Circular No. 47/2014/TT-BCT on Management of Electronic Commerce Websites

CIRCULAR

Regulations on Management of E-commerce Websites

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Pursuant to Decree No. 95/2012/NĐ-CP dated November 12, 2012, of the Government, detailing the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to Decree No. 52/2013/NĐ-CP dated May 16, 2013, of the Government on electronic commerce;

Pursuant to Decree No. 59/2006/NĐ-CP dated June 12, 2006 of the Government detailing the Law on Trade regarding goods and services prohibited from trading, restricted from trading, and subject to conditional trading;

The Minister of Industry and Trade issues this Circular on the management of e-commerce websites.

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

1. This Circular details and guides the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 52/2013/NĐ-CP dated May 16, 2013 of the Government on e-commerce (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 52/2013/NĐ-CP), concerning business activities on e-commerce websites, procedures and formalities for notification and registration of e-commerce websites, registration of activities for assessing creditworthiness of e-commerce websites, and publication of information on the Portal for Managing E-commerce Activities.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to:

1. Business entities, organizations, and individuals establishing e-commerce websites for selling goods.

2. Business entities, organizations establishing e-commerce websites to provide e-commerce services.

3. Sellers on e-commerce websites providing e-commerce services.

4. Business entities, organizations conducting credit assessment activities on e-commerce websites.

5. Organizations and individuals performing online reporting on the Portal for Managing E-commerce Activities.

1. Business entities, organizations, and individuals may not use e-commerce websites to trade in the following restricted goods:

a) Hunting rifles and hunting ammunition, sports weapons, and auxiliary tools;

b) Cigarettes, cigars, and other finished tobacco products;

c) Various types of alcohol;

d) Rare wild plants and animals, including both live specimens and processed parts thereof;

đ) Other restricted goods as prescribed by law.

2. A business entity setting up a website to sell goods or services listed in the catalog of goods and services subject to conditional trading must publish on its website the number, date, and place of issuance of the Certificate of Eligibility for Business for such goods or services.

1. Comply with the provisions of Article 36 of Decree No. 52/2013/NĐ-CP.

2. Require business entities, organizations, and individuals who are sellers on e-commerce platforms to provide the information stipulated in Clause 1, Clause 2, and Clause 3 of Article 29 of Decree No. 52/2013/NĐ-CP when registering to use the service.

3. Block and remove from the website information about selling goods and services listed in the catalog of goods and services prohibited from trading according to the law and restricted goods according to Clause 1 of Article 3 of this Circular.

4. Remove from the website information about selling counterfeit, imitation, smuggled goods, goods infringing intellectual property rights, and other goods or services violating the law upon discovery or receipt of verified reports about such information.

5. Require sellers of goods and services listed in the catalog of goods and services subject to conditional trading on their websites to provide the Certificate of Eligibility for Business for such goods or services (in cases where the law requires a Certificate of Eligibility for Business).

1. Business entities establishing e-commerce websites for selling goods must notify the Ministry of Industry and Trade in accordance with the provisions set out in Section 1, Chapter II of this Circular.

2. Business entities and organizations establishing e-commerce websites providing e-commerce services must register with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in accordance with the provisions set out in Section 2, Chapter II of this Circular.

3. Business entities and organizations establishing e-commerce websites that serve both as e-commerce websites for selling goods and as e-commerce service websites must notify and register with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in accordance with the provisions set out in Chapter II of this Circular.

1. Social media networks operating under any of the forms specified in points a, b, and c Clause 2 Article 35 Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP must register with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the form of an e-commerce trading platform.

2. Business entities and organizations establishing social media networks as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article must fulfill the responsibilities of business entities and organizations providing e-commerce trading platform services in accordance with the law.

3. Sellers on social media networks as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article must comply with the provisions set forth in Article 37 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP.

Article 7. Forms of Online Promotional Websites

Online promotional websites as defined in Clause 10 Article 3 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP include:

1. Websites operating under the forms specified in points a and b Clause 2 Article 39 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP.

2. Websites conducting promotions for goods of other business entities, organizations, and individuals under the terms of service promotion contracts in the following forms:

a) Giving away goods or providing samples for customers to try without charge;

b) Selling goods at a lower price than the previous selling price, applicable for a certain period or for a certain number of customers;

c) Other forms as prescribed by laws on promotions.

Section 1
NOTIFICATION OF E-COMMERCE WEBSITES FOR SELLING GOODS

The subjects to notify their e-commerce websites for sales purposes include:

1. Trader.

2. Organizations whose functions and tasks include organizing sales activities of goods, providing services, or conducting e-commerce activities.

3. Individuals who have been issued a personal tax code and are not required to register business operations under the laws on business registration.

Article 9. Notification Process

1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade will handle the receipt and processing of notifications for e-commerce websites selling goods through the online portal for managing e-commerce activities at the address www.online.gov.vn.

2. Business entities and individuals establishing e-commerce websites for selling goods shall access the online portal for managing e-commerce activities and follow these steps:

Step 1: Merchants, organizations, and individuals register an account to log into the system by providing the following information:

- Name of the merchant, organization, or individual;

- Business registration number of the merchant or establishment decision number of the organization or personal tax code of the individual;

- Field of business/activity;

- Head office address of the merchant or organization or usual residence address of the individual;

- Contact information.

Step 2: Within three working days, merchants, organizations, and individuals receive results from the Ministry of Industry and Trade via the registered email address regarding one of the following contents:

- If the account registration information is complete, the merchant, organization, or individual will be granted an account to log into the system and proceed to Step 3;

- If the account registration is rejected or requires additional information, the merchant, organization, or individual must re-register or supplement the requested information.

Step 3: After being granted an account to log into the system, the merchant, organization, or individual logs in, selects the function to notify the e-commerce website for sales purposes, and reports the information according to the template.

Step 4: Within three working days, merchants, organizations, and individuals receive feedback from the Ministry of Industry and Trade via the registered email address regarding one of the following contents:

- Confirmation that the reported information is complete and valid;

- Notification that the reported information is incomplete or invalid. In this case, the merchant, organization, or individual must return to Step 3 to report again or supplement the requested information.

3. Business entities, organizations, and individuals are responsible for monitoring the status of their notification applications via email or their system login accounts provided to update and amend information as required.

4. Within ten working days from the date of receiving the request for additional information at Step 4 as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article, if there is no response from the business entity, organization, or individual, the notification application will be terminated and must be resubmitted from Step 3.

1. Confirmation time for notifications: Three working days from the date of receipt of complete and valid notification applications from business entities, organizations, and individuals.

2. Upon confirming the notification, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will send an electronic code to the registered email address of the business entity, organization, or individual to be embedded on the e-commerce website for selling goods, displayed as a notification icon. When users click on this icon, they will be directed to the corresponding notification information of the business entity, organization, or individual on the online portal for managing e-commerce activities.

Article 11. Changing or Terminating Notified Information

1. In cases where there is a change to any of the information specified in Clause 2, Article 53 of Decree No. 52/2013/NĐ-CP or cessation of operation of the previously notified e-commerce website for selling goods, traders, organizations, and individuals must notify the Ministry of Industry and Trade within seven working days from the date of the information change or cessation of operation.

2. The changing or terminating of notified information about e-commerce websites for selling goods shall be carried out online through the access account to the system that was issued when the trader, organization, or individual conducted notification in accordance with Article 9 of this Circular.

3. The confirmation time for changing or terminating notified information: three working days from the date of receiving complete and accurate notifications sent by the trader, organization, or individual to the Ministry of Industry and Trade in accordance with Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 12. Periodic Updating of Notified Information

1. Once a year from the date of confirmed notification, traders, organizations, and individuals have the obligation to update notified information by accessing their accounts on the Portal for Managing E-commerce Activities and declaring information according to the form.

Section 2
REGISTRATION OF WEBSITES PROVIDING E-COMMERCE SERVICES

The registrant is a merchant or organization operating in the field of trade promotion or supporting businesses, having an e-commerce website that provides at least one of the following services:

1. E-commerce trading platform service.

2. Online promotional service.

3. Online auction services.

Article 14. Registration Documents

1. Application for registration of an e-commerce service-providing website (according to Form TMĐT-1 attached and promulgated together with this Circular).

3. Proposal for providing services as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 54 of Decree No. 52/2013/NĐ-CP.

4. Management regulations for the operation of e-commerce service-providing websites including the following contents:

a) Contents stipulated in Article 38 of Decree No. 52/2013/NĐ-CP;

b) Mechanism for handling and processing time limit upon receipt of feedback regarding illegal business activities on e-commerce service-providing websites.

5. Sample service contracts or cooperation agreements between the owner of the e-commerce service-providing website and other traders, organizations, or individuals participating in buying and selling goods or providing services on the website.

6. General transaction conditions applicable to the buying and selling of goods or provision of services on the website (if any).

Article 15. Registration Process

1. The acceptance and processing of registration documents for e-commerce service-providing websites are carried out online by the Ministry of Industry and Trade at the Portal for Managing E-commerce Activities at the address www.online.gov.vn.

Step 1: Merchants and organizations register an account to log into the system by providing the following information:

- Name of the merchant or organization;

- Business registration number of the merchant or establishment decision number of the organization;

- Field of business/activity;

- Head office address of the merchant or organization;

- Contact information.

Step 2: Within three working days, merchants and organizations receive results from the Ministry of Industry and Trade via the registered email address regarding one of the following contents:

- If the account registration information is complete, the merchant or organization will be granted an account to log into the system and proceed to Step 3;

- If the account registration is rejected or requires additional information, the merchant or organization must re-register or supplement the requested information.

Step 3: After being granted an account to log into the system, the merchant or organization logs in, selects the function to register the e-commerce website providing commercial services, reports the information according to the template, and attaches the registration dossier as stipulated in Article 14 of this Circular.

Step 4: Within seven working days, merchants and organizations receive feedback from the Ministry of Industry and Trade via the registered email address regarding one of the following contents:

- Confirmation that the registration dossier is complete and valid and request the merchant or organization to proceed to Step 5;

- Notification that the registration dossier is invalid or requires additional information. In this case, the merchant or organization must return to Step 3 to report again or supplement the requested information and dossier.

Step 5: After receiving confirmation that the dossier is complete and valid, the merchant or organization sends the complete registration dossier (in paper form) to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Electronic Commerce and Information Technology Department) as stipulated in Article 14 of this Circular.

3. Traders and organizations are responsible for monitoring the status of document processing via email or the access account to the system they were issued to update and modify information as required.

4. Within thirty working days from the date of receiving the notification requesting additional information at Step 4 as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, if the trader or organization does not respond, the registration file on the system will be terminated and the trader or organization must re-register from the beginning.

Article 16. Confirmation of Registration

2. When confirming registration, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will send to traders and organizations via the registered email address a code segment to be attached to the website providing e-commerce services, displayed as a registration icon. By selecting this icon, users will be directed to the corresponding registration information section of the trader or organization on the Portal for Managing E-commerce Activities.

1. In case there is a change in any of the information related to the website providing e-commerce services that has been registered as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 56 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP, the trader or organization must notify the Ministry of Industry and Trade within seven working days from the date of the information change.

3. Within seven working days from the date of receiving a complete and accurate notification from the trader or organization as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will examine the confirmation or non-confirmation of the amended and supplemented information and provide feedback to the trader or organization through the access account to the system that has been issued; in case of non-confirmation, the reasons must be clearly stated.

Article 18. Withdrawal and Termination of Registration

1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade terminates registration for websites providing e-commerce services according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 56 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP.

3. Traders and organizations whose registrations for websites providing e-commerce services are withdrawn shall fall under the following circumstances:

a) Implementing prohibited acts in e-commerce activities as stipulated in Article 4 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP;

b) Failing to fulfill reporting obligations as stipulated in Article 57 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP and continuing to repeat offenses after being reminded;

c) Being suspended from e-commerce activities pursuant to the decision to handle violations by competent state agencies;

d) Failing to fulfill responsibilities as stipulated in Article 4 of this Circular and continuing to repeat offenses after being reminded.

4. Information about websites providing e-commerce services whose registrations have been withdrawn will be published on the Portal for Managing E-commerce Activities.

Article 19. Re-registration for Websites Providing E-commerce Services

1. When receiving a transfer of a website providing e-commerce services, traders and organizations must re-register according to the procedures stipulated in Article 15 of this Circular.

2. The time limit for traders and organizations to re-register shall not exceed thirty days from the date of receiving the transferred website providing e-commerce services.

3. Websites providing e-commerce services whose registrations have been withdrawn under points b, c, and d of Clause 3 of Article 18 of this Circular may apply for re-registration when meeting the following conditions:

a) Having remedied the violations leading to the withdrawal of registration or having completed the suspension period for e-commerce activities pursuant to the decision to handle violations by competent state agencies;

b) Meeting the conditions for establishing websites providing e-commerce services as stipulated in Article 54 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP.

1. Before January 15 each year, traders and organizations establishing websites providing e-commerce services must report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade statistical data on the operation situation of the previous year.

2. The reporting process is conducted online through the trader or organization's account at the Portal for Managing E-commerce Activities or in the form of a document sent via postal service.

3. To serve inspection and supervision work by state management agencies or to clarify information reported by organizations or individuals as stipulated in Article 32 of this Circular, traders and organizations establishing websites providing e-commerce services have the obligation to explain and provide information about their activities on the website when requested by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Chapter III
REGISTRATION PROCEDURE FOR CREDIT RATING ACTIVITIESE-COMMERCE WEBSITE

The registration object for the operation of evaluating trustworthiness of e-commerce websites is a business entity or organization established under Vietnamese law and falls into one of the following categories:

1. An organization promoting trade or supporting businesses.

2. A media agency, industry association, or consumer rights protection organization.

3. A business entity that has registered to operate e-commerce services and has implemented such service provision activities.

Article 22. Registration Documents

1. Application for registration of the operation of evaluating trustworthiness of e-commerce websites (in accordance with Form TMĐT-2 attached hereto).

3. Proposal for the operation of evaluating trustworthiness of e-commerce websites including the following minimum contents:

a) The official name of the trustworthiness evaluation program for e-commerce websites;

b) Purpose of the operation of evaluating trustworthiness of e-commerce websites;

c) Explanation of experience and capability suitable for the trustworthiness evaluation activity;

d) Scope of trustworthiness evaluation appropriate to the scope of business operations of the business entity or organization;

đ) Time and frequency of conducting the trustworthiness evaluation activity;

e) Target or type of e-commerce websites to be evaluated for trustworthiness;

g) Criteria applied to evaluate an e-commerce website, which must include criteria for e-commerce websites that have completed notification or registration with the Ministry of Industry and Trade as stipulated in Decree No. 52/2013/NĐ-CP;

h) Process and method of conducting the evaluation of an e-commerce website;

i) Method of organizing the trustworthiness evaluation activity and selecting personnel to carry out the evaluation;

k) Design of the trust symbol to be affixed on e-commerce websites that have been evaluated;

l) Plan for monitoring the activities of e-commerce websites that have been affixed with the trust symbol;

m) Rights and obligations of the trustworthiness evaluator and the party owning the evaluated website.

Article 23. Registration Procedure

1. The acceptance and processing of registration documents for the operation of evaluating trustworthiness of e-commerce websites shall be conducted online by the Ministry of Industry and Trade through the E-commerce Activities Management Portal at the address www.online.gov.vn.

Step 1: Merchants and organizations register an account to log into the system by providing the following information:

- Name of the merchant or organization;

- Business registration number of the business entity or decision number of establishment of the organization;

- Field of business/activity;

- Head office address of the merchant or organization;

- Contact information, including telephone number, fax, email address.

Step 2: Within three working days, merchants and organizations receive results from the Ministry of Industry and Trade via the registered email address regarding one of the following contents:

- If the account registration information is complete, the merchant or organization will be granted an account to log into the system and proceed to Step 3;

- If the account registration is rejected or requires additional information, the merchant or organization must re-register or supplement the requested information.

Step 3: The business entity or organization logs into their account on the portal, selects the function to register the operation of evaluating trustworthiness of e-commerce websites, fills in the information according to the form, and attaches the registration documents as prescribed in Article 22 of this Circular.

Step 4: Within 15 working days, the business entity or organization will receive feedback from the Ministry of Industry and Trade via email regarding one of the following contents:

- Confirmation that the registration dossier is complete and valid and request the merchant or organization to proceed to Step 5;

- Notification that the registration dossier is invalid or requires additional information. In this case, the merchant or organization must return to Step 3 to report again or supplement the requested information and dossier.

Step 5: After receiving confirmation that the application is complete and valid, the business entity or organization sends the complete registration dossier (paper version) to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (E-commerce and Information Technology Department) as prescribed in Article 22 of this Circular.

3. Traders and organizations are responsible for monitoring the status of document processing via email or the access account to the system they were issued to update and modify information as required.

4. Within thirty working days from the date of receiving the notification requesting additional information at Step 4 as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, if the trader or organization does not respond, the registration file on the system will be terminated and the trader or organization must re-register from the beginning.

Article24. Confirmation of Registration

2. Upon confirming the registration, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will send a notification of registration confirmation to the business entity or organization via the registered email address, and simultaneously list the business entities or organizations providing trustworthiness evaluation services in the list of registered service providers on the E-commerce Activities Management Portal.

3. After being confirmed for registration, the trust symbol of the business entity or organization evaluating trustworthiness of e-commerce websites along with the list of websites affixed with this symbol will be published on the E-commerce Activities Management Portal.

Article 25. Amending and Supplementing Registered Information

1. E-commerce traders and credit rating organizations must notify amendments and supplements to registered information within seven working days from the date of occurrence of any of the following changes:

a) Change in the name of the trader or organization;

b) Change in the representative of the trader or organization; change in the person responsible for the operation of the credit rating of e-commerce websites;

c) Change in the business address or contact information;

d) Change in the criteria and procedures for credit rating of e-commerce websites or other contents of the project on the operation of credit rating of e-commerce websites as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 22 of this Circular.

3. Within seven working days from the date of receiving a complete and accurate notification from the trader or organization as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will examine the confirmation or non-confirmation of the amended and supplemented information and provide feedback to the trader or organization through the access account to the system that has been issued; in case of non-confirmation, the reasons must be clearly stated.

Article 26. Withdrawal and Termination of Registration

a) At the request of the trader or organization;

b) The trader or organization ceases to operate the credit rating of e-commerce websites;

c) The trader or organization registers to conduct credit rating activities with regular and continuous frequency but does not carry out such activities for over one year;

d) The e-commerce website credit rating trader or organization fails to fulfill obligations as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 61 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP and continues to repeat the violation after being reminded;

e) The e-commerce website credit rating trader or organization has its registration terminated according to Clause 2, Article 61 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP.

2. When ceasing operations, the e-commerce website credit rating trader or organization must notify the Ministry of Industry and Trade at least fifteen working days in advance to terminate the registration. This notification shall be made online through the access account to the system that was issued during registration, or by sending a written notice directly or via postal service to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Electronic Commerce and Information Technology Department).

3. Upon termination or withdrawal of registration, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will remove the name of the trader or organization from the list of registered e-commerce website credit rating traders and organizations, and simultaneously delete the trust symbol of the trader or organization along with the list of websites bearing this symbol on the Portal for Management of E-commerce Activities.

Article 27. Obligation to Report Periodically by E-commerce Website Credit Rating Traders and Organizations

1. Before the fifth day of each month, traders and organizations must update on the Portal for Management of E-commerce Activities the list of e-commerce websites to which they have attached trust symbols up to the end of the previous month.

3. To serve inspection and supervision work by state management agencies or to clarify information reported by organizations or individuals as stipulated in Article 31 of this Circular, e-commerce website credit rating traders and organizations have the obligation to report and provide information about websites to which they have attached trust symbols upon request by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Chapter IV
ANNOUNCEMENT OF INFORMATION ON THE PORTAL FOR MANAGEMENT INFORMATION ELECTRONIC COMMERCE ACTIVITIES

1. Immediately after an electronic commerce website completes the notification or registration procedures as stipulated in this Circular and receives confirmation from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, information about the website will be included in the list of notified or registered electronic commerce websites for public announcement on the Portal for Management of Electronic Commerce Activities.

2. The published information includes the information prescribed in Clause 2, Article 65 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP.

3. When an electronic commerce service-providing website is terminated or its registration is canceled, the information about the website will be removed from the list and moved to the status of a terminated registration website or transferred to the list of websites violating legal provisions as stipulated in Article 30 of this Circular.

1. Immediately after merchants and organizations engaged in evaluating the trustworthiness of electronic commerce websites complete the registration procedures as stipulated in this Circular and receive confirmation from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, information about the merchants and organizations will be included in the list of registered merchants and organizations evaluating the trustworthiness of electronic commerce websites for public announcement on the Portal for Management of Electronic Commerce Activities.

2. The published information includes the information prescribed in Clause 2, Article 66 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP.

3. When registration is terminated or canceled, the information about merchants and organizations evaluating the trustworthiness of electronic commerce websites will be removed from the list and moved to the status of a terminated registration or transferred to the list of merchants and organizations violating legal provisions.

Article 30. Publication of List of Electronic Commerce Websites Violating Legal Provisions

1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade publishes on the Portal for Management of Electronic Commerce Activities the list of electronic commerce websites violating laws as stipulated in Article 4 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP and regulations on administrative violations in electronic commerce.

2. The information to be announced includes:

a) Name of the electronic commerce website;

b) Name and information of the merchant, organization, or individual owning the website;

c) Violation behavior of the merchant, organization, or individual.

Article 31. Receiving Information Reports and Publishing List of Electronic Commerce Websites Reported for Suspected Violations of Legal Provisions

1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade receives reports from organizations and individuals regarding the following behaviors on electronic commerce websites:

a) Violation of regulations on notification and registration of electronic commerce websites;

b) Violation of regulations on contract formation in electronic commerce under Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP;

c) Violation of regulations on responsibilities of website owners selling goods or service providers in electronic commerce under Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP;

d) Violation of regulations on personal information protection and payment security in electronic commerce under Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP;

đ) Other violations prescribed in Article 4 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP.

2. Organizations and individuals implement online reporting on the Portal for Management of Electronic Commerce Activities at the address www.online.gov.vn. When making a report, organizations and individuals must provide the following minimum information:

a) Full name, national identity card number, residential address, phone number, and email address of the reporter;

b) Website address where the reported behavior occurred;

c) Reported behavior;

d) Summary of the report;

đ) Documents and evidence proving the violation (if available).

3. Within five working days, organizations and individuals who make the report will receive a response from the Ministry of Industry and Trade via the provided email address regarding one of the following contents:

- Confirmation that the report is complete, valid, and counted towards the number of reports specified in point a, Clause 4 of this Article;

- Notification that the report is invalid or request for additional information.

4. The publication of reported information on an electronic commerce website on the Portal for Management of Electronic Commerce Activities shall be carried out as follows:

a) An electronic commerce website receiving more than five (five) reports from different organizations or individuals regarding one or more behaviors mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article will receive a notice from the Ministry of Industry and Trade requesting an explanation of the reports;

b) After ten working days from the date of receipt of the notice to explain from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, if the merchant, organization, or individual owning the electronic commerce website does not respond or cannot explain the reports, then the website will be placed on the list of electronic commerce websites reported for suspected violations of legal provisions and may be subject to administrative penalties according to the law.

Chapter V
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 32. Responsibility for Implementation

2. Relevant agencies and units under the Ministry of Industry and Trade have the responsibility to cooperate in participating in state management of electronic commerce activities within their authority.

Article 33. Effectiveness

1. This Circular takes effect from January 20, 2015.

2. This Circular replaces Circular No. 12/2013/TT-BCT dated June 20, 2013, of the Ministry of Industry and Trade prescribing notification, registration, and information publication procedures related to electronic commerce websites.

3. Merchants, organizations, and individuals who have made notifications and registrations in accordance with Circular No. 12/2013/TT-BCT must supplement their file information to comply with the provisions of this Circular within ninety days from the date it takes effect.

4. During the implementation of this Circular, if any difficulties arise, merchants or related organizations and individuals shall promptly report them to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for consideration and resolution./.