Vietnam - 60% of foreign liquor stamps are fake

Smuggled foreign liquor and cigarettes are prevailing on the market in Vietnam, and 60 percent of anti-counterfeit stamps seen on foreign liquor products are fake or reused, a market management official has warned.

Vuong Tri Dung, deputy head of the Hanoi Market Management Sub-department, revealed the figure at a conference held yesterday to discuss new regulations aimed at fighting the trade of liquor and cigarettes that are fake or illegally imported products.

Every year smugglers spend around $400 million on smuggling foreign cigarettes into Vietnam while causing a loss of VND4 trillion (US$192.31 million) in import tax revenue, Dung said.

Currently, market management officers are boosting their fight against the trade of illicit foreign cigarettes and liquor, which usually become more prevalent in the lead-up to every Tet (Lunar New Year), which this year will fall on February 10, the official said.

According to a new regulation, market management units will publicize all serial numbers of anti-counterfeit stamps to be used for foreign liquors in certain periods to prevent and detect the use of fake anti-counterfeit stamps, Dung said.

Under another new regulation that will take effect from January 22, 2013, any people who sell or buy more than 1,500 packs of illicit cigarettes or over 100 bottles of smuggled liquor will be treated criminally, he added.

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