Zalo Shop has been operating e-commerce without a licence

July 21, 2020 | 11:14

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As e-commerce platforms are awash with fake and low-quality goods, Zalo Shop was recently discovered not to have been licensed for operation in Vietnam.

zalo shop has been operating e commerce without a license

Zalo Shop has been selling goods without a license

Zalo is an e-commerce application following Article 3.4 of Circular No.59/2015/TT-BCT outlining the management of e-commerce activities via applications and mobile equipment dated December 31, 2015. Therefore, Zalo is responsible for registering for a license from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) under the circular.

"However," Dang Thanh Hai, head of the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA) under the MoIT told Vietnam News Agency, "as of now, the application has yet to obey the regulation.”

In last July and August, iDEA three times required VNG JSC – the operator of Zalo – to send its legal representative to the authority to clarify the legal aspects of Zalo’s e-commerce activities, which the company failed to comply with.

As a result, since September 5, 2019, iDEA sent Document No.32/TMDT-QL to the Department of Cyber Security and Hi-tech Crime Prevention under the Ministry of Public Security to tackle the issue.

Moreover, the authority has disclosed that many vendors have been trading fake and unauthenticated goods on Zalo Shop as the issue has yet to be resolved comprehensively even on licensed platforms such as Lazada, Shopee, Tiki, and Sendo.

Over the past time, the platforms are the Big Four dominating the market who are known among consumers for the abundance of fake and low-quality goods.

During the social distancing period a few months ago, iDEA reported that more than 21,000 pieces of fake and unauthenticated goods from 5,200 vendors were uncovered and handled on Shopee and Lazada.

By Van Anh

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