By VILAF lawyers

The National Assembly has passed the new Advertising Law to replace the 2001 Ordinance on Advertising. The new Law shall take effect on 01 January 2013.

List of goods and services for which advertising is banned

The Law introduces a comprehensive list of goods and services for which advertising is banned. Among those are goods prohibited from being traded, cigarettes, wine that contains 150 alcohol or above, products being breast milk substitutes for children under 24 months old, dietary supplements for children under 06 months old, artificial feeding bottles and pacifiers, prescription drugs, non-prescription drugs recommended by relevant State agencies for use under a doctor's supervision, pornographic products and sport weapons.

Prohibited acts

Among the new prohibitions, the Law prohibits the use of such words as "best", "the best", "only", "number one" or words with a similar meaning without documented evidence, any incorrect or misleading description of relevant goods or services, and any direct comparison of the advertised goods or services to another party's goods or services.

Under the Ordinance on Advertising, use of the National Emblem, National Flag, etc in advertising was prohibited. The Law only prohibits any such use which "adversely affects their solemnness."

To reinforce the general provisions of the Civil Code, the Law prohibits the use of an individual's picture, writing or statement in advertising without his/her permission.

With respect to advertising locations, the Law also prohibits the hanging of advertising boards on electricity posts, traffic sign posts and trees in public areas.

Conditions for advertising certain special goods and services

If the relevant goods or services belong to businesses which are subject to certain regulatory conditions, the advertiser must have evidence of satisfaction of such conditions. For instance, for pharmaceutical products, there must be active product registration in Vietnam and Ministry of Health approved product use guidance. For imported powdered milk and food supplements for children, there must be quality registration in the exporting country and product registration in Vietnam.

Construction work for advertisement purposes

A construction permit is required for the construction of any of the following advertisement works:

  • Development of outdoor advertising screen of a size of 20m2 upward;
  • Development of an advertising board of a size of 20m2 upward, attached to an existing construction property; and
  • Development of a stand-alone advertising board of a size of 40m2 upward.

Draft Decree on Advertising

The Government is circulating a Draft of the Decree on Advertising guiding the implementation of the Law to collect opinions. The Draft provides detailed requirements on the advertising of special goods and services such as cosmetics, pharmaceutical products, powder milk, chemicals, pesticides, medical services, etc.

Generally, an advertisement must provide the name and address of the entity responsible for the product or service.

Advertisements of products for use as breast milk substitutes and food supplements for children (other than those prohibited from being advertised) must carry the sentence "mother's breast milk is the best for health and for the development of infants and children." The advertiser is prohibited from embedding pictures of products prohibited from being advertised into a permitted advertisement.

Advertisements of imported medical equipment must provide information on among others the number of the import license and the place of manufacture.

Advertisements of fertilizers must provide information on the origin of materials used in their manufacture. It's unclear what description is sufficient as "origin."

The Draft also attempts to impose procedural requirements and conditions on foreign websites owned by foreign service vendors collecting advertising revenues from Vietnamese businesses.

VILAF is a business law firm, advising multinational clients on all legal aspects of their business and investment in Vietnam. Vo Ha Duyen is Managing Partner of the firm's Ho Chi Minh City Office. Website: www.vilaf.com.vn.

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