An FDI retail chain’s 40-percent-off campaign had been live for three days before someone asked: “Has the Department of Industry and Trade been notified?” The seemingly clerical question in fact decides the lawfulness of the entire campaign — and the answer differs by promotion form.
Two different regimes: notification and registration
Commercial Law No. 36/2005/QH11, Articles 88 to 100, sets the general frame for sales promotion, and Decree 81/2018/ND-CP splits procedure into two regimes. The notification regime covers most ordinary forms — price reductions, free gifts, bundled presents, loyalty points — with the company notifying the Department of Industry and Trade where the programme runs before it starts. The registration regime applies only to chance-based promotions, where winning depends on the participant’s luck: that group must register and obtain confirmation from the Department or the Ministry of Industry and Trade before launching. Confusing the regimes is the most dangerous error: a lucky-draw programme that merely files a notification like an ordinary sale is treated as procedurally incomplete even though papers were sent.
Notification: content, recipient and the online channel
Promotion notifications are filed online through the National Public Service Portal or the portal of the Department of Industry and Trade where the programme is organised; a company running programmes in several provinces notifies each organising locality or follows the current centralised mechanism. The core content covers the promotion form, period, territory, the promoted goods or services and the goods used as prizes or gifts, and the total prize value. Decree 128/2021/ND-CP, amending Decree 81/2018, simplified matters significantly: certain forms, such as straightforward below-cap discounts and programmes under small value thresholds, are exempt from notification or follow a shortened procedure. Match your specific programme against the exemption list in Article 17 of Decree 81/2018 as amended, instead of assuming every programme is notified identically.
The 50-percent discount cap and content limits
Procedure is only half the story. The maximum discount for promoted goods and services is 50 percent of the price immediately before the promotion period under Article 7 of Decree 81/2018/ND-CP, save for listed exceptions — policy goods, discounts within state concentrated promotion programmes and a few special groups. Prize and gift goods must be lawful goods, and chance-based programmes add duties to publish results, award prizes on time and remit unclaimed prize value as prescribed. The larger the prize pool, the higher the authority moves: a chance-based programme whose total prize value reaches the central threshold registers with the Ministry rather than the Department.
Consequences of skipping notification: risk far beyond the fine
Failing to notify, or to register where registration applies, can draw administrative penalties under Decree 98/2020/ND-CP on sanctions in commercial activities, plus an order to terminate the offending programme. For an FDI brand the larger damage is a campaign stopped mid-flight: participating customers gain grounds to complain, platforms and malls demand proof of lawfulness before letting it continue, and prize results announced while procedures were incomplete are permanently questioned. The minimum safe checklist for every campaign is one line in the marketing plan: which regime the form falls under, where the notification or registration goes, and where the receipt is — answer those three before launch day.
Frequently asked questions
Must a promotion be registered with the Department of Industry and Trade?
It depends on the form. Ordinary promotions such as discounts and gifts fall under notification of the promotion activity to the Department where it is organised, under Decree 81/2018/ND-CP. Chance-based promotions fall under registration and must be confirmed before they run.
At what discount level must a notification be filed?
The notification duty does not turn on the discount percentage but on the form and value of the programme; certain simple discounts and below-threshold programmes are exempt under Article 17 of Decree 81/2018/ND-CP as amended by Decree 128/2021/ND-CP. The content ceiling to remember is the 50-percent maximum discount in Article 7, subject to exceptions.
What happens if a promotion is not notified?
Administrative penalties may follow under Decree 98/2020/ND-CP on sanctions in commercial activities, together with an order to end the programme. For an unregistered chance-based programme already run, the risk extends to complaints against the prize results because procedures were incomplete.
Where is a lucky-draw programme filed?
It is a registration case, not a notification: register with the Department of Industry and Trade where it is organised, or the Ministry if the total prize value reaches the central threshold, and obtain confirmation before launching, under Decree 81/2018/ND-CP.
Can an FDI company notify a nationwide promotion in one place?
Notification attaches to the organising territory: file with the Department of each locality where the programme runs, or through the online channel under the current mechanism on the National Public Service Portal. Keep each locality’s receipt for inspections.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council