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Goods smugglers face heavier fines
Traders of smuggled alcohol and cigarettes will face fines of up to VND100 million (US$5,260) from tomorrow.
The fines are among changes to the Government decree that sets administrative punishments for the manufacture and trading in alcohol and cigarettes.
Traders of smuggled alcohol will be fined between VND100,000-100 million ($5.2-5,260) and those who sell smuggled cigarettes will have to pay fines of between VND50,000-100 million ($2.6-5,260).
Offenders will have their illegal goods seized and their business licences revoked from six months to one year.
They will also have to pay to have their smuggled goods destroyed.
Offenders who are found to have traded illegal goods worth VND100 million or more will face criminal rather than administrative proceeding.
Offenders who sell between 1,000 and 1,500 cartons of cigarettes will also face the highest fine - VND100 million.
Those who sell more will be prosecuted before a judge.
Market Watch Deputy Director Hoang Minh Tuan said the heavier fines would both tighten the regulations and perhaps dissuade would-be sellers of smuggled cigarettes and alcohol from doing so.
The department's inspectors regularly detected and seized smuggled and fake alcohol and cigarettes, he said.
Figures from relevant authorities show that the number of smuggled cigarettes is increasing each year: About 630 million cartons in 2007; more than 700 million in 2008 and more than 800 million in 2009.
Seventy per cent of cigarettes sold in Can Tho City are smuggled; 46 per cent in HCM City and 42 per cent in the southern region.
Police found and seized 4,500 bottles of smuggled alcohol hidden under coal in Quang Tri Province's Vinh Linh District last Saturday.
The driver Phan Van Y was arrested and the investigation is continuing.
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