goods. The name of the goods must not mislead the nature, uses and ingredients of the goods.
– In case the name of an ingredient is used as the name or part of the product name, the quantity of that ingredient must be recorded, except for the cases specified in Clause 4 Article 13 of this Decree.
2.2 Name and address of the organization or individual responsible for the goods
– Proper names of organizations, individuals and places on product labels must not be abbreviated
– Goods imported for circulation in Vietnam must record the name and address of the producing organization or individual and the name and address of the importing organization or individual.
For goods that are medical equipment imported for circulation in Vietnam, write the name and address of the manufacturing organization or individual associated with the origin of the goods and write the name and address of the owner. Must have a registration number for circulation of medical equipment.
– For goods of organizations or individuals acting as direct sales agents for foreign traders importing goods into Vietnam, write the name and address of the producing organization or individual and the name and address of the organization. , an individual acting as an agent selling those goods
– Goods that are licensed by an organization or individual regarding their labels, in addition to complying with the provisions in Clauses 2, 3 and 4 This must also include the name and address of the franchising organization or individual.
Therefore, businesses need to fully note the Manufacturer, Owner, Importer, and Distributor information on the label.
Note: Before the import company information, there must be the word: "Importer", do not write the company name. If you only write the company without the word Importer, it will cause misunderstanding that it is the manufacturer.
2.3 Origin of goods (Article 15 Decree 43/2017/ND-CP)
The way to write the origin of goods is prescribed as follows: Write the phrase “made in" or "manufactured at", "manufacturing country", "origin" or "made by” with the name of the country or territory producing that good.
– Manufactured in: produced in
– Manufactured in: manufactured in
– Country of origin: made in
– Origin: origin
– Produced by: produced by
Note: Businesses should pay attention not to abbreviate country names
2.4 Other contents
Other contents according to the nature of each type of goods are specified in Appendix I Decree No. 43/2017/ND-CP and relevant legal documents;
Importers should pay attention to reading Appendix I for details on how to display product labels according to the nature of each type of product.
In addition, you can print some other information on the label Article 18 Decree 43/2017/ND-CP.
3. Regulations on Secondary Labels
Goods imported into Vietnam that do not show or do not show enough mandatory content in Vietnamese must have an additional label showing mandatory content in Vietnamese and keep the original label of the goods intact.
The content written in Vietnamese must correspond to the content written on the original label.
4. Situations to avoid and pay attention to labels
– Product labels need to have all required information
– Product labels should be written in English or bilingual, possibly bilingual with Vietnamese translation
– Product labels need to be affixed in a visible place on the goods and on the commercial packaging. Meets the correct font size, color, and image regulations
– Businesses should prepare secondary labels with enough information to supplement in case the original label is not enough
– Product labels avoid misleading inspection agencies and consumers.
5. Penalty levels and sanctions for violations of goods labels
5.1 In case there is no label
Implement penalties according to regulations in Clause 7, Article 14 of Decree No. 127/2013/ND-CP (amended and supplemented at Clause 11, Article 1, Decree No. 45/2016/ND-CP), At the same time, transfer information to the General Department of Market Management to check and supervise secondary labeling before circulation.
– Fine from 5,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND in case the violation exhibits are worth less than 30,000,000 VND;
– Fine from 10,000,000 VND to 20,000,000 VND in case the violating exhibits are worth from 30,000,000 VND to less than 50,000,000 VND;
– Fine from 20,000,000 VND to 30,000,000 VND in case the violating exhibits are worth from 50,000,000 VND to less than 100,000,000 VND;
– Fine from 30,000,000 VND to 50,000,000 VND in case the evidence of violation is worth 100,000,000 VND or more but is not a crime.
– Forced removal from Vietnamese territory or forced re-export of goods within 30 days from the date of receipt of the penalty decision for violations specified in the provisions of this Law. Clauses 4, 5, 7, 8 and Clauses 9 This; except exported goods.
– Within the time limit specified in Clause 2, Article 22 of Decree 45/2016/ND-CP, if the competent authority allows import, then import is allowed.
If violated, the Import Enterprise may have its rating lowered
5.2 In case there are labels and incomplete information
Fines range from 500,000 VND - 30,000,000 VND depending on the value of the goods (Article 31,37,42 Decree 119/2017/ND-CP)
Customs authorities can consider rejecting C/O incentives, fixing prices, and taking away the right to price consultation. Therefore, it will affect subsequent shipments and lower the importer's rating.
