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THE STANDING
COMMITTEE OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
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SOCIALIST
REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Independence - Freedom – Happiness
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No: 13/1999/PL-UBTVQH10
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Hanoi, April 27, 1999
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ORDINANCE
ON THE PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS’ INTERESTS
In order
to protect the consumers’ legitimate rights and interests; to raise the State
management efficiency and the responsibilities of organizations and individuals
that produce and/or deal in goods and/or services in the protection of
consumers’ interests;
Pursuant to the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;
Pursuant to the Resolution of the Xth National Assembly, fourth session, on the
legislative program for the whole Xth National Assembly’s tenure as well as the
1999 legislative program;
This Ordinance provides for the protection of consumers’ interests.
Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1.- Consumers are those
who purchase and use goods and/or services for their personal daily-life
consumption or consumption by families and organizations.
Article 2.- To protect the
consumers’ legitimate rights
and interests is the common responsibility of the entire society.
The State agencies, economic organizations,
political organizations, socio-political organizations, social organizations,
socio-professional organizations, people’s
armed forces units and all individuals shall have to implement the provisions
of this Ordinance as well as the relevant provisions of legislation on the
protection of consumers’ interests.
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Article 3.- The State
encourages the rational and thrifty consumption.
The State shall elaborate policies and measures
to develop the multi-sectoral commodity economy and consolidate State
enterprises so that the latter hold the leading role in the production and
trading of essential good-quality commodities and services in order to protect
the consumers’ interests.
The State encourages the expansion of
international cooperation in the protection of consumers�
interests.
Article 4.- Organizations
and individuals that produce and/or deal in goods and/or services in service of
domestic consumption; and organizations and/or individuals trading in import
goods shall have to strictly comply with the provisions of this Ordinance, the
legislation on commerce, standards, measurement, the quality of goods, food,
advertisement, environmental protection as well as the relevant provisions of
law, and have to pay compensation for any damage as prescribed by law.
Article 5.- Consumers
shall have the rights and responsibilities prescribed in this Ordinance as well
as in the relevant provisions of law.
Article 6.- Foreign organizations and
individuals operating on the Vietnamese territory shall have to abide by the
provisions of Vietnamese legislation on the protection of consumers’ interests, except otherwise provided for by
international agreements which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has signed or
acceded to.
Article 7.- To strictly
prohibit the following acts:
1. Producing and/or trading in banned goods or
fake goods;
2. Producing, trading and/or consuming goods
and/or services which seriously pollute the environment, endanger the people’s life and health or contravene the fine traditions
and customs of Vietnam;
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4. Committing other violations to deceive
consumers.
Chapter
II
CONSUMERS’ RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Article 8.- Consumers shall have the right to select goods and/or
services; be provided with true information on the quality, prices and instructions
on the use of goods and/or services; be ensured with safety in life, health and
environment when using such goods and/or services; and be provided with
necessary knowledge about their use.
Article 9.- Consumers shall have the right to
claim the refund of money for damage if the goods and/or services fail to meet
the announced or contracted standards, quality, quantity and prices; make
complaints, denunciations or initiate lawsuits according to law, against the
production and/or trading of banned goods, fake goods or provision of services
that fail to meet the standards, quality and quantity, and against the false
information or untruthful advertisement.
Article 10.- Consumers shall have the right to contribute their opinions
to the elaboration and implementation of policies and legislation on the
protection of consumers’ interests; request
organizations and/or individuals engaged in goods production and/or service
provision to fulfill their responsibilities in the protection of consumers’ interests.
Consumers shall have the right to request
production and/or business organizations and individuals to ensure the
standards and quality of essential goods and services, regarding food, clothes,
housing, traveling, studying, health care, environmental protection as well as
other goods and services already registered and announced.
Article 11.- Consumers shall be entitled to establish organization(s) to
protect their legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the provisions
of law.
Consumers shall themselves or through their
representatives protect their legitimate rights and interests.
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Article 13.- Consumers
shall have to detect and denounce fraudulent acts concerning the goods’ standards, measurement, quality, trademarks or
prices as well as other acts of deceiving people by organizations and/or
individuals engaged in the production of and/or trading in goods and/or
services, which cause damage to them and the community, as prescribed by law.
Chapter
III
RESPONSIBILITIES OF ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS ENGAGED IN GOODS
PRODUCTION AND/OR SERVICE PROVISION
Article 14.- Organizations and individuals that produce and/or deal in
goods and/or services with business registration, shall have to register and
announce the standards and quality of their goods and/or services according to
the provisions of law and fulfill their commitments to consumers; regularly
examine the safety and quality of goods and/or services, and ensure the
accurate weighing, measurement and calculation.
The Government shall stipulate in details the
protection of consumers’ interests in case of
the production of and trading in goods and/or services, of which the standards
and quality have not been registered and/or announced.
Article 15.- Organizations and individuals engaged in the production of
and/or trading in goods and/or services shall have to give accurate and
truthful information and advertisement on their goods and/or services; post up
the goods’ and/or services’ prices; announce the conditions, time-limits and
place of warranty and provide consumers with instructions on the use of the
goods and/or services.
Article 16.- Organizations and individuals that
produce and/or deal in goods and/or services shall have to promptly settle in
time all consumers’ complaints about
their goods and/or services that fail to meet the announced or contracted
criteria, quality, quantity and/or prices; and have to provide goods and/or
services warranty for the consumers.
Article 17.- Organizations
and individuals that produce and/or deal in goods and/or services shall have to
collect, study and receive consumers’
opinions and comments; and make refund of money and/or compensation for any damage
caused to consumers as prescribed by law.
Chapter
IV
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Article 18.- The contents of State management over the protection of
consumers’ interests shall
include:
1. Promulgating and organizing the
implementation of legal documents on the protection of consumers’ interests;
2. Elaborating and organizing the implementation
of policies on the protection of consumers’
interests, as well as on the rational and thrifty consumption;
3. Directing and coordinating activities for the
protection of consumers’ interests, of the
ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the
Government, the People’s Councils and People’s Committees of different levels;
4. Training, fostering a contingent of cadres
for the protection of consumers’
interests;
5. Propagandizing, educating and popularizing
law and knowledge related to the protection of consumers’
interests;
6. Promoting international cooperation in the
field of the protection of consumers’
interests;
7. Promoting, examining the observance of the
legislation on the protection of consumers’
interests; settling consumers’
complaints and/or denunciations; and handling violations of the legislation on
the protection of consumers’
interests.
Article 19.- The Government shall exercise the unified State management
over the protection of consumers’
interests in the whole country.
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The Government shall determine State agencies in
charge of the protection of consumers’
interests.
Article
20.-
1. The ministries, ministerial-level agencies
and agencies attached to the Government shall, within the ambit of their tasks
and powers, have to coordinate with the State agencies in charge of the
protection of consumers’ interests in
exercising the State management over the protection of consumers’ interests.
2. The Government shall specify responsibilities
of the ministries, ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the
Government, stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article.
Article 21.- The People’s Councils and People’s
Committees of different levels shall, within the ambit of their tasks and
powers, have to implement, supervise and inspect the implementation of policies
and legislation on the protection of consumers’
interests in their respective localities.
Chapter V
SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS AND DENUNCIATIONS AND HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS
Article 22.- Consumers shall themselves or
through their representatives lodge complaints, request the refund of money or
demand compensation for the damage caused to them by organizations and/or
individuals that produce and/or deal in goods and/or services, as prescribed by
law.
Article 23.- The consumers’
complaints against organizations and/or individuals that produce and/or deal in
goods and/or services shall be settled first of all, on the principle of
conciliation, except otherwise provided for by law. In case of failure in
conciliation, consumers shall have the right to further complain or initiate
lawsuits in accordance with the provisions of law.
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Article 25.- The State management agencies in charge of the protection of
consumers’ interests and the
relevant State bodies shall have to settle in time consumers’ complaints and/or denunciations according to their
respective competence and the provisions of law.
Article 26.- Any persons
who produce and/or trade in banned goods, fake medicines or food as well as
other fake goods and/or food that fail to meet the hygiene and safety criteria;
produce, trade in or consume goods and/or services which cause serious
environmental pollution, or harms to the people’s
life and health or contravene the fine traditions or customs of the country;
give false information and/or advertisement; cheat in weighing, measurement
and/or calculation or commit other acts of violating the legislation on the
protection of consumers’ interests shall,
depending on the nature and seriousness of their violation(s), be
administratively sanctioned or examined for penal liability; and pay
compensation for damage caused to consumers as prescribed by law.
Article 27.- Any persons who abuse their postitions and/or power to commit
acts of violation or cover the violators of the legislation on the protection
of consumers’ interests shall,
depending on the nature and seriousness of their violation(s), be disciplined
or examined for penal liability.
Article 28.- Any persons who commit acts of violating the legislation on
the protection of consumers’
interests, thus causing damage to organizations and/or other individuals shall
not only be dealt with according to Articles 26 and 27 of this Ordinance, but
also have to pay compensation for the damage as prescribed by law.
Chapter
VI
IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS
Article 29.- This Ordinance takes effect from October 1st, 1999.
Article 30.- The
Government shall detail the implementation of this Ordinance.
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THE STANDING COMMITTEE
OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Nong Duc Manh