THE GOVERNMENT
------- |
SOCIALIST
REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Independence - Freedom - Happiness --------------- |
No. 52/2013/ND-CP
|
Hanoi,
May 16, 2013
|
DECREE
Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of
the Government;
Pursuant to the June 14, 2005 Civil Code;
Pursuant to the June 14, 2005 Commercial Law;
Pursuant to the November 29, 2005 Law on E-Transactions;
Pursuant to the June 29, 2006 Law on Information
Technology;
Pursuant to the December 3, 2004 Competition Law;
Pursuant to the November 17, 2010 Law on Protection of
Consumer Interests;
At the proposal of the Minister of Industry and Trade;
The Government promulgates the Decree on e-commerce.
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Scope of
regulation
This Decree provides the development, application and
management of e-commerce activities.
Article 2. Subjects of
application
1. This Decree applies to traders, organizations and
individuals engaged in e-commerce activities in the territory of Vietnam,
including:
a/ Vietnamese traders, organizations and individuals;
b/ Foreign individuals residing in Vietnam;
c/ Foreign traders and organizations presenting in Vietnam
through investment operation, establishment of branches and representative
offices or websites with Vietnamese domain name.
2. On the basis of economic and social conditions and
management requirements of each period, the Ministry of Industry and Trade
shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of
Information and Communications in, guiding management measures for foreign
traders, organizations and individuals that carry out e-commerce activities
with Vietnamese parties.
Article 3.
Interpretation of terms
In this Decree, the terms below are construed as follows:
1. E-commerce activity means conducting part or the whole
of the process of commercial activity by electronic means connected to the
Internet, mobile telecommunications network or other open networks.
2. National e-commerce development program is a set of
contents and tasks of e-commerce development activities in each period in order
to encourage and support e-commerce applications to improve the efficiency of
business and production, boost domestic commercial transactions and export, and
build modern e-commerce infrastructure facilities.
3. E-document in commercial transactions (below referred to
as e-document) is a contract, proposal, notice, confirmation or another
document in the form of data message provided by the parties and related to
contract conclusion or performance.
Electronic documents in this Decree do not include draft,
promissory note, bill of lading, shipping bill, warehousing and ex-warehousing
bills or any transferable documents which permit the bearers or beneficiaries
to have the right to receive goods or services or be paid an amount of money.
4. Originator is the party or a representative of that
party that has generated or sent an e-document before storing it. The
originator does not include the party acting as an intermediary related to that
e-document.
5. Recipient is the party that is intended by the
originator to receive the e-document. The recipient does not include the party
acting as an intermediary related to that e-document.
6. Automatic information system is an information system
for generating, sending, receiving or responding to data messages without human
intervention or check of each performed action.
7. Business place is a fixed establishment for carrying out
business activities, excluding temporary establishments for goods or service
provision.
8. E-commerce website (below referred to as website) is an
electronic information page set up to serve part or the whole of the process of
buying and selling goods or providing services, from displaying and introducing
goods or services to concluding contracts, providing services, making payment
and providing after-sales services.
9. E-commerce trading floor is an e-commerce website
permitting traders, organizations and individuals that are not the website
owner to conduct part or the whole of the process of buying and selling goods
or services on that website.
E-commerce trading floor referred to in this Decree does
not include online securities trading websites.
10. Online promotion website is an e-commerce website set
up by traders and organizations to promote goods and services of other traders,
organizations or individuals under the terms of promotion service contracts.
11. Online auction website is an e-commerce website
providing solutions allowing traders, organizations and individual that are not
the website owner to auction their goods on that website.
12. Online ordering function is a function installed on an
e-commerce website or terminal equipment of customers connected to an
e-commerce website in order to permit customers to begin the process of
conclusion of contracts under the terms published on that website, including
conclusion of contracts with an automatic information system.
13. Personal information is information contributing to
identifying a particular individual, including his/her name, age, home address,
phone number, medical information, account number, information on personal
payment transactions and other information that the individual wishes to keep
confidential.
Personal information referred to in this Decree does not
include work contact information and other information that the individual
himself/herself has published in the mass media.
14. Collection of personal information is the collection of
information, including personal information of many consumers being customers
or potential customers of traders, organizations or individuals engaged in e-
commerce activities, for putting in a database.
15. Service of e-contract certification is a third party’s
service of storing and assuring the integrity of e-documents created by the
parties during the conclusion and performance of contracts.
Article 4. Prohibited
acts in e-commerce activities
1. Violations of e-commerce business activities:
a/ Organizing a marketing and business network for
e-commerce services in which each participant is required to pay an initial
amount of money to buy the service and receive commission, bonus or other
economic benefits from mobilizing others to join the network;
b/ Taking advantage of e-commerce to trade in counterfeit
goods or trade in goods or provide services infringing upon intellectual
property rights, or trade in goods or provide services in the list of goods and
services banned from business;
c/ Taking advantage of the name of e-commerce business to
illegally mobilize capital from other traders, organizations or individuals;
d/ Providing e-commerce services or monitoring, evaluation
and certification services in e-commerce when these services have not been
registered or licensed in accordance with this Decree;
dd/ Providing e-commerce services or monitoring, evaluation
and certification services in e-commerce inconsistent with the information in
the dossier of registration or licensing;
e/ Committing fraudulent acts or providing false
information when carrying out the procedures for notification of the setting up
of an e-commerce website, registering a website to provide e-commerce services,
registering or applying for a license to provide monitoring, evaluation and
certification services.
2. Violations of information on e-commerce websites:
a/ Falsifying registration information or failing to comply
with the regulations on the form and mode of disclosing registration
information on e-commerce websites;
b/ Using the logos of credit rating programs of e-commerce
websites when having not been recognized by these programs;
c/ Using links, logos or other technologies on e-commerce
websites to cause confusion about the relationship with other traders,
organizations or individuals;
d/ Using links to provide conflicting or misleading
information compared with the information disclosed in the area where the
website is connected with this link.
3. Violations of transaction on e-commerce websites:
a/ Performing acts of deceiving consumers on e-commerce
websites;
b/ Falsifying information of traders, organizations or individuals
in order to participate in e-commerce activities;
c/ Intervening in the operation system and Internet browser
in electronic equipment accessible to websites in order to force customers to
stay on the websites against their will.
4. Other violations:
a/ Stealing, using, revealing, transferring and selling
information relating to business secrets of other traders, organizations or
individuals or personal information of consumers in e-commerce without the
consent of the parties concerned, unless otherwise provided by law;
b/ Faking or copying the interfaces of e-commerce websites
of other traders, organizations or individuals to make profit or to cause
confusion or customer distrust in those traders, organizations or individuals.
Article 5. Contents of
state management of e-commerce
1. Developing, and organizing the implementation of,
mechanisms, policies, strategies, master plans and programs on e-commerce
development.
2. Promulgating, and organizing the implementation of,
legal documents on e-commerce activities, standards of and regulations on
e-commerce applications, and regulations on the management of specific
e-commerce services.
3. Managing and supervising e-commerce activities.
4. Disseminating and educating about the law on e-commerce.
5. Organizing technology research, application and transfer
in e-commerce.
6. Organizing activities of advising and supporting
enterprises to deploy and apply e-commerce.
7. Organizing the training and retraining of human
resources for e-commerce.
8. Making e-commerce statistics.
9. Performing international cooperation in the field of
e-commerce.
10. Conducting inspection and examination, settling
complaints and denunciations and handling violations in e-commerce activities.
Article 6.
Responsibilities of state management of e-commerce
1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade is responsible before
the Government for performing the state management of e-commerce.
2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, People’s
Committees of provinces and centrally run cities shall, within the ambit of
their tasks and powers, coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in
performing the state management of e-commerce.
Article 7. National
e-commerce development program
1. The State adopts appropriate policies and measures to promote
the transparent and sustainable development of e-commerce through the national
e-commerce development program.
2. The contents of the national e-commerce development
program include:
a/ Building and developing e-commerce infrastructure;
b/ Conducting public information to raise awareness of
e-commerce;
c/ Training and developing human resources for e-commerce;
d/ Developing products and solutions of e-commerce;
dd/ Advising on the development of e-commerce application
plans;
e/ Performing international cooperation on e-commerce;
g/ Building management capacity and organizing activities
of e-commerce development;
h/ Other contents.
3. The Prime Minister shall stipulate participants, scope
of application, management mechanisms and provision of financial assistance for
the national e-commerce development program.
Article 8. E-commerce
statistics
1. People’s Committees of provinces and centrally run
cities shall collect statistics on the application of e-commerce of each
locality and make annual reports to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for
summarization.
2. Traders and organizations providing e-commerce services
are obliged to periodically report on their service provision to serve the
making of e- commerce statistics.
3. The Minister of Industry and Trade shall promulgate
detailed regulations on reporting and statistics for traders and organizations
providing e-commerce services and localities with e-commerce enterprises.
Chapter II
CONCLUSION OF CONTRACTS IN
E-COMMERCE
Section 1. E-DOCUMENTS IN COMMERCIAL
TRANSACTIONS
Article 9. Legal
validity as the original
1. E-documents in commercial transactions are legally valid
as the original if fully meeting the following two conditions:
a/ There is a reliable assurance of the integrity of
information contained in e-documents from the time the information is first
generated in the form of e-document;
b/ Information contained in the e-document is accessible
and usable in complete form when necessary.
2. The criteria for assessing the integrity of information
are completeness and unalteredness, apart from changes in the form arising in
the process of communication, storage or display of the e-document.
3. The criteria of reliability assurance are when one of
the following measures is applied on the basis of agreement between parties
exchanging and using the e-document:
a/ Signing the e-document with the digital signature
granted by a lawful digital signature certification service provider;
b/ Storing the e-document in the system of a licensed
e-contract certification service provider that the parties have agreed to
select;
c/ There is an assurance from the trader or organization
providing infrastructure for the generation, sending and storage of the
e-document about the integrity of the information contained in the e-document
during the sending and storage in the system;
d/ Other measures as agreed upon by the parties.
Article 10. Time and
places of sending and receiving e-documents
1. The time of sending an e-document is the time that
e-document leaves the information system under the control of the originator or
his/her representative. In case the e-document does not leave the information
system under the control of the originator or his/her representative, the
sending time is the time of receiving the e-document.
2. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the time of
receiving an e-document is the time that e-document reaches the accessible
e-address indicated by the recipient.
3. The place of business of the originator is regarded as
the place of sending e-documents and the place of business of the recipient is
regarded as the place of receiving e-documents.
Article 11. Places of
business of parties
1. The place of business of each party is the place
indicated by that party, unless the other party states that it has no place of
business at this location.
2. If one party has more than one place of business but
does not indicate any place of business, the place of business is the one
having the closest relationship with the related contract and in light all
circumstances before and at the time of conclusion of the contract.
3. For an individual having no place of business, the place
of business is the place of permanent residence registration of that
individual.
4. A place where only machinery and technological equipment
of the information system used by one party for conclusion of the contract are
located or a place only from which the other parties may access that
information system is not regarded as a place of business.
5. A place name associated with the domain name or e-mail
address of a party is not necessarily related to the place of business of such
party.
Article 12. Notice of
proposal for conclusion of contract without a specific recipient
A notice by e-document of the proposal for conclusion of
contract without a specific recipient is only a notice of offer for conclusion
of contract. That notice is not regarded as a proposal for conclusion of
contract, unless the notifying party specifies in the notice its
responsibilities in case of receiving an acceptance reply.
Article 13. Use of
automatic information systems
A contract that is concluded from the interaction between
an automatic information system with a person or between automatic information
systems cannot be denied its legal validity on the ground of no human check or
intervention in each specific action performed by the automatic information
system or in the conclusion of the contract.
Article 14.
Information entry errors in e-documents
1. When a person makes an error in information entry in an
e-document used for communication with the automatic information system of
another party but this automatic information system does not support that
person to correct the error, that person or the trader, organization or
individual that person represents may withdraw the erroneous part of the
e-document if meeting the two following conditions:
a/ As soon as being aware of the error, that person or the
trader, organization or individual that person represents notifies the other
party of the error, clearly stating that he/she has made an error in this
e-document;
b/ That person or the trader, organization or individual
that person represents has not used, or has not obtained any material benefit
or value from, the goods or services received from the other party.
2. The right to withdraw the erroneous part of an
e-document does not affect the responsibility to deal with the consequences of
arising errors not prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.
Section 2. CONCLUSION
OF CONTRACTS USING THE ONLINE ORDERING FUNCTION ON E-COMMERCE WEBSITES
Article 15. Notice of
proposal for conclusion of contract
If an e-commerce website has the online ordering function
applicable to each specific goods or service introduced on that website, the
introductory information about goods and services and relevant terms are
regarded as a notice of proposal for conclusion of contract of the traders,
organizations and individuals selling goods as prescribed in Article 12 of this
Decree.
Article 16. Provision
of terms of contract when using the online ordering function on e-commerce
websites
E-commerce websites with the online ordering function shall
provide customers with information about the terms of contract specified in
Articles 30 thru 34 of this Decree before the time the customers send their proposals
for conclusion of contract.
Article 17. Proposal
for conclusion of contract
E-documents generated by customers and sent by using the
online ordering function are regarded as their proposals for conclusion of
contract for the goods or services associated with that online ordering
function.
Article 18. Review and
confirmation of contract contents
E-commerce websites must have a mechanism that permits
customers to review, supplement, modify and confirm the transaction contents
before using the online ordering function to send proposals for conclusion of
contract. This mechanism of review and confirmation must meet the following
conditions:
1. Displaying the following information to customers:
a/ Name of goods or services, quantity and type;
b/ Method and time of delivery of goods or provision of
services;
c/ Total value of the contract and the details related to
the payment method selected by the customer.
Such information must be capable of being stored and
printed on the information system of customers and being displayed later.
2. Displaying to customers information about the way of
responding to the proposal for conclusion of contract and time limit for
responding to the proposal for conclusion of contract.
3. Permitting customers to select the cancellation of
transactions or confirmation of the proposal for conclusion of contract after
reviewing the above information.
Article 19. Response
to proposal for conclusion of contract
1. Response to accept or reject the proposal for conclusion
of contract must be done in appropriate forms so that the information can be
stored, printed and displayed in the customer’s information system.
2. Upon responding to accept the proposal for conclusion of
contract, the trader, organization or individual selling goods shall provide
customers with the following information:
a/ List of all goods or services that customers have
ordered, the quantity and price of each product, and total value of the
contract;
b/ Time of goods delivery or service provision;
c/ Contact information for customers to inquire about the
status of contract performance when necessary.
Article 20.
Termination of proposal for conclusion of contract
1. In case the trader, organization or individual selling
goods has announced a time limit for response to proposals for conclusion of
contract, if this time limit expires without any response to the customer, the
customer’s proposal for conclusion of contract is regarded as no longer valid.
The response of acceptance after this time limit is regarded as another
proposal for conclusion of contract from the trader, organization or individual
selling goods.
2. In case the trader, organization or individual selling
goods does not announce any time limit for response to proposals for conclusion
of contract, if within 12 (twelve) hours from the time of sending a proposal
for conclusion of contract, the customer receives no response to his/her
proposal, this proposal is regarded as no longer valid.
Article 21. Time of
conclusion of contract when using the online ordering function on e-commerce
websites
The time of conclusion of contract when the online ordering
function on e-commerce websites is used is the time the customer receives the
response from the trader, organization or individual selling goods to accept
the proposal for conclusion of contract as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 19
of this Decree.
Article 22. Procedures
for termination of contracts on e-commerce and other online services
1. Websites providing e-commerce services and websites
providing other online services shall provide online tools for customers to
send notices of contract termination when they no longer need to use services.
This tool must satisfy the following conditions:
a/ Allowing customers to store and display notices of
contract termination in their information systems after sending these notices;
b/ Having a feedback mechanism so that customers know that
their notices of contract termination have been sent.
2. Websites providing e-commerce services and websites
providing other online services shall disclose transparently and completely
information on the process and procedures for contract termination including
the following contents:
a/ Cases in which the trader, organization or individual
provides the contract termination service and the mode of dealing with
consequences of this contract termination;
b/ The time of termination of contract validity and the
method of paying service charges in case the customer terminates the contract;
c/ If the website does not announce the time of termination
of contract validity in case the customer terminates the contract, the time
when the customer sends the notice is regarded as the time of contract
termination.
Article 23. Conclusion
of contracts on goods purchase e-commerce websites
The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall provide in detail
the process of online conclusion of contracts on e-commerce websites developed
by traders, organizations or individuals to purchase goods and services.
Chapter III
E-COMMERCE ACTIVITIES
Article 24. Subjects of e-commerce activities
The subjects involved in e-commerce activities include:
1. Traders, organizations or individuals that develop
e-commerce websites by themselves to serve their commercial promotion, sales or
service provision (owners of sales e-commerce websites).
2. Traders, organizations or individuals that develop
e-commerce websites to provide an environment for other traders, organizations
or individuals to conduct their commercial promotion, sales or service
provision (traders or organizations providing e-commerce services).
3. Traders, organizations or individuals that use websites
of traders or organizations providing e-commerce services to serve their
commercial promotion, sales or service provision (sellers).
4. Traders, organizations or individuals that purchase
goods or services on sales e-commerce websites and e-commerce service provision
websites (customers).
5. Traders or organizations providing technical
infrastructure for owners of sales e-commerce websites and for traders and
organizations providing e-commerce services (traders or organizations providing
infrastructure).
6. Traders, organizations or individuals that use
electronic equipment connected to other networks for carrying out commercial
activities.
Article 25. Forms of
organization of e-commerce activities
1. Sales e-commerce website is an e-commerce website
developed by traders, organizations or individuals by themselves to serve their
commercial promotion, sales or service provision.
2. E-commerce service provision website is an e-commerce
website developed by traders or organizations to provide an environment for
other traders, organizations or individuals to conduct their commercial
activities.
The e-commerce service provision website is of the
following types:
a/ E-commerce trading floor;
b/ Online auction website;
c/ Online promotion website;
d/ Other types of website as stipulated by the Ministry of
Industry and Trade.
3. With the applications installed on electronic devices
connected to the network that allow users to access the databases of other
traders, organizations and individuals to purchase and sell goods, provide or
use services, depending on the utilities of these applications, traders or
organizations shall comply with this Decree’s provisions on sales e-commerce
website or e-commerce service provision websites.
4. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall stipulate
e-commerce activities conducted on the mobile telecommunications network.
Article 26. Principles
of e-commerce activities
1. Principle of free and voluntary agreement in e-commerce
transactions
The parties to e-commerce activities are free to reach
agreement not contrary to the provisions of law to establish the rights and
obligations of each party in the transaction. This agreement is a ground for
the settlement of disputes arising in the transaction process.
2. Principles of determination of the scope of business in
e-commerce.
If traders, organizations or individuals conducting their
activities of sales, service provision or commercial promotion on e-commerce websites
do not specify geographical limits of these activities, these activities are
regarded to be conducted on a national scale.
3. Principles of determination of the obligation to protect
consumer interests in e-commerce
a/ The owners of sales e-commerce websites and the sellers
on e-commerce service provision website shall comply with the Law on Protection
of Consumer Interests when providing the goods or services to customers;
b/ The customers on e-commerce service provision websites
are e-commerce service consumers and consumers of goods and services provided
by the sellers on these websites;
c/ In case the sellers directly post information about
their goods and services on e-commerce websites the traders or organizations
providing e-commerce services and the traders or organizations providing
infrastructure are not the third party providing information as prescribed by
the Law on Protection of Consumer Interests.
4. Principles of trading in goods and provision of services
restricted from trading or provision or goods and services subject to business
conditions through e-commerce
The subjects applying e-commerce for trading in goods and
providing services restricted from trading or provision, or goods and services
subject to business conditions shall comply with relevant regulations on the
trading in those goods and provision of those services.
Section 1. ACTIVITIES
OF SALES E-COMMERCE WEBSITES
Article 27.
Responsibilities of traders, organizations or individuals that own sales
e-commerce websites
1. To notify the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the
set-up of sales e-commerce websites as prescribed in Section 1, Chapter IV of
this Decree.
2. To fully provide information on the website under the
provisions of this Section and take responsibility for the accuracy and
adequacy of information.
3. To comply with the provisions on the protection of
customer personal information specified in Section 1, Chapter V of this Decree.
4. To comply with the provisions in Section 2, Chapter II
of this Decree if the website has the online ordering function.
5. To comply with the provisions in Section 2, Chapter V of
this Decree if the website has the online payment function.
6. To provide information about the situation of their
business at the request of a competent state agency to serve the making of
e-commerce statistics, inspection, examination and handling of violations in
e-commerce.
7. To fulfill tax obligations as prescribed by law.
Article 28. Provision
of information on sales e-commerce websites
1. Sales e-commerce websites must fully provide information
about the owners of the websites, goods and services and terms of sales and
purchase contracts applicable to goods and services introduced on the websites
as specified in Articles 29 thru 34 of this Decree.
2. Such information must satisfy the following
requirements:
a/ Being obvious, accurate, searchable and understandable;
b/ Being arranged in the corresponding sections on the
website and accessible online;
c/ Being storable, printable and displayable later;
d/ Being displayed clearly to customers before the time
they send a proposal for conclusion of contract.
Article 29.
Information about website owner
Traders, organizations or individuals that own sales
e-commerce websites shall publish the following minimum information on the
website homepage:
1. Name and address of the head office of the trader or
organization or name and address of permanent residence of the individual.
2. Number, date and place of issuance of the business
registration certificate of the trader or the number, date of issuance and
issuer of the organization’s establishment decision or individual’s personal
tax identification number.
3. Telephone number or another online contact method.
Article 30.
Information about goods or services
For goods or services introduced on sales e-commerce
website, traders, organizations or individuals shall provide information so
that customers can correctly identify features of goods or services in order to
avoid misunderstanding when deciding to make a proposal for conclusion of
contract.
Article 31.
Information about price
1. Information on prices of goods or services, if any, must
be made clear that prices are inclusive or exclusive of the costs related to
the purchase of goods or services, such as taxes, packing cost, shipping cost
and other arising costs.
2. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, if the
information about the prices of goods or services listed on the website does
not clearly indicate the price is inclusive or exclusive of the costs related
to the purchase of goods or services such as tax, packing cost, shipping cost
and other arising costs, the price is understood to have included all the above
costs.
3. For services on e-commerce service provision websites
specified in Sections 2 and 4 of this Chapter, the websites must publish
detailed information about the method of calculation of service charge and
payment mechanism.
Article 32.
Information on general trading conditions
1. Traders, organizations or individuals shall publish the
general trading conditions for goods or services introduced on the website,
including:
a/ Conditions or restrictions on the provision of goods or
services, such as limits on time or geographic scope, if any;
b/ Return policies, including return term and method, or
exchange of goods purchased, method of getting refunds and cost of this return;
c/ Product warranty policy, if any;
d/ Service standards, service provision process, charge
tariff and other terms related to the provision of services, including
conditions and restrictions, if any;
dd/ The seller’s obligations and customer’s obligations in
each transaction.
2. The general trading conditions must have a font color
contrast with the background color of the website on which the general trading
conditions are posted and the languages expressing the general trading
conditions must include Vietnamese.
3. In case the website has the online ordering function,
the seller must have a mechanism for customers to read and express their
consent to the general trading conditions before sending a proposal for
conclusion of contract.
Article 33.
Information about shipment and delivery
1. Traders, organizations or individuals shall publish the
following information about the conditions for shipment and delivery applicable
to goods or services introduced on the website:
a/ Method of delivery of goods or provision of services;
b/ Estimated time limit for the delivery of goods or
provision of services, taking into account the geographical distance and method
of delivery;
c/ Geographical limits of the delivery of goods or
provision of services, if any.
2. In case of delay in the delivery of goods or provision
of services, traders, organizations or individuals shall promptly notify
customers thereof and create opportunities for them to cancel the contracts if
so wished.
Article 34.
Information about payment methods
1. Traders, organizations or individuals shall disclose all
payment methods applicable to goods or services introduced on the website,
together with clear and accurate explanations so that customers can understand
and choose the appropriate payment method.
2. If the e-commerce website has the online payment
function, traders, organizations or individuals shall create a mechanism for
customers to use this function to review and confirm detailed information about
each transaction before making the payment.
Section 2. OPERATION
OF E-COMMERCE TRADING FLOORS
Article 35. Provision
of e-commerce trading floor services
1. Traders or organizations that provide e-commerce trading
floor services are traders or organizations setting up e-commerce websites for
other traders or organizations to conduct a part or the whole of the process of
sale and purchase of goods and services on these websites.
2. Forms of operation of e-commerce trading floor:
a/ Website allows participants to open booths for display
and introduction of goods or services;
b/ Website allows participants to set up branch websites
for displaying and introducing goods or services;
c/ Website has a sale and purchase section permitting
participants to post news of sale and purchase of goods or services;
d/ Other types of website stipulated by the Ministry of
Industry and Trade.
3. Websites operating as goods exchanges:
a/ Traders or organizations setting up e-commerce websites
that permit participants to sell and purchase goods according to the method of
goods exchange must have a license for goods exchange establishment and shall
comply with regulations on the goods exchange;
b/ The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall specify the
mechanism of monitoring and connection of transaction information between the
state management agencies and the goods exchange and other requirements on the
operation of the website operating as a goods exchange.
Article 36.
Responsibilities of traders or organizations providing e-commerce trading floor
services
1. To register for setting up websites providing e-commerce
trading floor services under Section 2, Chapter IV of this Decree and publish
the information registered on the website homepage.
2. To develop and publish on the website regulations on
operation of the e-commerce trading floor under Article 38 of this Decree;
monitor the e-commerce trading floor and ensure the implementation of these
regulations.
3. To request traders, organizations or individuals that
are the sellers on the e-commerce trading floor to provide information as
specified in Article 29 of this Decree upon registration for service use.
4. To apply a mechanism of examination and monitoring to
ensure the seller’s information provided on the e-commerce trading floor is
correct and adequate.
5. To store the registration information of traders,
organizations or individuals participating in the e-commerce trading floor and
regularly update relevant changed or supplemented information.
6. To establish a mechanism to permit traders,
organizations or individuals participating in the e-commerce trading floor to
perform the process of conclusion of contract as specified in Section 2,
Chapter II of this Decree if the website has the online ordering function.
7. To apply necessary measures to ensure the safety of
information relating to business secrets of traders, organizations or
individuals and consumers’ personal information.
8. To take timely remedial measures upon detection or
receipt of reports about business acts in violation of the law on the
e-commerce trading floor.
9. To assist the state management agencies in investigating
illegal business acts, provide registration information, history of
transactions and other documents about the subjects committing violations of
the law on the e-commerce trading floor.
10. To publicly announce the mechanism to settle disputes
arising during transactions on the e-commerce trading floor. When customers on
the e-commerce trading floor have conflicts with the sellers or their lawful
interests are damaged, to provide customers with information about the sellers
and actively assist customers in protecting their rights and legitimate
interests.
Article 37.
Responsibilities of sellers on the e-commerce trading floor
1. To fully and accurately provide information specified in
Article 29 of this Decree to traders or organizations providing e-commerce
trading floor services upon registration for service use.
2. To provide complete information about the goods or services
as specified in Articles 30 thru 34 of this Decree when selling goods or
providing services on the e-commerce trading floor.
3. To ensure the accuracy and truthfulness of information
about the goods or services provided on the e-commerce trading floor.
4. To implement the provisions in Section 2, Chapter II of
this Decree upon application of the online ordering function on the e-commerce
trading floor.
5. To provide information about the situation of their
business at the request of competent state agencies to serve the making of
e-commerce statistics.
6. To comply with the laws on payment, advertising,
promotion, protection of intellectual property rights, protection of consumer
interests and other relevant laws when selling goods or providing services on
the e-commerce trading floor.
7. To fulfill tax obligations as prescribed by law.
Article 38.
Regulations on operation of the e-commerce trading floor
1. The regulations on operation of the e-commerce trading
floor must be displayed on the website homepage
2. The regulations on operation of the e-commerce trading
floor must include the following contents:
a/ Rights and obligations of the trader or organization
providing e-commerce trading floor services;
b/ Rights and obligations of users of e-commerce trading
floor services;
c/ Describing the trading process for each type of
transaction that may be conducted on e-commerce trading floor;
d/ Reviewing operation and handling competence of the
trader or organization providing e-commerce trading floor services upon
detection of business acts in violation of the law on the e-commerce trading
floor;
dd/ Rights and obligations of the parties in transactions
conducted on the e- commerce trading floor;
e/ Limitations on the responsibilities of the trader or
organization providing e-commerce trading floor services in transactions
conducted on the floor;
g/ Regulations on information safety and management on the
e-commerce trading floor;
h/ Mechanism of settlement of complaints and disputes
between parties related to the transactions conducted on the e-commerce trading
floor;
i/ Policies on protection of personal information of users
of e-commerce trading floor services specified in Article 69 of this Decree;
k/ Measures to handle infringements upon consumer interests
on the e-commerce trading floor;
l/ Measures to handle violations committed by people who do
not comply with the regulations on operation of the e-commerce trading floor.
3. When there is any change in one of the contents
specified in Clause 2 of this Article, the trader or organization providing
e-commerce trading floor services shall notify all users of e-commerce trading
floor services at least 5 days prior to application of such change.
Section 3. OPERATION
OF ONLINE PROMOTION WEBSITES
Article 39. Provision
of online promotion services
1. Traders or organizations providing online promotion
services are those that set up online promotion websites to promote goods and
services of other traders, organizations or individuals (referred to as
partners) under the terms of the contract on promotion services.
2. Forms of online promotion service:
a/ Selling goods vouchers and service vouchers so that
customers can buy goods or use services of the partners at preferential prices
or with other benefits;
b/ Selling frequent customer cards to enable customers to
use goods or services from a network of partners at preferential prices or with
other benefits compared with those upon purchase of goods and services of ach
individual partner;
c/ Other forms of online promotion services stipulated by
the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Article 40.
Information about promotion activities on online promotion websites
1. Information about each promotion activity posted on
online promotion websites must include the following contents:
a/ Name, address, phone number and other contact
information of the trader, organization or individual having goods or services
to be promoted;
b/ Descriptions of goods or services to be promoted and
goods or services used for promotion, including information about the origin of
goods, specifications and quality of goods or services;
c/ Promotion period, starting date, ending date and area of
promotional activities;
d/ Prices of goods and services provided before the time of
promotion;
dd/ Total actual costs customers must pay to possess the
goods and use the services promoted, including the costs paid to the trader or
organization providing the online promotion services;
e/ Specific contents of conditions associated with the
promotion of goods or services.
2. If the website has a mechanism for receiving online
comments or feedback from customers about the goods or services promoted, these
comments must be publicly displayed on the website so that other customers can
see them.
Article 41.
Responsibilities of traders or organizations providing online promotion
services
1. To register the set-up of online promotion service
provision websites as prescribed in Section 2, Chapter IV of this Decree.
2. To comply with provisions of the Commercial Law and
relevant laws on promotional activities.
3. To comply with provisions on protection of customer’s
personal information in Section 1, Chapter V of this Decree.
4. To comply with provisions in Section 2, Chapter II of
this Decree if the website has the online ordering function for goods vouchers
and service vouchers or frequent customer cards.
5. To comply with provisions in Section 2, Chapter V of
this Decree if the website has the online payment function.
6. To fully publish contents specified in Article 40 of this
Decree in each promotional information posted on their websites.
7. To develop and publish on their website the regulations
on operation and comply with provisions in Article 38 of this Decree.
8. To develop and publish on their website the mechanism of
receipt and settlement of customer’s complaints about quality of goods or
services promoted or goods or services used for promotion.
9. To take responsibility of the third party in providing
information on goods or services for consumers in accordance with the Law on
Protection of Consumer Interests.
10. To pay compensations to customers if the goods
vouchers, service vouchers or frequent customer cards that they have issued are
denied by their partners contrary to the conditions published on their websites
or on those goods vouchers, service vouchers or frequent customer cards.
Article 42.
Responsibilities of traders, organizations or individuals having goods or
services promoted
1. To fully and accurately provide information about the
goods or services promoted.
2. To properly implement commitments to the quality of
goods or services promoted according to the information provided.
Article 43. Contract
on promotion services
1. A contract on promotion services between a trader or an
organization providing the online promotion services with a trader or an
organization or individual having goods or services promoted shall comply with
provisions in Article 90 of the Commercial Law, and must have the following
contents:
a/ Dividing responsibilities between the parties in the
implementation of the order and procedures for carrying out promotional
activities in accordance with the law on promotion;
b/ Specifying the obligations to settle complaints and pay
compensations to customers in case the goods or services promoted or goods or
services used for promotion are not consistent with the announced or committed
contents.
2. Traders or organizations providing online promotion
services shall perform the obligations specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of
this Article if the contract on promotion services does not specify the above
contents.
Section 4. OPERATION
OF ONLINE AUCTION WEBSITES
Article 44. Provision
of online auction services
1. Traders and organizations providing online auction
services (below collectively referred to as online auction service providers)
are those that set up online auction websites for other traders, organizations
or individuals to organize auctions of their goods on those websites.
2. Traders and organizations providing online auction services
that fail to register the provision of auction services may not organize online
auctions.
Article 45.
Requirements on technical system serving online auctions
1. A technical system serving online auctions must have at
least the following functions:
a/ Recording and storing all bids made in an auction;
b/ After an auction begins, once every 30 (thirty) seconds
showing the recorded highest bid and its bidder on the website for all auction
bidders to see.
2. In case the system does not allow auction bidders to
retract bids that they have made, it must have a clear notification thereof to
auction bidders right before the time of the auction. The notification must
state specific responsibilities of auction bidders that make bids but refuse to
purchase auctioned goods.
Article 46.
Responsibilities of traders and organizations providing online auction services
1. To register their online auction websites as prescribed
in Section 2, Chapter IV of this Decree.
2. To perform the responsibilities prescribed in Article 36
of this Decree.
3. To establish online auction methods and process.
4. To build technical systems to serve online auctions for
goods sellers to organize auctions by the established methods and process.
5. To provide online tools for goods sellers to publicly,
adequately and accurately notify and post necessary information relevant to
auctioned goods.
6. To provide online tools for goods sellers to display
images of goods and goods samples or documents introducing goods for auction
bidders’ consideration.
7. To provide goods sellers with information on
developments of auctions organized by goods sellers when so requested.
8. To make notices of auction results and send them to
goods sellers and purchasers and related parties as prescribed in Article 51 of
this Decree.
9. To take responsibility in case errors of the technical
system make an auction unable to proceed:
a/ If the errors of the technical system make an auction
unable to begin at the time the seller expects to organize such auction, the
online auction service provider shall refund the seller all expenses for the
organization of the auction which the latter has paid to the former;
b/ If the errors of the technical system make auction
bidders unable to continue making bids after the auction begins, the online
auction service provider shall cancel the auctions result and allow the seller
to organize a new auction, and concurrently bear all expenses related to the
new auction.
Article 47.
Responsibilities of sellers on online auction websites
1. To publicly, adequately and accurately notify and post
necessary information relating to auctioned goods.
2. To announce reserve prices; asking price, if any.
3. To take responsibility for the quality and
specifications of auctioned goods.
4. To settle purchasers’ complaints about auctioned goods.
5. Not to sell goods which are pledged or mortgaged items
or subject to a dispute.
6. To perform other responsibilities prescribed in Article
37 of this Decree.
Article 48. Auction
venues and time
1. Auction venues are registered places of permanent
residence or offices of sellers.
2. Auction time is decided by sellers.
3. Time of making a bid by an auction bidder is the time of
sending an e-document notifying a certain bid made in an auction.
4. Time of recording a made bid is the time when the
information system of the trader or organization providing online auction
service receives an e-document notifying a bid made by an auction bidder.
Article 49.
Notification of goods auction
A notification of goods auction must be made on an online
auction website and contain the following details:
1. Starting time of auction.
2. Ending time of auction.
3. Contact information of the seller.
4. Necessary information about the goods.
5. Reserve price.
6. Asking sale price, if any.
7. Payment deadline and method.
8. Deadline and method of delivery of goods to the
purchaser after the auction ends.
9. In case the auctioned goods are subject to ownership
registration as prescribed by law, the notification of goods auction must
contain the following additional details:
a/ Time and place for goods display;
b/ Time and place for reference to goods documents;
c/ Time and place for goods purchase registration;
d/ Time and method of carrying out procedures for goods
ownership transfer.
Article 50.
Identification of goods purchasers
1. For an ascending-bid auction, the goods purchaser is the
first bidder who has the last bid higher than that of the previous bidder and
higher than the asking price and recorded by the information system of the trade
or organization providing online auction services before the end of the
auction.
2. For a descending price auction, the goods purchaser is
the first bidder who accepts the reserve price or a price lower than the
reserve price and that is recorded by the information system of the trader or
organization providing online auction services before the end of the auction.
3. Where many bidders simultaneously make their last bids
in an ascending price auction or their first bids in a descending price
auction, the seller shall organize for these bidders to draw the purchaser.
Article 51.
Notification of auction results
1. Traders and organizations providing online auction
services shall make notifications of goods auction results immediately after
the end of auctions, even when auctions are unsuccessful.
2. A notification must clearly provide information on the
goods, the last bid and the time when the system receives the last bid, and
contact information of the purchaser.
3. For goods which are subject to ownership registration as
prescribed by law, notifications of auction results serve as the basis for
establishing contracts on sale and purchase of auctioned assets and carrying
out relevant procedures for transfer of ownership over these goods.
4. Notifications of auction results will be sent to
electronic addresses of goods sellers and purchasers registered with traders or
organizations providing online auction services.
5. Where many bidders simultaneously make their last bids
in an ascending price auction or their first bids in a descending-bid auction,
the system must send notifications to all these bidders and request them to
organize a draw to the purchaser. The form of decide drawing is decided by the
seller.
Chapter IV
MANAGEMENT OF E-COMMERCE
ACTIVITIES
Section 1. MANAGEMENT
OF SALES E-COMMERCE WEBSITES
Article 52. Conditions
for setting up sales e-commerce websites
Traders, organizations or individuals may set up sales
e-commerce websites if satisfying the following conditions:
1. Having relevant functions and tasks, for traders and
organizations, or having been granted personal tax identification numbers, for
individuals.
2. Having websites with valid domain names and complying
with regulations on management of information on the Internet.
3. Having notified the Ministry of Industry and Trade of
the set-up of sales e-commerce websites under Article 53 of this Decree.
Article 53. Procedures
for notification of set-up of sales e-commerce websites
1. Traders, organizations or individuals that set up sales
e-commerce websites shall notify such to the Ministry of Industry and Trade
through online notification tools on the E-Commerce Management Portal.
2. Information to be notified includes:
a/ Domain name of the e-commerce website;
b/ Types of goods and services to be introduced on the
website;
c/ Registered name of the trader or organization or name of
the individual owning the website;
d/ Address of the office of the trader or organization or
address of permanent residence of the individual;
dd/ Number, date and place of grant of the business
registration certificate of the trader, or number, date of grant and granting
agency of the establishment decision of the organization; or personal tax
identification number of the individual;
e/ Names, titles, identity card numbers, telephone numbers
and e-mail addresses of the representative of the trader and person responsible
for the e-commerce website;
g/ Other information as prescribed by the Ministry of
Industry and Trade.
Section 2. MANAGEMENT
OF E-COMMERCE SERVICE PROVISION WEBSITES
Article 54. Conditions
for setting up e-commerce service provision websites
Traders and organizations may set up e-commerce service
provision websites specified in Sections 2, 3 and 4, Chapter III of this Decree
when fully satisfying the following conditions:
1. Having relevant business lines or functions and tasks.
2. Having websites with valid domain names and complying
with regulations on management of information on the Internet.
3. Having a service provision plan clearly stating the following:
a/ Model of organization of operations, including service
provision, promotion and marketing both online and offline;
b/ Structure, utilities and main information sections on
the service website;
c/ Rights and responsibilities of the trader or organization
providing e-commerce services and service users.
4. Having registered for setting up e-commerce service
provision websites and having their registrations certified by the Ministry of
Industry and Trade under Articles 55 and 58 of this Decree.
Article 55. Procedures
for registration for setting up e-commerce service provision websites
1. Traders and organizations shall make registrations
online with the Ministry of Industry and Trade for setting up e-commerce
service provision websites after their websites have been completed with
adequate structure, utilities and information according to service provision
plans and operating at registered addresses of domain names, and before
officially providing services to users.
2. A registration dossier comprises:
a/ An application for registration for setting up an
e-commerce service website;
b/ Certified copies of the establishment decision (for
organizations), business registration certificate, investment certificate or
investment license (for traders);
c/ The service provision plan as prescribed in Clause 3,
Article 54 of this Decree;
d/ Regulation on operation management of the e-commerce
service website in compliance with this Decree and relevant laws;
dd/ Model service provision contract and general transaction
conditions, if any;
e/ Other documents prescribed by the Ministry of Industry
and Trade.
Article 56.
Registration modification or supplementation, re-registration, deregistration
1. A trader or organization that sets up an e-commerce
service website shall notify the modification or supplementation of registered
information when having one of the following changes:
a/ Change of the name of the trader or organization;
b/ Change of the representative of the trader or the person
responsible for the service website;
c/ Change of the transaction bureau address or contract
information;
d/ Change of the domain name;
dd/ Change in the transaction regulation and conditions on
the service website;
e/ Change of terms of the service provision contract;
g/ Change or addition of services to be provided on the
website;
h/ Other changes as prescribed by the Ministry of Industry
and Trade.
2. When receiving transferred e-commerce service provision
websites, traders and organizations shall make re-registration under Article 55
of this Decree.
3. An e-commerce service website is deregistered in the
following cases:
a/ At the request of the trader or organization providing
e-commerce services;
b/ The trader or organization providing e-commerce services
ceases its operation or transfers its e-commerce service website to another
trader or organization;
c/ The e-commerce service website fails to commence
operation within 30 (thirty) days after its registration or sends no feedback
at the request of a state management agency;
d/ The trader or organization providing e-commerce services
has the registration revoked under Clause 2, Article 78 of this Decree;
dd/ Other cases as prescribed by the Ministry of Industry
and Trade.
Article 57. Reporting
obligation
Before January 15 every year, traders and organizations
providing e-commerce services shall report to the Ministry of Industry and
Trade on statistics on their operations in the preceding year under Article 8
of this Decree.
Article 58. Competence
to grant registration
1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall certify
registrations of e-commerce service provision websites.
2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall specify
requirements on the content of dossiers, order and procedures for registration,
modification or supplementation of registration and deregistration of
e-commerce service provision websites.
Article 59.
Publication of registration information
1. Right after having their registrations certified,
e-commerce service provision websites may post the “registered” icon on their
homepages.
Clicking on this icon, users will be linked to the section
of registration information of traders or organizations providing e-commerce
services at the E-Commerce Management Portal.
2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall publicize the
list of e-commerce service provision websites which have been registered or
deregistered or have their registrations invalidated on the E-Commerce
Management Portal and in other mass media.
Section 3. RATING,
SUPERVISION AND CERTIFICATION IN E-COMMERCE
Article 60. General
principles
1. Traders and organizations that conduct credit rating of
e-commerce websites shall register with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
2. Traders and organizations that conduct the following
activities must be licensed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade:
a/ Rating and certification of personal information
protection policy of traders, organizations or individuals involved in
e-commerce;
b/ Certification of e-contracts.
Article 61. Credit
rating of e-commerce websites
1. Conditions for conducting credit rating of e-commerce
websites:
a/ Being a trader or an organization established under
Vietnamese law and having relevant functions and tasks;
b/ Being organizationally and financially independent from
traders, organizations or individuals owning e-commerce websites to be rated;
c/ Having a set of criteria and process for rating
e-commerce websites which are publicly and transparently announced and
uniformly applicable to to-be-rated subjects;
d/ Having registered the operation of credit rating of
e-commerce websites with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and having its
registration certified.
2. A trader or an organization that conducts credit rating
of e-commerce websites is deregistered in the following cases:
a/ It commits a fraud or provides untruthful information
making registration;
b/ It fails to strictly observe the publicly announced
credit rating process and criteria;
c/ It takes advantage of credit rating for earning illicit
profits.
3. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall specify the
operation of credit rating of e-commerce websites, the content of dossiers,
order and procedures for registration, registration modification,
supplementation or invalidation, and deregistration of traders and
organizations engaged in this operation.
4. Obligations of traders and organizations conducting
credit rating of e- commerce websites:
a/ To supervise operations of e-commerce websites having
the credit icon;
b/ To closely coordinate with state management agencies in
inspecting, examining and handling e-commerce websites having the credit icon
which show signs of law violation;
c/ Before the 5th day every month, to report to the
Ministry of Industry and Trade on the updated list of e-commerce websites
having the credit icon by the end of the preceding month;
d/ Before the 15th day of January every year, to report to
the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the operation of credit rating of
e-commerce websites in the preceding year.
Article 62. Rating and
certification of personal information protection policy in e-commerce
1. Conditions for licensing a trader or an organization to
conduct rating and certification of personal information protection policy in
e-commerce:
a/ Being a trader or an organization established under the
Vietnamese law;
b/ Having a business registration or an establishment
decision clearly stating the operation is rating and certification of personal
information protection policy in e-commerce;
c/ Being organizationally and financially independent from
traders, organizations or individuals that have their personal information
protection policy rated and certified;
d/ Having a detailed operation plan already appraised by
the Ministry of Industry and Trade;
dd/ Having criteria and process for rating personal
information protection policy compliant with regulations of the Ministry of
Industry and Trade.
2. A license for rating and certification of personal
information protection policy in e-commerce has a validity duration proposed in
the license application.
3. A trader or an organization that has its license for
rating and certification of personal information protection policy revoked in
the following cases:
a/ It commits a fraud or provides untruthful information in
order to obtain the license;
b/ It violates the rating process and criteria already
appraised by the Ministry
of Industry and Trade;
c/ It takes advantage of the rating and certification of
personal information protection policy for earning illicit profits;
d/ It fails to provide services after 180 (one hundred and
eighty) days from the date of licensing.
4. Obligations of traders and organizations conducting
rating and certification of personal information protection policy in
e-commerce:
a/ To supervise the observance by traders and organizations
with certified personal information protection policy;
b/ To closely coordinate with state management agencies in
inspecting, examining and handling traders and organizations that have had
their personal information protection policy certified but show signs of law
violation;
c/ Before the 15th of January every year, to report to the
Ministry of Industry and Trade on results of rating and certification of
personal information protection policy in e-commerce in the preceding year.
5. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall specify
criteria and process for rating and certification of personal information
protection policy, and the order and procedures for the grant, modification,
supplementation or revocation of operation licenses of organizations conducting
rating and certification of personal information protection policy.
6. Accreditation of foreign organizations conducting rating
and certification of personal information protection policy:
a/ Certification of personal information protection policy
in e-commerce granted by a foreign organization conducting rating and
certification of personal information protection policy is accredited when such
organization is granted an accreditation certificate by the Ministry of
Industry and Trade;
b/ A foreign organization conducting rating and
certification of personal information protection policy is granted an
accreditation certificate when satisfying the following conditions:
- It has been licensed or certified by a competent agency
of its country to be eligible to conduct this operation;
- It has been accredited by an international organization
of which Vietnam is a member;
- Its standards for credit and certification of personal
information protection policy are not lower than those set out by the Ministry
of Industry and Trade;
- It commits to fulfilling the obligations prescribed in
Clause 4 of this Article.
c/ The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall specify the
order and procedures for the grant and revocation of certificates of
accreditation of foreign organizations conducting rating and certification of
personal information protection policy.
Article 63.
Certification of e-contracts
1. Conditions for licensing a trader or an organization to
provide the service of certification of e-contracts:
a/ Requirements on the entity:
- Being a trader or an organization established under
Vietnamese law and having relevant functions and tasks;
- Having a detailed plan on service provision already
appraised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
b/ Financial and technical requirements:
The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall specify financial
and technical requirements for traders and organizations providing the service
of certification of e-contracts.
2. The operation license of a trader or an organization
providing the service of certification of e-contracts has a validity duration
proposed in the license application.
3. Obligations of traders and organizations providing the
service of certification of e-contracts:
a/ To take responsibility for the confidentiality and
integrity of e-documents which they store and certify;
b/ To provide documents to and assist state management
agencies in investigating law violations related to e-documents which they
store and certify;
c/ Before the 15th of January every year, to report to the
Ministry of Industry and Trade on the provision of the service of certification
of e-contracts in the preceding year.
4. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall detail
procedures for establishment and operation regulations of traders and
organizations providing the service of certification of e-contracts; cases
subject to revocation of operation licenses; and order and procedures for the
grant, modification, supplementation or revocation of operation licenses of
these traders and organizations.
Section 4. THE E-COMMERCE
MANAGEMENT PORTAL
Article 64. Functions
of the E-Commerce Management Portal
1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall set up, update
and maintain the E-Commerce Management Portal.
2. The E-Commerce Management Portal has the following
functions:
a/ To provide online public services regarding the
procedures for notifying the set-up of sales e-commerce websites prescribed in
Section 1 of this Chapter.
b/ To provide online public services regarding the
procedures for registering e-commerce service provision websites prescribed in
Section 2 of this Chapter.
c/ To provide information guiding the procedural process
and forms for registration and application for licensing of services of
supervision, rating and certification in e-commerce as prescribed in Section 3
of this Chapter.
d/ To publicize information specified in Articles 65, 66
and 67 of this Decree.
Article 65. Lists of
e-commerce websites for which the notification and registration procedures have
been carried out
1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall publicize on
the E-Commerce Management Portal the following lists:
a/ List of sales e-commerce websites which have been
notified as prescribed in Section 1 of this Chapter;
b/ List of e-commerce service provision websites which have
been registered as prescribed in Section 2 of this Chapter.
2. The publicized lists specified in Clause 1 of this
Article must include the following information:
a/ Names of e-commerce websites and website types as
notified to or registered with the Ministry of Industry and Trade;
b/ Names and contract information of traders, organizations
or individuals that own e-commerce websites;
c/ Numbers of business registrations of traders, numbers of
establishment decisions of organizations or personal tax identification numbers
of individuals owning e-commerce websites.
Article 66. List of
traders and organizations conducting credit rating of e-commerce websites
1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall publicize on
the E-Commerce Management Portal the list of traders and organizations
providing the service of credit rating of registered e-commerce websites as
prescribed in Section 3 of this Chapter.
2. The publicized list specified in Clause 1 of this
Article must include the following information:
a/ Names of traders and organizations providing the service
of credit rating of e-commerce websites;
b/ Numbers of business registrations of traders or numbers
of establishment decisions of traders and organizations.
c/ Addresses of offices, telephone numbers and e-mail
addresses of traders and organizations.
d/ List of e-commerce websites having the credit icon put
on by traders and organizations.
Article 67. Lists of
e-commerce websites subject to consumer caution alerts
1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall publicize on
the E-Commerce Management Portal the following lists:
a/ List of e-commerce websites that have committed law
violations;
b/ List of e-commerce websites that reportedly show signs
of law violation.
2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall detail the
mechanism of receipt and publication of reported information on e-commerce
websites specified in Clause 1 of this Article.
Chapter V
SAFETY AND SECURITY IN
E-COMMERCE TRANSACTIONS
Section 1. PERSONAL
INFORMATION PROTECTION IN E-COMMERCE
Article 68.
Responsibility to protect personal information of consumers
1. When conducting e-commerce business activities, traders,
organizations or individuals that collect personal information of consumers
shall comply with this Decree and relevant regulations on protection of personal
information.
2. In case a trader, organization or individual engaged in
e-commerce business activities authorizes a third party to collect and store
personal information of consumers:
a/ The contract between the two parties must clearly define
the responsibility of each party to comply with this Decree and relevant
regulations on protection of personal information;
b/ If the contract between the two parties does not clearly
define the responsibility of each party, the trader, organization or individual
engaged in e-commerce business activities shall take responsibility in case the
collection, storage and use of personal information of consumers violate this
Decree and relevant regulations on protection of personal information.
Article 69. Policy on
protection of personal information of consumers
1. Trader, organizations or individuals that collect and
use personal information of consumers shall formulate and announce their
personal information protection policy with the following details:
a/ Purpose(s) of collection of personal information;
b/ Scope of information use;
c/ Duration of information storage;
d/ Persons or organizations that may access such
information;
dd/ Address of the information collection and management
unit, indicating how consumers can ask about the collection and processing of
information relevant to them;
e/ Method and tools for consumers to access and modify
their personal data on the e-commerce system of the information collection
unit.
2. The above details must be clearly displayed to consumers
before or at the time of information collection.
3. If the information collection is conducted through
e-commerce websites of information collection units, the personal information
protection policy must be publicly displayed at an easy-to-spot position on
these websites.
Article 70. Asking for
consumer permission upon information collection
1. Except the cases specified in Clause 4 of this Article,
traders and organizations that collect and use personal information of
consumers on their e-commerce websites (below collectively referred to as
information collection units) shall obtain prior consent of consumers having
such information (below referred to as information subjects).
2. Information collection units shall develop a mechanism
for information subjects to express their consent explicitly through online
functions on their websites, emails, messages or otherwise as agreed upon by
the two parties.
3. Information collection units shall develop a separate
mechanism for information subjects to choose to permit or not to permit the use
of their personal information in the following cases:
a/ Sharing, disclosure or transfer of information to a
third party;
b/ Use of personal information for sending advertisements,
product introductions and other commercial information.
4. Information collection units are not required to obtain
prior consent of information subjects in the following cases:
a/ Collection of personal information already published on
e-commerce websites;
b/ Collection of personal information for concluding or
performing goods and service purchase and sale contracts;
c/ Collection of personal information for calculating
prices or charges for use of information, products and services online.
Article 71. Use of
personal information
1. Information collection units shall use personal
information of consumers for purposes and within scopes already notified,
except the following cases:
a/ They have separate agreements with information subjects
on use purpose and scope other than those they have notified;
b/ To provide services or products at the request of
information subjects;
c/ To perform the obligations prescribed by law.
2. The use of information prescribed in this Article
includes sharing, disclosure and transfer of personal information to third
parties.
Article 72. Assurance
of personal information safety and security
1. Information collection units shall assure safety and
security of personal information which they have collected and stored, and
prevent the following acts:
a/ Hacking or illegally accessing information;
b/ Illegally using information;
c/ Illegally altering or destroying information.
2. Information collection units shall formulate mechanisms
for receiving and settling consumer complaints about the use of personal
information for improper purposes or beyond the notified scope.
3. In case an information system is hacked, posing a risk
of loss of consumer information, information storing units shall notify the
incident to a functional agency within 24 (twenty-four) hours after detecting
it.
Article 73. Checking,
updating and modification of personal information
1. Information subjects may request information collection
units to check, update, modify or delete their personal information.
2. Information collection units shall check, update, modify
or delete personal information of information subjects when so requested or
provide information subjects with tools for self checking, updating or
modification of their personal information.
Section 2. PAYMENT
SAFETY IN E-COMMERCE
Article 74.
Responsibilities of traders, organizations or individuals that own e-commerce
websites with the online payment function
1. Traders, organizations or individuals that own
e-commerce websites with the online payment function shall assure safety and
confidentiality of payment transactions of their customers, settle complaints
and pay damages in case customer payment information via e-commerce websites is
illegally altered, deleted, destroyed, copied, revealed, removed or
appropriated, causing damage to customers.
2. In case of self-developing payment solutions to
exclusively serve their own sales e-commerce websites, traders, organizations
or individuals that own these websites shall apply the following measures to
assure safety and confidentiality of customer payment transactions:
a/ Setting up an information system to serve payment
activities and assure online connection around the clock 24 (twenty-four) hours
a day and 7 (seven) days a week. The suspension of the system for maintenance
must not exceed 12 (twelve) hours each time and be notified in advance to
customers;
b/ Encrypting information and using security protocols to
prevent information leakage during transmission;
c/ Deploying applications which are capable of detecting,
warning and preventing illegal accesses and various online attacks against the
information systems serving their online payment activities;
d/ Having plans to control the right to access the system
and the right to enter or leave places where information system equipment are
installed to serve their online payment activities;
dd/ Establishing processes and systems for copying, storing
and recovering data when the information systems serving payment activities
encounter incidents, assuring copying and storage of payment data on media or
online copying and caching of all data;
e/ Storing data on each payment transaction for a time
limit prescribed in the Accounting Law;
g/ In case customers make payments before purchasing goods
and services, customers’ payments must be kept at payment service providers and
customers must be provided with tools to monitor their payment balances on the
system.
3. Traders, organizations or individuals that own
e-commerce websites with the online payment function shall publicize on their
websites the policy on confidentiality of customer payment information.
Article 75.
Responsibilities of traders and organizations providing payment intermediary
services for e-commerce websites
1. To comply with regulations and technical regulations on
payment intermediary services promulgated by the State Bank of Vietnam.
2. To store data on each payment transaction conducted via
their systems for a time limit prescribed in the Accounting Law.
3. To take joint responsibility with traders, organizations
or individuals that own e-commerce websites using their payment intermediary
service for cases in which payment information of customers is illegally
altered, deleted or destroyed, copied, revealed, removed or appropriated,
causing damage to customers.
4. Before the 15th of January every year, to report to the
Ministry of Industry and Trade statistics on the provision of services to
traders, organizations or individuals involved in e-commerce activities.
Chapter VI
SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES,
INSPECTION, EXAMINATION, AND HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS
Article 76. Settlement
of disputes in e-commerce
1. Trades, organizations or individuals that own sales
e-commerce websites shall receive and settle customer complaints about
contracts concluded on their e-commerce websites.
2. Disputes between traders, organizations or individuals
that sell goods and provide services and their customers during the performance
of contracts must be settled on the basis of the contract terms published on
the websites at the time of conclusion of these contracts and relevant laws.
3. Traders, organizations or individuals that sell goods
and provide services may not abuse their advantages in the electronic
environment to unilaterally settle disputes without the consent of customers.
4. Disputes must be settled through negotiation between
disputing parties, conciliation, arbitration or court according to current
procedures and regulations on dispute settlement.
5. Settlement of complaints and disputes on e-commerce
service provision websites:
a/ Traders and organizations providing e-commerce services
shall clearly publish on their websites the process of receiving and
responsibility for settling customer complaints and the mechanism of settling
disputes related to contracts concluded on their e-commerce websites;
b/ If traders and organizations providing e-commerce
services fail to publish information according to Point a of this Clause, they
shall directly receive and settle customer complaints and disputes related to
contracts concluded on their e-commerce websites.
c/ Traders and organizations providing e-commerce services
may participate in the conciliation of disputes arising between customers and
sellers on their e-commerce websites.
Article 77. Inspection
and examination in e-commerce
1. Traders and organizations defined in Section 3, Chapter
IV of this Decree submit to annual examination by the Ministry of Industry and
Trade of their observance of this Decree and relevant documents. Examination
results are published on the E-Commerce Management Portal.
2. Traders and organizations defined in Sections 1 and 2,
Chapter IV of this Decree submit to examination and inspection by the Ministry
of Industry and Trade and provincial-level Industry and Trade Departments in
accordance with law.
Article 78. Handling
of administrative violations in e-commerce
1. Traders, organizations or individuals that commit the
following violations shall, depending on the nature and severity of their
violations, be administratively sanctioned in accordance with the law on
handling of administrative violations in e-commerce:
a/ Violation of provisions on prohibited acts in e-commerce
activities in Article 4 of this Decree;
b/ Violation of regulations on conclusion of contracts in
e-commerce;
c/ Violation of regulations on responsibilities of subjects
in e-commerce;
d/ Violation of regulations on notification of set-up of
sales e-commerce websites;
dd/ Violation of regulations on registration of e-commerce
service provision websites;
e/ Violation of regulations on rating and certification in
e-commerce;
g/ Violation of regulations on protection of personal
information in e-commerce;
h/ Violation of regulations on payment safety in
e-commerce;
i/ Non-compliance with requests of competent state agencies
conducting inspection and examination in accordance with law;
k/ Continued operation after having their registrations for
provision of e-commerce services terminated, for traders and organizations;
l/ Continued operation after having their registrations
terminated or being deregistered or having their licenses for rating,
supervision and certification in e-commerce invalidated or revoked;
m/ Violation of other provisions of this Decree.
2. In addition to the administrative sanctions, management
agencies shall consider the nature and severity of violations of traders and
organizations to issue decisions to stop operation, deprive of the right to use
licenses or deregister e-commerce service provision websites for violations
specified in Clause 1 of this Article.
3. In case traders, organizations or individuals commit
violations, causing damage to material interests of other traders,
organizations or individuals, they shall pay compensations in accordance with
law.
4. Principles, statute of limitations and procedures for
sanctioning administrative violations in e-commerce comply with the Law on
Handling of Administrative Violations and relevant documents.
5. The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Industry and Trade,
the market management office, inspectorates of provincial-level Industry and
Trade Departments and other state agencies may sanction administrative
violations in e-commerce according to their competence provided in the Law on
Handling of Administrative Violations and relevant documents.
Chapter VII
IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS
Article 79. Effect
1. This Decree takes effect on July 1, 2013.
2. This Decree replaces the Government’s Decree No.
57/2006/ND-CP of June 9, 2006, on e-commerce.
3. E-commerce websites set up and operating before the
effective date of this Decree shall make announcements or registrations under
this Decree within 90 (ninety) days from the effective date of this Decree.
Article 80.
Implementation responsibility
1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall guide and
examine the implementation of this Decree.
2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of
government-attached agencies, and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s
Committees shall implement this Decree.-
ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT
PRIME MINISTER Nguyen Tan Dung |