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On February 10, 2023, the government of Vietnam issued Decree
No. 03/2023/ND-CP regulating the functions, rights and duties, and
organizational structure of the National Competition Commission
(“Decree 03”). The National Competition Commission
(official English name Vietnam Competition Commission or VCC) was
first mentioned in the updated Law on Competition of 2018 and is
meant to be the leading authority responsible for the state
management of competition matters in Vietnam. However, nearly five
years later, no penalty decisions for competition violations under
the Law on Competition 2018 have been issued, due to a lack of
regulations on the functions of the VCC. Thus, the issuance of
Decree 03 is an important milestone and is expected to increase the
authorities’ enforcement against competition-related violations
in Vietnam.
The VCC is an agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade
(MOIT) and consolidates the previous Vietnam Competition
Council and Vietnam Competition Authority. The VCC is mainly
responsible for: (1) carrying out competition proceedings, (2)
controlling economic concentration, (3) deciding on exemptions from
prohibited anti-competitive agreements, (4) handling appeals of
decisions on settlement of competition cases; (5) advising and
assisting the MOIT in performing the state management of
competition, protecting consumers’ interests, and managing
multi-level marketing activities; and (6) other responsibilities as
may be assigned by the MOIT.
For each case of alleged anti-competition, the chair of the VCC
will establish a Council for Handling Anti-Competitive Case, which
will dissolve itself upon the fulfillment of its
responsibilities.
The VCC is made up of 15 members, including the chair and one or
more vice chairs, and will also include the following
departments:
Competition investigation agency;
Secretariat of Councils for Handling Anti-Competitive
Cases;
Competition Supervision Board; and
Units perform the function of state management of competition,
protection of consumers’ interests, and management of
multi-level marketing activities.
Decree 03 will take effect on April 1, 2023, replacing Decree
No. 07/2015/ND-CP on the functions, rights, duties, and
organizational structure of the Competition Council and Decision
No. 24/2015/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister promulgating the
organizational and operational rules of the Competition
Council.
It is worth noting that in order for the VCC to operate in
practice, there must be a decision from the Prime Minister to
appoint the chair of the VCC and further detailed regulations from
the MOIT on the organization of the VCC, which are expected to be
released in the near future.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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