New highlights of the Law on Protection of Vietnamese Consumer Rights in 2023?

Law on Consumer Rights Protection 2023 passed at the 5th Session of the 15th National Assembly.

Compared to Law on Protection of Consumer Rights 2010, the Law on Consumer Rights Protection 2023 has a number of new regulations, specifically as follows:

1. The first, Subjects of application according to Article 2 of the Law on Consumer Protection 2023 are as follows:

1. Consumers

2. Business organizations and individuals.

3. Vietnam Fatherland Front; socio-political organization

4. Socio-political-professional organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations (hereinafter collectively referred to as social organizations) participating in protecting consumer rights.

5. Domestic and foreign agencies, organizations and individuals related to protecting consumer rights.

The Law on Consumer Rights Protection 2023 adds additional subjects of application, specifically: adding a subject group, the Vietnam Fatherland Front; socio-political organizations; Clarifying social organizations including socio-political-professional organizations, social organizations, and socio-professional organizations.

Social organizations participating in protecting consumer rights include social organizations with principles and purposes of participating in protecting consumer rights (commonly known as Consumer Rights Protection Associations). consumers) and other social organizations participating in protecting consumer rights.

Social organizations participating in protecting consumer rights are organizations assigned by the State to perform a number of tasks on protecting consumer rights. At the same time, the organization also receives financial support from the State according to the provisions of law on state budget.

Particularly for social organizations with principles and purposes of participating in protecting consumer rights, the Law stipulates a specific clause on activities that competent state management agencies assign to implement.

2. Monday, About the rights and obligations of consumers:

The Law on Consumer Rights Protection 2023 adds a number of new consumer rights in Article 4 such as:

- Have the right to create conditions for choosing a healthy and sustainable consumer environment.

- Right to request to organize or support negotiations to resolve arising disputes.

- Be protected when using public services according to regulations.

In addition, the new Law adds a number of consumer obligations such as:

- Comply with regulations on inspection, environmental protection, and sustainable consumption according to the provisions of law;

- Be responsible for providing inaccurate or incomplete information related to transactions between consumers and business organizations and individuals according to the provisions of law.

3. TTuesday, on sustainable production and consumption:

The Law on Protection of Consumer Rights 2023 adds the concept of sustainable consumption in Clause 10, Article 3 of the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights 2023 as follows:

- Sustainable consumption is the use of products, goods and services to meet the consumption and daily life purposes of individuals, families, agencies and organizations effectively, while minimizing impacts. negative about the environment.

At the same time, regulations are also added on the responsibilities of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and People's Committees at all levels in promoting sustainable production and consumption.

4. Wednesday, on protecting the rights of vulnerable consumers

Protecting the rights of vulnerable consumers is a new regulation, clearly demonstrating the humanistic guidelines and policies of the State and Government in comprehensively protecting the legitimate rights of the people.

The 2023 Consumer Rights Protection Law clearly identifies vulnerable consumer groups, including:

- Elderly people;

- People with disabilities;

- Children;

- Ethnic minorities;

- People living in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, islands, areas with difficult socio-economic conditions, areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions according to the provisions of law;

- Women who are pregnant or raising children under 36 months of age;

- People with serious illnesses and members of poor households as prescribed by law.

Accordingly, to strengthen the protection of vulnerable consumers' rights, the new Law stipulates a number of specific responsibilities of business organizations and individuals, notably the responsibility to apply resolution mechanisms. Complaints and disputes according to the provisions of law appropriate to each vulnerable consumer.

5. Thursday, Supplementing prohibited acts in Article 10 of the Law on Consumer Rights Protection 2023:

The Law on Consumer Rights Protection 2023 supplements a number of prohibited acts, including prohibited acts for multi-level marketing organizations and individuals; Business organizations and individuals that establish, operate, and provide digital platform services such as:

- It is prohibited to commit the act of sponsoring an influencer in any form without prior notice or publicity to consumers to use this person's image, advice, or recommendations for commercial promotion or encourage consumers to buy and use products, goods and services;

- Prohibiting acts that prevent consumers from checking products, goods and services, unless otherwise prescribed by law;

- Prohibit the practice of requiring consumers to purchase additional products, goods, and services as a mandatory condition for entering into a contract against the consumer's will.

6. Friday, About specific transactions:

For some specific transactions, the Law on Consumer Rights Protection 2023 adds a number of regulations to strengthen the responsibilities of business organizations and individuals in transactions, including:

- Articles 37 and 38 of the Law on Consumer Rights Protection 2023 clearly stipulate the information that needs to be provided in remote transactions; Additional responsibilities of organizations and individuals doing business with consumers in transactions in cyberspace. which specifies the responsibilities of organizations establishing and operating intermediate digital platforms and organizations establishing and operating large digital platforms.

- Article 41 Law on Consumer Rights Protection 2023 stipulates the responsibility to publicly notify the legal representative in Vietnam or appoint an authorized representative in Vietnam and publicly notify the authorized representative in Vietnam in providing continuous services.

- Add multi-level sales, sales not at regular transaction locations, and at the same time, stipulate additional specific responsibilities of business organizations and individuals when performing the above transactions with consumers.

7. Saturday, on dispute resolution methods

The Law on Consumer Rights Protection 2023 supplements regulations on consumers' rights to request business organizations and individuals to negotiate or the right to request state management agencies to protect consumer rights and organizations. Social organizations participating in protecting consumer rights support negotiations when their legitimate rights and interests are violated in Article 4 and Article 56.

This method is considered to improve the efficiency of resolving disputes between consumers and business organizations and individuals.

For settlement methods in court: Complete regulations on simplified procedures applied to resolve civil cases on protecting consumer rights.

Accordingly, civil cases on protecting consumer rights with a transaction value of less than 100 million VND will be resolved according to simplified procedures without having to meet the conditions specified in Clause 1, Article 317 of the Code. Civil Procedure 2015.

In addition, the new Law supplements regulations on compensation for damages in civil cases on protecting consumer rights, specifically as follows:

In case the beneficiary cannot be identified, compensation for damages in a civil case on protecting consumer rights in the public interest is initiated by a social organization participating in protecting consumer rights. The event is used to serve general activities for the benefit of consumers according to Government regulations.

8. Eighth, on the responsibilities of business organizations and individuals towards consumers

The new law adds a number of regulations such as:

- Responsibility to ensure safety, measurement, quantity, volume, quality, use of products, goods, and services sold and provided to consumers in Article 14 of the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights 2023 .

- Specifying the responsibility to protect consumer information in Article 14 of the Law on Consumer Rights Protection 2023

- Clarify the warranty recalculation period in case of product or goods innovation; Supplement regulations on responsibility for receiving and resolving consumer feedback, requests, and complaints.

- Regarding regulations on recalling defective products and goods in Article 33 of the Law on Consumer Rights Protection 2023:

+ The law classifies 02 groups of products and goods with defects, including group A and group B.

Of which, Group A are products and goods that have the potential to cause damage to the lives and health of consumers; Group B are products and goods that are likely to cause damage to consumers' property.

For each group, the Law stipulates corresponding recall responsibilities to create favorable conditions for business organizations and individuals to identify disabled groups and carry out recall in an appropriate manner.

To fully protect consumer rights, the Law supplements regulations on responsibility for providing services inconsistent with the contents registered, notified, announced, listed, advertised, introduced, and contracted. , commit.

9. Ninth, State management of consumer rights protection:

The Law on Consumer Rights Protection 2023 adds specific responsibilities of each Provincial, District and Commune People's Committee. Added to clarify the responsibilities of state management agencies and provincial People's Committees in:

- Build a national information database on protecting consumer rights;

- Assign tasks to social organizations with principles and purposes to participate in protecting consumer rights and build a coordination mechanism to protect consumer rights at the central and local levels.

10. Tenth, Add and clarify some concepts:

- Consumers: Add the criterion "not for commercial purposes" to clearly identify consumers, creating a unified basis in the process of identifying consumers.

Accordingly, as long as the purpose of purchase and use is related to commercial purposes, the relevant entity will not be considered a consumer according to the provisions of the new Law.

- Influencers: Add influencers to create a basis for accurately determining the concept and responsibilities of influencers in protecting consumer rights.

- Vulnerable consumers: Identify 07 groups of vulnerable consumers, along with that, stipulate the specific responsibilities of business organizations and individuals in protecting the rights of consumer groups vulnerable.

- Organizations and individuals doing business in cyberspace: Clearly identify organizations and individuals doing business in cyberspace, including: organizations and individuals trading products, goods and services through the system. information established themselves or through a digital platform and organizes the establishment and operation of an intermediary digital platform. For each of the above subjects, the new Law stipulates detailed responsibilities to ensure strict binding of the responsibilities of these subjects in the process of carrying out transactions with consumers.

- Multi-level sales organizations and individuals participating in multi-level sales: Add a group of subjects related to multi-level sales activities as above. At the same time, there are specific regulations to bind the responsibilities of this group of entities in protecting consumer rights when participating in multi-level marketing.