Short answer: For e-commerce and retail businesses, the Consumer Rights Protection Law 19/2023/QH15 (effective 01/7/2024) is not a read-once document — it is a list of operational changes: how information and prices are displayed, how transaction conditions are written, how defective goods and recalls are handled, and how customer reviews are managed. A retailer that has not re-audited its purchase journey against this law is accumulating violations at every touchpoint.
Changes in the sales journey and contracts
The law tightens three points in the sales journey. First, information: goods and services must carry full, accurate information on characteristics, price and all charges before the consumer decides, on store and online channels alike. Second, transaction conditions: clauses in standard contracts and general trading conditions in the notifiable, registrable group may not contain unlawful liability exclusions or default-unfavourable terms for consumers — pre-written return and warranty-limit clauses are the most examined. Third, vulnerable consumer groups such as the elderly, children and people in difficult areas receive reinforced protection in marketing and sales. On digital channels these duties intersect with the E-Commerce Law 122/2025/QH15 and Decree 248/2026/ND-CP on platform responsibility for seller and product-information control.
After the sale: warranties, recalls and fake reviews
Post-sale duties include honouring warranties as committed, returning defective goods and, notably, notifying and recalling defective dangerous products — a retailer needs a recall process that actually works, from purchased-customer lists to notification channels and collection points. Fake reviews and false advertising are prohibited confusion-causing conduct; a business must ban them in its own operations and have a reaction mechanism when competitors attack with fake reviews. Violations draw administrative sanctions and possible public disclosure of the violation — for a retail brand, disclosure hurts more than the fine. An effective retailer compliance programme gathers these items into one audit book following the customer journey, from product page to after-sales care.
A retailer compliance audit book
- Audit product pages and counters: information, all-in price, return conditions shown pre-purchase.
- Test general trading conditions against prohibited or restricted clause catalogues.
- Build a defective-product recall process with customer lists and notification channels ready.
- Internal review policy: ban purchased reviews, process for handling brand-impersonating fake reviews.
Frequently asked questions
What new duties do e-commerce platforms and online sellers have?
Transparent information and pricing before transaction, trading conditions free of unlawful consumer-unfavourable clauses, seller-information control duties on platforms under the new e-commerce frame, and honouring published return and warranty commitments. These duties apply simultaneously under Law 19/2023 and the E-Commerce Law 122/2025.
What minimum return and warranty policies apply?
The law guarantees consumer rights over defective goods and services failing commitments: repair, exchange, return and refund by situation and published commitment. Businesses may design more favourable policies, but not below statutory minimum rights, and may not use pre-written clauses to exclude liability for their own faults.
How is consumer damage compensation determined?
By actual loss caused by defective goods, services or misleading information, on the base of civil liability and consumer-protection rules; consumers may claim through negotiation, mediation, consumer organisations, regulators or court. A business that remedies early and as committed usually reduces both loss and public-disclosure risk.
How are fake reviews and false advertising handled?
They are prohibited confusion-causing conduct under consumer-protection, advertising and competition frames: administrative sanctions, removal and correction orders and possible public disclosure of violations; platforms additionally act under their own mechanisms. A business attacked by a competitor’s fake reviews should report to the platform and regulators simultaneously with timestamped evidence.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council