When conducting sales promotion programs of which the total prizes or gifts are valued more than VND 100 million, traders  must notify sales promotion activities to all Departments of Trade and Industry of localities, regardless of the location where the sales promotion program is conducted.

The Minh Quang Dang Limited Law Company refers to Article 17 of Decree No. 81/2018/NĐ-CP dated 22nd May, 2018 on elaboration of regulations of commercial law on trade promotion:

1.   Traders must notify sales promotion activities to all Departments of Trade and Industry of localities where the sales promotion is conducted before conducting sales promotion programs in the forms prescribed in Clause 8 in Article 92 of the Commercial Law and Article 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14 of this Decree.

The notification document must be sent to the Department of Trade and Industry at least 03 working days before the sales promotion program is conducted (according to the receiving date specified in the delivery note if the document is sent by post, according to the date recorded in the confirmation note of if it is sent directly; according to the time recorded on the email system or the date recorded on the system if it is sent via the public online service system).

2. Traders not required to notify sales promotion if doing types of sales promotion prescribed in Clause 8 in Article 92 of the Commercial Law and Article 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14 of this Decree including:

a) Traders doing sales promotion prescribed in Clause 1 in this Article of which the total prizes or gifts are valued under VND 100 million;

The Minh Dang Quang Limited Law Company reported a case of an enterprise conducting sales promotion programs in the forms prescribed in Article 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 of which the total prizes or gifts were valued VND 800 million. As the program was conducted simultaneously in 10 provinces, the total prizes or gifts were VND 80 million in each locality. When the notification document was sent to each Department of Trade and Industry of localities as stipulated in article 17 of decree 81/2018/NĐ-CP, it did not receive the approval of all Department of Trade and Industry of localities as traders are not required to notify the sales promotion if the total prizes or gifts are valued under VND 100 million. 

Through the receiving and responding system to businesses’ recommendations, The Minh Dang Quang Limited Law Company would like to ask “Sales promotion prescribed in Clause 1 in this Article of which the total prizes or gifts are valued under VND 100 million is not required to be notified. Is it applied to the whole program or the program implemented in each province? If the whole sales promotion program has the total prizes or gifts valued at VND 800 million, when notifying each Department of Industry and Trade, the values of prizes and gifts are worth VND 80 million, how does the trader notify the Department of Industry and Trade in localities in order to get approved? 

In response to this question, Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency, the Ministry of Industry and Trade gives following opinion:

Pursuant to point a, Clause 2, article 17 of decree No. 81/2018/NĐ-CP on elaboration of regulations of commercial law on trade promotion, when conducting sales promotion programs in the forms prescribed in Clause 8 in Article 92 of the Commercial Law and Article 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14 of Decree No. 81/2018/NĐ-CP of which the total prizes or gifts are valued more than VND 100 million, traders  must notify sales promotion activities to all Departments of Trade and Industry of localities, regardless of the location where the sales promotion program is conducted.

Traders must comply with the forms of notification, the notification document, and the contents of announcement of sales promotion prescribed in Article 17 of decree No. 81/2018/NĐ-CP and Form no.1 provided in the Appendix issued together with this Decree.