Notification and Registration of Promotional Activities 2026

I. Notification of Promotional Activities

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree No. 239/2026/ND-CP, which amends and supplements several articles of Decree No. 81/2018/ND-CP dated May 22, 2018:

1. Traders conducting administrative procedures must notify their promotional activities to all Departments of Industry and Trade where the promotions are organized (within the promotional territory) prior to executing the promotional program in the forms specified in Article 12, except for the cases prescribed in Points b and c, Clause 2 of this Article. The notification dossier must be submitted to the Department of Industry and Trade at least 03 working days prior to the implementation of the promotion (based on the receipt date recorded on the bill of lading or equivalent forms if sent via postal services, or the recording date on the system if submitted online through the National Public Service Portal).

2. Cases exempt from administrative procedures for notifying promotional implementation:

• a) Organizing promotions in the forms specified in Clause 8, Article 92 of the Law on Commerce and Articles 8, 9, 10, 11, and 14 of Decree No. 81;

• b) Organizing promotions in the forms specified in Article 12 of this Decree with a total value of prizes or gifts under 100 million VND;

• c) Only conducting promotional programs in the forms specified in Article 12 of this Decree for goods and services sold or supplied through e-commerce trading floors, e-commerce trading floor applications, online promotional websites, and online promotional applications.

3. Traders may choose one of the following methods of notification:

• a) Via public postal services, through hiring services of enterprises or individuals, or via authorization in accordance with the law;

• b) Online through the National Public Service Portal.

4. The notification dossier comprises 01 Notification of Promotional Implementation using Form No. 01 of the Appendix issued together with Decree No. 81.

5. The contents of the notification of promotional implementation include:

• a) Name of the trader conducting the promotion;

• b) Name of the promotional program;

• c) Promotional territory (provinces and cities where the trader conducts the promotion);

• d) Form of promotion;

• dd) Promoted goods and services;

• e) Goods and services used for promotion (prizes, gifts);

• g) Promotional period;

• h) Target customers of the promotional program (beneficiaries of the promotion);

• i) Prize structure and total value of prizes of the promotional program;

• k) Detailed content of the promotional program.

• l) In case multiple traders jointly coordinate to implement a promotional program, the notification must clearly state the names of the co-operating traders, specific contents of participation, and specific responsibilities of each participating trader in the program.

6. Information regarding the promotional program notified by the trader must be made public by the competent state management agency through appropriate forms (written documents, websites, or equivalent means) and no earlier than the starting time of the promotional program. The public information must include:

• a) Name of the executing trader;

• b) Detailed content of the program;

• c) Promotional period;

• d) Promotional territory.

II. Notification of Amendments and Supplements to Promotional Programs

1. In case of amending or supplementing the contents of a promotional program previously notified to the Department of Industry and Trade, the trader, prior to making such amendments or supplements, must perform the administrative procedure of notifying the amendments and supplements to the Department of Industry and Trade where the promotion was originally notified. The notification dossier consists of 01 written notification of amendments and supplements to the content of the promotional program using Form No. 06 of the Appendix issued together with this Decree.

2. Traders may choose one of the following methods of notification:

• a) Via public postal services, through hiring services of enterprises or individuals, or via authorization in accordance with the law;

• b) Online through the National Public Service Portal.

3. Any amendment or supplement to the content of a promotional program must ensure that it does not affect the rights and interests of customers who participated in the program prior to such modification.

III. Registration of Promotional Activities

1. Traders must perform the administrative procedure to register promotional activities and obtain confirmation from the competent state management agency prior to conducting promotional programs in the forms specified in Article 13 of this Decree and other forms specified in Clause 9, Article 92 of the Law on Commerce.

2. The competent state management agencies specified in Clause 1 of this Article include:

• a) The Department of Industry and Trade for games-of-chance promotional programs conducted within a single province or centrally-run city;

• b) The Ministry of Industry and Trade for games-of-chance promotional programs conducted within 02 or more provinces or centrally-run cities, and promotional programs in other forms.

3. Traders may choose one of the following methods of registration:

• a) Via public postal services, through hiring services of enterprises or individuals, or via authorization in accordance with the law;

• b) Online through the National Public Service Portal.

4. The registration dossier for a promotional program includes:

• a) 01 Registration of Promotional Program using Form No. 02 of the Appendix issued together with this Decree;

• b) 01 Rules of the Promotional Program using Form No. 03 of the Appendix issued together with the Decree.

5. The registered contents of promotional implementation include:

• a) Name of the trader conducting the promotion;

• b) Name of the promotional program;

• c) Promotional territory (provinces and cities where the trader conducts the promotion);

• d) Form of promotion;

• dd) Promoted goods and services;

• e) Goods and services used for promotion (prizes, gifts);

• g) Promotional period;

• h) Target customers of the promotional program (beneficiaries of the promotion);

• i) Prize structure and total value of prizes of the promotional program;

• k) Detailed content of the promotional program (rules of the promotional program);

• l) In case multiple traders jointly coordinate to implement a promotional program, the registered contents must clearly state the names of the co-operating traders, specific contents of participation, and specific responsibilities of each participating trader in the program.

6. Within 05 working days from the receipt date of the dossier (based on the receipt date on the bill of lading of the postal service or equivalent forms if sent by post, the date on the dossier receipt slip if submitted in person, or the recording date on the system if submitted via the online public service system), the competent state management agency in charge of commerce specified in Clause 2 of this Article shall review and respond with a confirmation or non-confirmation of the trader's promotional program registration. In case of non-confirmation, a clear reason must be provided in compliance with the law. The confirmation or non-confirmation content shall follow Form No. 04 or Form No. 05 of the Appendix issued together with this Decree.

7. In case the Ministry of Industry and Trade is the agency confirming the registration of a promotional program, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall provide the verified program content to the Department of Industry and Trade where the trader organizes the promotion for coordinated management.

8. Information on the promotional program registered and confirmed by traders must be made public by the state management agency through appropriate forms (written documents, websites, or equivalent means) and no earlier than the starting time of the promotional program. The public information must include:

• a) Name of the executing trader;

• b) Detailed content of the promotional program;

• c) Promotional period;

• d) Promotional territory.

IV. Registration of Amendments and Supplements to Promotional Programs

1. In case of amending or supplementing the contents of a promotional program previously confirmed for registration, the trader, prior to making such amendments or supplements, must perform the administrative procedure of registering the amendments and supplements with the state management agency where it was originally registered. The registration dossier for amendments and supplements includes 01 written document using Form No. 06a of the Appendix issued together with this Decree.

2. Traders may choose one of the following methods of registration:

• a) Via public postal services, through hiring services of enterprises or individuals, or via authorization in accordance with the law;

• b) Online through the National Public Service Portal.

1. Within 04 working days from the receipt date of the dossier (based on the receipt date on the postal bill of lading or equivalent forms if sent by post, or the recording date on the system if submitted online through the National Public Service Portal), the competent state management agency in charge of commerce shall review and respond with a confirmation or non-confirmation of the trader's registration for amendments and supplements to the promotional program. In case of non-confirmation, a clear reason must be provided in compliance with the law.

3. In case the Ministry of Industry and Trade is the agency confirming the registration of amendments and supplements to a promotional program, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall provide the verified modified content to the Department of Industry and Trade where the trader organizes the promotion for coordinated management.

4. Any amendment or supplement to the content of a promotional program must ensure that it does not affect the rights and interests of customers who participated in the program prior to such modification.

V. Announcement of Results, Awarding, and Reporting on the Results of Promotional Programs

1. In case of conducting promotional programs in the forms specified in Articles 12 and 13 of this Decree and other forms specified in Clause 9, Article 92 of the Law on Commerce, the time limit for announcing winning results and awarding prizes of the program must not exceed 45 days from the ending date of the promotional implementation, except for force majeure events as prescribed by law.

2. Reporting on the results of promotional programs:

• a) Within 45 days from the expiration of the prize-awarding period of a promotional program in the forms specified in Article 13 of this Decree and other forms specified in Clause 9, Article 92 of the Law on Commerce, the trader executing the promotional program must submit a written report to the competent state management agency (where the program was registered and confirmed) regarding the results of the promotional program using Form No. 07 of the Appendix issued together with this Decree. In case 50% of the value of unclaimed prizes must be remitted into the state budget, within 07 working days from receiving the trader's report, the state management agency shall issue a decision to collect 50% of the announced value of the unclaimed prizes of the promotional program using Form No. 08 of the Appendix issued together with this Decree. Within 45 days from receiving the collection decision from the state management agency, the trader is responsible for paying the amount equal to 50% of the announced value of the unclaimed prizes in accordance with the decision. Vouchers and documents related to the results report and the execution of the promotional program must be stored by the trader, who shall bear legal responsibility for them in compliance with the law to serve inspection, examination, and supervision activities;

• b) Traders conducting promotions in the forms specified in Clause 8, Article 92 of the Law on Commerce, and Articles 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 14 of this Decree are exempt from reporting promotional results.

3. Traders conducting promotional programs in forms other than those specified in Point b, Clause 2 of this Article are responsible for publicly announcing information on the results of the promotion at the promotional venue, on mass media, or on the trader's website (if a website is available). The publicly announced information must include:

• a) Name of the promotional program;

• b) Promotional territory (provinces and cities where the trader conducts the promotion);

• c) Form of promotion;

• d) Promoted goods and services;

• dd) Goods and services used for promotion (prizes, gifts);

• e) Promotional period;

• g) Target customers of the promotional program (beneficiaries of the promotion);

• h) Prize structure and the total value of prizes awarded under the promotional program.

V. Termination of Promotional Programs

Traders executing promotions must not terminate a promotional program before the announced expiry date or the date confirmed by the competent state management agency, except for the following cases:

1. In case of force majeure, the early termination of a promotional program must be publicly notified to customers and the competent state management agency in charge of commerce.

2. In case the trader running the promotion runs out of promotional goods/services or goods/services used for the promotion, or runs out of the announced or verified quantity of proof-of-winning items, the termination of the promotional program may only be carried out after the trader notifies the competent state management agency and ensures the full rights and interests of the customers who have already participated in the program.

3. In case of being requested by a state management agency to terminate the execution of the whole or part of a promotional program, the termination of the program must be publicly announced by the trader via one of the methods specified in Article 98 of the Law on Commerce, on the trader's website (if available), and must ensure that the trader fulfills all commitments to customers who participated in that promotional program; except for cases where the promotional program involves the use of banned goods or services, restricted goods or services, goods not yet permitted for circulation, services not yet permitted for provision, or uses alcohol or beer as promotions for persons under 18 years old, or uses cigarettes, alcohol, or medicines for promotions (except where medicines are used for promotions targeting pharmaceutical trading businesses) under any form. A trader shall be requested by a state management agency to terminate a promotional program when:

• a) Violating the provisions of Article 100 of the Law on Commerce and Article 3 of this Decree;

• b) Failing to implement, or implementing incorrectly or insufficiently, the contents in the rules of the promotional program registered with the competent state management agency in charge of commerce.

The full text of Consolidated Document No. 55/VBHN-BCT can be viewed here.