The proposal was included in the recent draft amendment to the Penal Code.

‘Violation of food safety regulations’ (Article 317) was among the crimes with the highest penalty increase, up to six times compared to the current rate.

Accordingly, the list of violations includes using banned chemicals, pesticides or food additives (not on the approved list or not authorised for circulation in Vietnam) processing or selling food made from livestock that have died from disease or are ordered culling and importing, supplying or selling food with illegal additives or banned substances.

These actions may result in fines between VND300 million to VND3 billion, depending on the profit gained and the severity of the violation.

Under current regulations, the fine for this offence ranges between VND50 million to VND500 million.

In addition to higher financial penalties, the draft also proposes raising the minimum prison sentence for this crime from one year to three years. The lowest penalty range would be three to seven years in prison, compared to the current one to five years.

Meanwhile, under Article 317(1)(a) of the current Penal Code, individuals using chemicals or additives are only criminally liable if they are aware that the substances are banned.

However, in the draft amendment, the MPS proposes removing the phrase ‘are aware that’, meaning offenders could be subjected to criminal punishment regardless of whether they knew the additives or substances used were harmful.

The additional penalties for ‘producing and trading in counterfeit goods being food, foodstuffs, or food additives’ in Article 193 are also proposed to double from the current VND20-100 million to VND40-200 million. If the offender is a commercial legal entity, this amount could rise to VND36 billion from the current VND18 billion.

Notably, the draft amendment also proposes a prison sentence of between five and ten years for individuals who produce or trade in counterfeit food, foodstuffs, or food additives on ‘e-commerce platforms with 500 or more users.’

The document also suggested adding a new article related the crime of ‘illegally discharging ordinary waste into the environment’ (Article 235a of the draft).

Depending on the volume of waste discharged, violators may face fines ranging from VND100 million to VND2 billion, or imprisonment from three months to five years.

For this offence, commercial legal entities may be fined from VND300 million to VND6 billion or have their operations suspended for six months to two years.

Ministry warns of rising online fraud

The E-commerce Development Centre (Ecomviet) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has issued a warning of the growing complexity of online fraud, emphasising that users will face two key threats - surveillance malware designed to steal information - and evolving online scams.