An overview of the national teleconference (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang on August 8 urged ministries, sectors, and localities to enhance the use of digital technology to promptly detect and address smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods in the context of the rapid development of e-commerce.

Addressing a national teleconference summing up the work in the first six half of 2024 and putting forward tasks for the second, the head of the National Steering Committee for Combating Smuggling emphasised the need to perfect legal regulations related to smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods work. He said the focus should be placed on reviewing inadequate regulations and sending them to the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Finance for handling in accordance with their authority.

It is also essential to strengthen international cooperation and learn from global experiences in combating smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods, Quang said.

He urged more drastic and better coordination between relevant forces, and enhanced inspection and supervision to promptly detect legal loopholes and errors.

The Deputy PM also expressed his hope that media agencies will continue to innovate communication forms to raise people's awareness in preventing and combating smuggling.

In the first six months of 2024, relevant forces uncovered more than 64,000 cases, down 2.82 per cent year-on-year and collected more than 6 trillion VND (238.6 million USD) for the budget, down 7.53 per cent. Of the total cases, there were 55,133 of trade and tax frauds, while 3,010 were of counterfeit goods and intellectual property violations. These are down 9.7 per cent and up 8.55 per cent year-on-year, respectively. They also prosecuted 650 cases with 1,912 defendants, down 44.25 per cent in the number of cases and 18.82 per cent in the number of defendants.