Register, amend and supplement the content of promotional program

Promotional programs, when carried out in the form of chance, must be registered with state management agencies before proceeding. After being certified by the competent authority, traders must implement the sales promotion program according to the registered contents. However, due to the constant transformation of the market and the rapid change of customer needs, updating and adjusting the content of the promotion program is a frequent procedure. In the article below, Viet An Law will provide clients with general legal advice on issue of registration, amendment and supplementation of promotion content.

What does “promotional program” mean?

According to the definition in Clause 1, Article 88 of the 2005 Commercial Law, sales promotion is a trade promotion activity of traders to promote the purchase and sale of goods and provision of services by providing customers with certain benefits. Thus, only traders have the right to carry out this activity.

Traders can choose one of the following two forms:

• Directly promote the goods and services they trade;
• Conducting sales promotions for goods and services of other traders under agreements with such traders.

Forms of promotion in Vietnam

• Giving sample goods, providing sample services for customers to try without paying;
• Gifting goods to customers, providing services without collecting money;
• Sale and provision of services at a price lower than the previous selling price or service provision price, shall be applied during the registered or notified promotion period. In case goods and services are subject to price management by the State, sales promotion in this form shall comply with the Government’s regulations;
• Selling goods and providing services accompanied by vouchers and vouchers for the use of services so that customers can enjoy one or several certain benefits;
• Selling goods and providing services with entries for customers to choose prize winners according to the announced rules and prizes;
• Selling and providing services accompanied by participation in programs of chance in which participation in the program is associated with the purchase of goods and services and the winning of prizes based on the luck of participants according to the announced rules and prizes;
• Organizing regular customer programs, whereby the rewards to customers based on the quantity or value of goods and services purchased by customers are expressed in the form of customer cards, receipts of goods and services or other forms;
• Organizing customers to participate in cultural, artistic, entertainment and other events for promotional purposes;
• Other forms of sales promotion if approved by the state management agency in charge of trade.

Register, amend and supplement the content of promotional program in Vietnam

Register for promotional program content

Implementation time

Before conducting sales promotion, if it is subject to compulsory registration, traders must register with the competent authority the contents of the sales promotion program.

Subjects of implementation

Traders have the following promotional activities:

• Sale and provision of services accompanied by participation in programs of chance in which participation in the program is associated with the purchase of goods and services and the winning of prizes based on the luck of participants according to the announced rules and prizes (promotional programs of chance);
• Promotion of goods and services in the process of using the internet, electronic means, devices, and information technology applications, including sales promotion through e-commerce trading floors and online promotion websites.

Competent agencies

• The Department of Industry and Trade for sales promotion programs of chance shall be implemented in a province or centrally-run city;
• The Ministry of Industry and Trade (Trade Promotion Agency) for sales promotion programs of chance implemented in 2 or more provinces and centrally-run cities and sales promotion programs in other forms.

How to apply

• By postal service to competent state management agencies;
• Submit directly at the head office of the competent state management agency;
• Via the National Public Service Portal or the Provincial Administrative Procedure Settlement Information System.

Dossier of registration of promotional program content

• Registration form for implementation of sales promotion programs as prescribed;
• Rules of the promotion program as prescribed;
• Sample of proof of determination of winning or detailed description of proof of determination of winning;

Contents of promotions subject to registration

Contents of registration for promotion program include:

• Name of the trader conducting the sales promotion;
• Name of the promotion program;
• Areas of sales promotion (provinces and cities where traders conduct sales promotion);
• Form of promotion;
• Goods and services are promoted;
• Goods and services used for promotion (prizes, gifts);
• Time to implement sales promotion;
• Customers of the promotion program (beneficiaries of the promotion);
• Prize structure and total prize value of the promotion program;
• Detailed contents of the promotion program (rules of the promotion program);
• In case many traders coordinate in the implementation of the promotion program, the registration contents must clearly state the names of the traders participating in the program, the specific participation contents and the specific responsibilities of each trader participating in the program.

Procedure Sequence

Step 1: The trader directly or uses the services of Viet An Law to prepare a dossier including documents as prescribed and send it to the competent authority. Depending on the content of the dossier for registration of sales promotion activities, it will be submitted at the Department of Industry and Trade or at the Trade Promotion Department – Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Step 2: After submitting the registration dossier, within 05 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier, the competent state management agency shall consider and reply to confirm/not confirm the registration for the implementation of the sales promotion program; if they do not certify, they must clearly state the reasons as prescribed by law.

Note:

• In case the Ministry of Industry and Trade certifies the registration for the implementation of the sales promotion program, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall, after confirming the implementation, provide the Department of Industry and Trade with the content of the program for coordination in management.
• Information about the sales promotion program that the trader has registered and is certified must be publicized by the state management agency in appropriate forms (document, website or other forms with equivalent effects) and not earlier than the start time of the sales promotion program.

Amend and supplement the content of promotional program

Implementation time

After notifying the implementation of the sales promotion, in case of any change in the sales promotion program, the trader must notify the amendment and supplementation of the contents of the sales promotion program to the Department of Industry and Trade where the sales promotion is carried out.

Competent agencies

• The Department of Industry and Trade for sales promotion programs of chance shall be implemented in a province or centrally-run city;
• The Ministry of Industry and Trade (Trade Promotion Agency) for sales promotion programs of chance implemented in 2 or more provinces and centrally-run cities and sales promotion programs in other forms.

How to apply

• By postal service to the Departments of Industry and Trade where the promotion is organized/Ministry of Industry and Trade;
• Directly at the headquarters of the Departments of Industry and Trade where the promotion is organized/Ministry of Industry and Trade;
• Via the National Public Service Portal or the Provincial Administrative Procedure Settlement Information System.

Request

The amendment and supplementation of the contents of the promotion program must ensure that it does not affect the interests of relevant traders, organizations and individuals, and customers who have participated in the program before the program is amended and supplemented with contents.

Dossier of amendment and supplementation of the promotional program

• Registration of amendment and supplementation of promotion program contents (according to Form 06a “Registration for amendment and supplementation of promotion program contents” issued together with Decree No. 128/2024/ND-CP).
• Power of attorney for organizations and individuals to submit dossiers (in case of using the service of registration, amendment and supplementation of sales promotion programs of Viet An Law).

Contents of amendments and supplements to the content of the promotion program

Similarly, the content of the promotion program must be registered and analyzed. In addition, there is more content about the time to start implementing the amendment and supplementation, the reason for the adjustment, the commitment,…

Procedure sequence

Step 1: The trader directly or through Viet An Law prepares and submits 01 set of dossier to the receiving agency.

Step 2: Within 05 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier of registration for amendment and supplementation of contents, the receiving agency shall consider and reply to confirm or not certify the registration of amendments and supplements to the contents of the promotion program of the trader; in case of refusal to certify, the reason must be clearly stated as prescribed by law.

In case of failure to register, amend or supplement the content of the promotional program, how will it be handled?

Traders who fail to register, amend and supplement the contents of the promotion program with the competent state management agency as prescribed when conducting sales promotion or register in contravention of reality will be considered for administrative handling. Pursuant to Decree No. 98/2020/ND-CP amended and supplemented by Decree 77/2022/ND-CP, traders are subject to the following fines:

• A fine of between VND 05,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for acts committed by individuals;
• A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for acts committed by organizations or enterprises.

In addition, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, organizations and individuals may also be subject to one or several forms of additional sanctions and remedial measures as prescribed, such as:

• Deprivation of the right to use licenses and practice certificates for a period of from 01 month to 24 months.
• Suspension of operation for a term of from 01 month to 24 months.

The above is an analysis of the issue of registration, amendment and supplementation of the content of the promotion program. Please update the latest regulation on Promotion activitie in Vietnam via Viet An Law’s update law. If you have any related questions or need advice on the provisions of the law, please contact Viet An Law for the best support!