Registration/Notification Procedures for E-commerce Websites with the Ministry of Industry and Trade

I. Forms of Organizing E-commerce Activities

1. E-commerce Website for Selling Goods: This refers to an e-commerce website established by traders, organizations, or individuals to serve their own trade promotion, sale of goods, or provision of services.

2. E-commerce Service Provider Website: This is an e-commerce website established by a trader or organization to provide an environment for other traders, organizations, and individuals to conduct commercial activities. E-commerce service provider websites include the following types:

a) E-commerce trading floor: Online platforms where multiple sellers can list and sell products or services.

b) Online auction website: Websites facilitating online auctions for goods or services.

c) Online promotion website: Websites dedicated to offering online promotions and deals.

d) Other types of websites as prescribed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

3. Applications Installed on Networked Electronic Devices: If an application allows users to access the database of other traders, organizations, or individuals to buy and sell goods, provide or use services, the trader or organization must comply with the regulations on e-commerce websites for selling goods or e-commerce service provider websites, depending on the application's functionalities.

II. Responsibilities of Traders, Organizations, and Individuals Owning E-commerce Websites for Selling Goods

1. Notify the Ministry of Industry and Trade of establishing an e-commerce website for selling goods as regulated if the website has online ordering functionality.

2. Fully implement the provision of information on the website in accordance with the regulations in this Section and be responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information.

3. Comply with regulations on protecting customer personal information as stipulated in Section 1, Chapter V of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments.

4. Implement the regulations in Section 2, Chapter II of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments if the website has online ordering functionality.

5. Implement the regulations in Section 2, Chapter V of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments if the website has online payment functionality.

6. Please provide information on their business situation at the request of competent state agencies to serve e-commerce statistics, inspection, examination, and handling of violations in e-commerce.

7. Store information about transactions made through the website in accordance with the law on accounting; fully fulfill tax obligations as prescribed by law.

III. Conditions for Establishing an E-commerce Website for Selling Goods

Traders, organizations, and individuals are allowed to establish an e-commerce website for selling goods if they meet the following conditions:

1. Be a trader, organization, or individual who has been granted a personal tax code.

2. Have notified the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the establishment of an e-commerce website for selling goods as regulated in Article 53 of this Decree.

IV. Procedures for Notifying the Establishment of an E-commerce Website for Selling Goods

1. Traders, organizations, and individuals shall notify the Ministry of Industry and Trade online about the establishment of an e-commerce website for selling goods via the E-commerce Management Information Portal before officially selling goods or providing services to users.

2. Information to be notified includes:

a) Domain name of the e-commerce website;

b) Types of goods and services introduced on the website;

c) Registered name of the trader or organization or the name of the individual owning the website;

d) Address of the head office of the trader or organization or the permanent address of the individual;

đ) Number, date of issue, and place of issue of the business registration certificate of the trader, or number, date of issue, and issuing unit of the establishment decision of the organization; or personal tax code of the individual;

e) Name, title, ID card number, phone number, and email address of the representative of the trader, the person in charge of the e-commerce website;

g) Other information as prescribed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

V. Responsibilities of Traders and Organizations Providing E-commerce Trading Floor Services

1. Register the establishment of the website providing e-commerce trading floor services as regulated in Section 2, Chapter IV of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments, and publish information about the website owner as regulated in Article 29 of this Decree on the website's homepage.

2. Develop and publicly announce on the website the operational regulations of the e-commerce trading floor as regulated in Article 38 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments; monitor and ensure the implementation of these regulations on the e-commerce trading floor.

3. Require sellers on the e-commerce trading floor to provide information as regulated in Article 29 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments when registering to use the service. For foreign sellers, proper names shall be transliterated into Vietnamese or expressed in Latin characters.

4. Establish a mechanism for inspection and supervision to ensure that the provision of information by sellers on the e-commerce trading floor is accurate and complete.

5. Store registration information of traders, organizations, and individuals participating in the e-commerce trading floor and regularly update relevant changes and supplemental information.

6. Establish a mechanism to allow traders, organizations, and individuals participating in the e-commerce trading floor to carry out the contract conclusion process as regulated in Section 2, Chapter II of this Decree if the website has online ordering functionality.

7. Apply necessary measures to ensure information security related to business secrets of traders, organizations, and individuals, as well as personal information of consumers.

8. Take prompt measures to handle violations of law on the e-commerce trading floor upon discovery or receipt of reports:

a) Prevent and remove from the website information on the purchase and sale of goods and provision of services that fall under the list of prohibited goods and services or prohibited industries and trades for investment and business as prescribed by law;

b) Remove information about goods and services that violate the law within 24 hours of receiving a request from a competent state management agency;

c) Coordinate with intellectual property rights holders to review and remove products that infringe intellectual property rights in accordance with the process and procedures published in the Operational Regulations of the e-commerce trading floor;

d) Give warnings or refuse to provide services for a definite or indefinite period to individuals, traders, and organizations with acts of violating the law in business;

đ) Other measures in accordance with the Operational Regulations of the e-commerce trading floor.  

9) Assist state management agencies in investigating and handling acts of violating the law in business and resolving disputes and complaints:

a) Provide information on subjects with signs or acts of violating the law on the e-commerce trading floor to competent state management agencies upon discovery or receipt of such information;

b) Regularly update keywords as recommended by competent state management agencies and filter information by keywords before information about goods and services is displayed on the website;

c) Receive and respond to information to resolve complaints, feedback, and disputes related to the e-commerce trading floor at the E-commerce Management Information Portal of the Ministry of Industry and Trade at online.gov.vn.  10) Publicly disclose the mechanism for resolving disputes arising in the transaction process on the e-commerce trading floor. When a customer on the e-commerce trading floor has a conflict with the seller or suffers damage to their legitimate interests, the customer must be provided with information about the seller and actively supported in protecting their legitimate rights and interests.

11) For e-commerce trading floors with online ordering functionality, in addition to the above obligations, traders and organizations providing e-commerce trading floor services are responsible for:

a) Designating a focal point to receive requests and provide online information to state management agencies about subjects with signs of violating the law; this focal point shall provide information within 24 hours of receiving the request to promptly serve the inspection, examination, handling of violations, and resolution of complaints and denunciations;

b) Representing foreign sellers on the e-commerce trading floor to resolve consumer complaints related to goods and services provided by foreign traders, and have the responsibility to notify foreign sellers of their tax obligations when participating in the e-commerce trading floor in accordance with Vietnamese law;

c) Acting as the focal point to receive and resolve consumer complaints in cases where a transaction conducted on the e-commerce trading floor involves more than 02 participating parties;

d) Storing information about orders placed on the e-commerce trading floor in accordance with the law on accounting;

đ) Jointly liable for compensation for damages in case of violation of the obligations specified in Clauses 8 and 9 of this Article, which causes damage

VI. Responsibilities of Traders and Organizations Providing Online Promotion Services

1. Register the establishment of the website providing online promotion services as regulated in Section 2, Chapter IV of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments.

2. Comply with the provisions of the Commercial Law and relevant legal provisions on promotion activities.

3. Comply with regulations on the protection of customer personal information as stipulated in Section 1, Chapter V of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments.

4. Implement the regulations in Section 2, Chapter II of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments if the website has online ordering functionality for vouchers, service vouchers, or loyalty cards.

5. Implement the regulations in Section 2, Chapter V of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments if the website has online payment functionality.

6. Fully disclose the contents specified in Article 40 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments in each promotion information posted on its website.

7. Develop and publish on the website operational regulations complying with the provisions of Article 38 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments.

8. Develop and publish on the website a mechanism for receiving and resolving customer complaints about the quality of promoted goods and services or goods and services used for promotion.

9. Bear the responsibility of a third party in providing information about goods and services to consumers in accordance with the Law on Consumer Protection.

10. Compensate customers if the vouchers, service vouchers, or loyalty cards issued by them are refused by partners contrary to the conditions announced on the website or on the vouchers, service vouchers, or loyalty cards themselves.

VII. Responsibilities of Traders and Organizations Providing Online Auction Services

1. Register the online auction website as regulated in Section 2, Chapter IV of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments.

2. Fulfill the responsibilities specified in Article 36 of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments.

3. Determine the method and procedures for online auctions.

4. Develop a technical system to serve online auction activities so that sellers can organize auctions according to the prescribed method and procedures.

5. Provide online tools so that sellers can publicly announce and list complete and accurate necessary information related to the auctioned goods.

6. Provide online tools so that sellers can upload images of goods, samples of goods, or introductory documents about goods for auction participants to review.

7. Provide sellers with information about the progress of the auction organized by the seller upon request.

8. Prepare a notice of auction results and send it to the seller, buyer, and related parties as regulated in Article 51 of this Decree.

9. Be responsible in case of errors in the technical system that prevent the auction from being carried out:

a) If an error in the technical system prevents the auction from starting at the time the seller intends to hold the auction, the online auction service provider must refund to the seller all costs related to organizing the auction that the seller has paid to the online auction service provider;

b) If an error in the technical system prevents auction participants from continuing to bid after the auction has started, the online auction service provider must cancel the auction results and allow the seller to re-organize the auction, and bear all costs related to re-organizing this auction.

VIII. Conditions for Establishing a Website Providing E-commerce Services

Traders and organizations are allowed to establish a website providing e-commerce services as specified in Sections 2, 3, and 4 of Chapter III of Decree 52/2013/ND-CP and its amendments when meeting all of the following conditions:

1. Be a trader or organization established in accordance with the law.

2. Have a service provision plan that clearly states the following contents:

a) Operational organization model, including service provision activities, promotion and marketing activities both inside and outside the online environment, and logistics activities for goods.

b) Define the rights and responsibilities between the trader or organization providing e-commerce services and the service users.

3. Have registered the establishment of a website providing e-commerce services and have been confirmed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade for registration as regulated in Articles 55 and 58 of this Decree.

IX. Procedures for Registering the Establishment of a Website Providing E-commerce Services

1. Traders and organizations shall register online with the Ministry of Industry and Trade regarding the establishment of a website providing e-commerce services after the website has been completed with full structure, features, and information according to the service provision plan, has been operating at the registered domain name address, and before officially providing services to users.

2. The registration dossier includes:

a) Application for registration of the establishment of a website providing e-commerce services;

b) A copy from the original book or a certified copy or a copy presented with the original for comparison of the establishment decision (for organizations); electronic copy from the original book or certified electronic copy from the original; business registration certificate or enterprise registration certificate (for traders), business license (for foreign investors, economic organizations with foreign investment capital);

c) Service provision plan as regulated in Clause 3, Article 54 of this Decree;

d) Regulations on the management of the operation of the website providing e-commerce services in compliance with the provisions of this Decree and relevant legal provisions;

đ) Sample service provision contract, general transaction conditions, if any;

e) Other documents as prescribed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

 

The information contained in this article is general and intended only to provide information on legal regulations. DB Legal will not be responsible for any use or application of this information for any business purpose. For in-depth advice on specific cases, please contact us.

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