On October 20, during a discussion of draft amendments to several trade and consumer-protection laws, delegate Nguyen Hoang Giang of Dak Lak raised concerns about counterfeit and substandard goods and unsafe food.
He said the issue can directly affect people's health, lives and livelihoods.
Consumers struggle to prove their losses
Giang cited a patient who bought fake medicine, lost an opportunity for treatment and faced a threat to life. For farmers, counterfeit fertilizer and plant-protection products can affect the work and investment of an entire growing season.
He said coffee, durian and pepper crops produce one harvest a year. If farmers buy counterfeit fertilizer or plant-protection products, their income and daily lives can be seriously affected.
A fake treatment can waste money and labor and cause a farmer to miss the treatment window, allowing disease to spread through the garden.
The delegate asked who should be responsible when a product is used but the entire garden is still damaged. Establishing its origin and quality as the basis for a compensation claim is not simple.
"People cannot determine this themselves. Competent authorities and state management agencies must do it," Giang said.
He called for a review of coordination between consumer-protection law and rules on medicines, food safety and counterfeit prevention, as well as guarantees for the right to seek compensation.
When goods may cause serious harm to health or life, authorities should issue timely warnings and stop them from continuing to circulate. Warnings should identify the product, possible harm, origin, place of sale and preventive measures.
Where should a complaint go when goods are bought from another province?
Delegate Nguyen Khanh Vu of Quang Tri asked which authority should receive complaints and help consumers negotiate when a dispute occurs.
He said the draft does not clearly identify the receiving authority or divide responsibilities between levels of government.
He gave an example: a person buys a faulty phone online from a store in another province, but the store does not respond. The commune has not been assigned to help with negotiations, while it is unclear which province should receive the case.
"The law grants the right, but people do not know where to complain, whom to complain to or what to do after that," Vu said.
He proposed that commune-level people's committees receive complaints and help with negotiations when the consumer and the seller's headquarters, branch or business location are in the same commune.
For complaints involving two or more communes, including cases where the seller is in another province, he proposed that the provincial people's committee where the consumer lives should receive the complaint and assist with negotiations.
Delegate Tran Manh Huy of Da Nang also raised disputes in the digital environment. The buyer, seller and platform operator may be in three different localities. Without a single designated authority, consumers may struggle to exercise their right to complain.
He proposed a unified intake mechanism, a deadline for transferring cases and clear responsibility for handling interprovincial disputes involving digital platforms.
A clear next step is needed when a company does not cooperate
Vu said the law should clarify what happens when a complaint has been transferred but the business still does not begin negotiations.
He proposed adding a rule that if a business does not negotiate within the seven working days set out in Clause 5, Article 57, the agency or organization that transferred the complaint must provide written guidance on other legal ways to resolve the dispute after receiving a report from the consumer.
The agency or organization would also have to act within its authority or recommend that a competent authority address the violation.
According to Huy, people's rights should be better protected and management agencies' responsibilities should be clearer after the amendments. The system should protect people and businesses when risks arise.
Giang also called for clearer coordination responsibilities and sufficiently strong penalties for producing and selling counterfeit goods, fake medicines and fake food.
Sources: Dân Trí
