Strengthening enforcement against violations related to product quality.

(Baonghean) - According to the Inspectorate of the Department of Science and Technology, through inspection and kiểm tra work in 2016, violations regarding standards, measurements, and product quality in the province still persist, causing frustration for consumers. Therefore, in 2017, inspection and handling of violations need to be further strengthened.

As of December 2016, the Inspectorate of the Department of Science and Technology had conducted 6 specialized inspections in the fields of standards, measurement, product quality, and industrial property; and science and technology projects. Of the 177 establishments inspected, 44 were found to be in violation and were penalized with a total fine of VND 246,634,000.

Specifically, from March 21st to April 20th, 2016, a specialized inspection team led by the Inspectorate of the Department of Science and Technology, in coordination with the Sub-Department of Standards, Metrology, and Quality, conducted inspections of 46 gasoline and oil businesses in the province. The inspections revealed that 12 out of 46 businesses had not been granted Certificates of Eligibility for Gasoline and Oil Business but were still operating.

Authorities conduct an inspection at a mini-supermarket specializing in imported goods on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street (Vinh City).

The reasons identified include unresolved issues related to land lease procedures, construction, fire safety, etc.; the Department of Industry and Trade is currently coordinating with relevant agencies to address these obstacles. Simultaneously, it was discovered that 4 out of 46 businesses were not complying with the law on measurement: using measuring instruments that had not undergone proper calibration. Due to these violations, all 4 establishments were fined a total of 40,000,000 VND by the inspection team.

Following the directives of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Provincial People's Committee, a large-scale inter-agency inspection on compliance with measurement laws in the gold trading sector in the province was conducted. The Inspectorate of the Department of Science and Technology, in coordination with other forces, inspected 54 establishments. It was determined that 12 establishments violated quality standards (producing and trading products and goods that did not meet the declared standards); and 1 establishment violated the regulations on declaring applicable standards (failing to declare applicable standards as required in the production of gold jewelry and handicrafts).

Five establishments violated regulations regarding product labeling (labels lacked mandatory information: missing information on gold content); one establishment violated regulations regarding measurement (using an expired calibration certificate for a "technical scale" used for buying and selling gold). For these violations by gold businesses, the inspection team imposed administrative fines totaling 87,700,000 VND.

At the end of 2016, the Inspectorate of the Department of Science and Technology, in coordination with the Provincial Police, the Department of Health, the Market Management Sub-department, and the Sub-department of Standards, Metrology and Quality, conducted inspections on standards, measurements, quality, labeling, codes, barcodes, and industrial property rights for pre-packaged goods in the province. Although only 23 establishments were inspected, violations were found in 17 of them.

Among them, 9 establishments violated regulations on product labeling (imported goods had original labels in foreign languages ​​but lacked supplementary labels in Vietnamese), resulting in fines totaling 53,500,000 VND. Eight establishments were found to be selling certain types of foreign-made cosmetics without supplementary labels in Vietnamese, and without invoices or documents proving the legality of the goods. The inspection team transferred the case files to the Market Management Sub-Department for administrative penalties according to their authority…

Regarding the role of the Department of Science and Technology in preventing and combating commercial fraud, Mr. Nguyen Manh Ha, Chief Inspector of the Department, stated: Government Decree 24/ND-CP dated April 4, 2014, stipulates that the Departments of Science and Technology have the task of advising and assisting provincial People's Committees in state management of science and technology activities; developing scientific and technological potential; standards, measurement, quality; intellectual property, etc.

In Decision No. 44/QD-UBND dated June 11, 2016, on the assignment of responsibilities and coordination in state management of product and goods quality in the province, the Provincial People's Committee assigned the Department of Science and Technology as the focal agency to assist the Provincial People's Committee in performing the function of state management of product and goods quality in the province.

Point m, Article 4 of Decision No. 44 directs the Provincial People's Committee to be responsible for inspecting and checking compliance with laws on technical standards, regulations, and product and goods quality (with a focus on applying surprise inspections), resolving complaints and denunciations, and handling violations of the law within its authority; and to announce violations through mass media as prescribed by law.

In recent years, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee have focused on directing relevant agencies to take decisive action in the fight against counterfeit goods and commercial fraud. This has rectified many violations, contributing to a healthier business environment and protecting consumer rights, creating positive public opinion. However, despite this, there are still many production and business establishments that violate standards, measurements, and product quality; especially violations regarding product quality.

Goods of unknown origin at a store in Vinh City were confiscated by an inter-agency inspection team.

Inspections conducted in 2016 revealed that complex issues were concentrated in several areas significantly impacting social life, such as the business of gasoline, oil, helmets, and pre-packaged goods. Violations were often intentional, and establishments engaging in these activities typically employed sophisticated methods to evade detection by authorities and consumers.

Meanwhile, the legal framework governing science and technology still has many shortcomings and overlaps, with many regulations lacking feasibility, significantly hindering inspection work (such as regulations on measurement and quality in the gold and silver trading, regulations on measurement and quality in the petroleum trading, and regulations on inspection procedures...). In addition, there is a shortage of personnel in the fight against counterfeit goods and commercial fraud, the equipment for inspection and verification activities is inadequate, and the workload is heavy, complex, and involves new content, thus creating many difficulties in implementing tasks.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Ha also affirmed: “Government Decree No. 24 and Provincial People's Committee Decision No. 44 are both legal grounds and directives for the Department of Science and Technology to continue working more strongly with relevant functional forces to prevent violations of standards, measurements, and product quality…”

To achieve effectiveness, in addition to recommending solutions to the aforementioned issues, we believe that functional forces need to coordinate more closely to create strength in combating violations by production and business establishments. This will lead to greater uniformity in forecasting and planning, especially in coordinating surprise inspections to detect and handle fraudulent practices in production and business, preventing owners of production and business establishments from resorting to evasive tactics…”.

Nhat Lan