Executing the plan of the General Department of Vietnam Customs to control smuggling, merchandise counterfeiting, IP-faked goods and IP-violated goods in 2024, the HCM City Customs Department has dispatched 43 documents on intellectual property (IP) enforcement to customs offices and customs control teams.

At the same time, the department directed relevant units to focus on items with high risks of counterfeiting and IP infringement like consumer goods, electrical appliances, electronic devices, household electronic devices, functional foods, sugar, pharmaceuticals, cigarettes, new generation cigarettes, alcohol, iron and steel, and scrap.

As a result, the department has uncovered and fined many violators. In August 2024, the Saigon Port Customs Office - Zone 1 fined a company VND30 million for infringing industrial property rights on nearly 40 tons of imported detergents, softeners, and toothpaste, valued at VND1 billion. In September, the office issued another VND30 million fine and ordered the removal of infringing elements from a shipment of heat-resistant clothing, valued at nearly VND1.5 billion.

Additionally, the Customs Office of Investment Goods Management penalized a foreign-invested enterprise for intellectual property violations. The company imported clay from the US and provided misleading information on trademarks protected in Vietnam, breaching industrial property regulations.

The HCM City Customs Department emphasized the growing sophistication of counterfeiting and IP violations, which harm ownership rights and economic interests. It pledged to intensify prevention efforts during customs clearance for imports and exports, deploying control forces and cargo teams to enforce regulations.