A. Public notification on the Promotion
1. Information to be publicly notified
According to Article 97.1, Article 97.2d of the Law on Commerce 2005, before conducting the Promotion, the trader must publicly notify the following information:
- Name of the promotion;
- Sale prices of sale promotion cars and related costs for delivery of sale promotion cars to customers;
- The trader’s name, address and telephone number;
Promotion duration, the starting date and ending date and area of the promotion;
Where benefits of the participation in the promotion depend on specific conditions, notices must clearly state that the promotion is conditional and specific conditions;
Besides, for the lucky draw promotion, the trader must publicly notify the types of prize and value of each prize; rules for participation in sale promotion programs, method of selecting prize-winners (Art 97.2.d of the Law on Commerce 2005).
2. Notification methods
The notification of the Promotion shall be made by one of the following methods (Art 98.1 of the Law on Commerce 2005):
(i) For goods:
- At places where goods are sold and where goods are displayed for sale;
- On goods or their packing;
- In any other forms which must be attached to goods when such goods are sold.
(ii) For services
- At places where services are served;
- Other forms which must be attached to the service when the service is provided.
B. Registration of the lucky draw promotion
According to Article 13 and Article 19.1 of the Decree 81/2018/ND-CP on the trade promotion (the “Decree 81”), for the form of lucky draw promotion, the trader must carry out the administrative procedures to register the promotion and must be certified by the authorities before conducting the promotion.
1. Application, contents, and methods of registration
(i) Application and contents of registration
The application for the Promotion and the contents of registration is prescribed in Article 19.4 and 19.5 Decree 81.
(ii) Methods of registration
The trader may submit the registration application in one of the following methods (Art 19.3 Decree 81):
- By post;
- Directly submit to the head quarter of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (the “MOIT”);
- Using the public online (service system.
2. Authorities in charge and timeline
(i) Authorities in charge (Art 19.2 Decree 81)
– The Department of Industry and Trade, for lucky draw promotion carried out in a province or centrally-run city;
– The Ministry of Industry and Trade, for lucky draw promotion carried out in 2 or more provinces or centrally-run cities.
(ii) Timeline
Within 05 working days from the full receipt of the registration application, the MOIT shall consider and reply to the trader whether they certify the registration or not. If they do not certify the registration, they shall provide a clear explanation as regulated by laws (Art 19.6 Decree 81).
C. Publication, awarding and report of the results of the promotion
(i) Publication, awarding
After the completion of the promotion, the trader shall publish the Promotion result, award, and report the promotion results to the MOIT (Art 101 of the Law on Commerce 2005, Art 21 Decree 81).
Besides, the trader must publish the promotion results at the place of the promotion or on media or their website (if any) (Art 21.3 Decree 81).
The duration of publishing promotion results and awarding of sales promotion programs must not exceed 45 days from the ended date of the sales promotion programs (Art 21.1 Decree 81)
(ii) Reporting result of the promotion
Within 45 days from the expiration date of the awarding period of the promotion, the trader shall send the written report of the results of the promotion to the MOIT (Art 21.2a Decree 81)
D. Remittance of 50% of the prize’s value to the State Budget (in the case of no-prize winner, if any)
In the case where there is no prize-winner, the trader must set aside and remit 50% of the value of the prizes already announced into the State Budget (Art 96.4 of the Law on Commerce 2005, Art 21.2a Decree 81).
After the trader reports to the MOIT that there is no prize-winner in the promotion, within 7 working days, the MOIT shall issue a decision on collecting 50% of the value of such prize of the promotion programs to the State Budget.
Within 15 working days since the date the trader receives such decision, the trader must remit 50% of the announced value of the prize without the winner into the State Budget.
Within 10 days from the day on which the prize value is remitted into the State Budget, the trader must send a written report to the MOIT on the full remittance of 50% value of the prize (Art 21.2a Decree 81).
LMP can aid in completing the process promptly with a team of experienced, competent lawyers, as they have a lot of experience consulting and supporting clients to complete registration procedures with state agencies. Customers do not have to sign paperwork many times or follow incorrect procedures, and they do not register on time due to a lack of awareness of legal laws or incorrect identification of competent authority. Customers can save time by focusing on business activities rather than “headaching” over complicated procedures and unclear legal provisions.
Notice: The information provided here is for information purposes only. Depending on different times and customers, the above content may no longer be relevant. For any detailed advice, please contact LMP Lawyers.
