Saigon Square Shopping Center in Ho Chi Minh City has long been a notorious hotspot for counterfeit goods. However, the process of detecting and proving violations is far from straightforward.

From the Mekong Delta to Hanoi just to test a sample

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Overview of the working session between the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture and Social Affairs and HCMC People's Committee on July 22 regarding efforts to combat counterfeit pharmaceuticals and food. Photo: Tran Chung

On July 22, the National Assembly’s Committee for Culture and Social Affairs held a working session with the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to evaluate the enforcement of laws and policies related to combating counterfeit pharmaceuticals and food. At the session, government officials highlighted the major challenges in preventing counterfeit goods and commercial fraud.

Nguyen Thanh Nam, Deputy Director of the Domestic Market Management and Development Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), explained that inspections are conducted in two formats: planned thematic inspections and surprise inspections. The former typically requires prior notice, giving businesses time to prepare and hide violations. Therefore, unannounced checks are more effective in enforcing the law.

Nguyen Tien Dat, Deputy Head of Ho Chi Minh City's Market Management Department, said that in order to detect violations during surprise inspections, authorities often have to first purchase sample products for private testing. If preliminary testing reveals signs of violations, they can then conduct formal inspections and take official samples.

However, for the test results to be valid and accepted, the samples must be purchased with an invoice from the business in question or documented with a sample collection report.

“Often, our officers have to pay for the samples out of their own pocket. If the product turns out to be fake, the violator reimburses the cost. If not, the agency must absorb the expense. Meanwhile, our annual testing budget must be submitted for approval the year before. It’s incredibly complicated,” Dat explained.

As a result, authorities are often only able to afford purchasing the products, not the costly lab tests required for confirmation.

Adding to the difficulty, no single testing center in Vietnam can perform all necessary analyses. Labs frequently outsource parts of the work to third-party facilities, causing delays and potentially degrading the samples.

“For example, we once took a wheat flour sample from the Mekong Delta to HCMC, but no lab here could test it. We had to send an officer to Hanoi by air to get it tested within 24 hours,” Dat recalled.

A Ministry of Industry and Trade representative noted that counterfeiters are growing increasingly sophisticated. In one case involving fake milk, offenders listed over 70 micronutrients, while testing could only confirm 32–34 types.

Packaging is also highly deceptive. While the appearance is nearly identical to genuine products - featuring professional-looking branding and design - the contents are fake. Enforcement agencies also face a staffing shortage, preventing regular inspections.

In HCMC, Nam pointed to Saigon Square as a chronic issue. “Saigon Square has even been named in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations involving intellectual property violations and counterfeit goods,” he said.

Nearly USD 79 million recovered from counterfeit enforcement

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Enforcement authorities inspecting goods quality at Saigon Square. Photo: Market Management Bureau

According to the HCMC People’s Committee, the production and distribution of counterfeit goods remains extremely complex and increasingly sophisticated.

Fake pharmaceutical production often involves multiple locations, with transactions conducted via social media or delivery apps to conceal operations. Manufacturing takes place in unregistered homes or under the guise of legitimate businesses to avoid detection.

Offenders focus on high-value items, producing them in small quantities or made-to-order batches to avoid drawing attention. Buyers are not allowed near production sites to prevent exposure.

Previously, counterfeiters mainly targeted product packaging - mimicking labels of well-known brands for fast-moving goods. Now, fake producers are creating entirely new, unregistered product lines, assigning them fictitious registration numbers, fake barcodes, QR codes, and counterfeit certifications to deceive both retailers and consumers.

Between January 2024 and June 2025, agencies under HCMC’s 389 Steering Committee handled over 27,700 inspections, uncovering more than 4,400 cases of banned or smuggled goods, nearly 22,000 commercial fraud violations, and approximately 1,500 counterfeit cases. These efforts generated nearly VND 2,000 billion (about USD 79 million) in state revenue.

During a peak crackdown campaign from May 15 to June 15, authorities processed 3,341 cases, contributing over VND 228 million (USD 9,000) to the state budget and initiating two criminal cases involving six suspects.

Tran Chung