In May alone, the Drug Administration of Vietnam (under the Ministry of Health) withdrew nearly 300 declaration certificates for imported cosmetics, predominantly affecting well-known brands.
Concurrently, the HCMC Department of Health recently nullified 70 registration numbers pertaining to cosmetics, traditional medicines, herbal remedies, chemical drugs, and functional foods. These products had reportedly been dubiously reclassified as medical devices by manufacturers and distributors to circumvent regulations and benefit from incentives.
This surge in revocations is severe. In 2024, the Drug Administration of Vietnam recalled approximately 500 market authorization numbers for imported cosmetics, mostly at the voluntary request of the companies themselves, alongside over 100 others due to regulatory violations or dossier inaccuracies. In contrast, the number of businesses seeking to withdraw their product registrations in the first five months of this year has nearly equaled the total for the entirety of 2024.
This mass withdrawal of declaration certificates has fueled public suspicion that companies may be attempting to evade responsibility, preempt post-market surveillance, or conceal violations, particularly as nationwide inspections and post-market checks intensify on smuggling, commercial fraud, and the production and trade of counterfeit and substandard goods within the cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors.
However, the Ministry of Health asserted that regardless of the reasons for withdrawal, any cosmetic or pharmaceutical product exhibiting signs of violation will be handled according to regulations. Withdrawing a registration, it emphasizes, does not absolve a company of its legal responsibilities.
On the contrary, businesses suspected of exploiting the withdrawal process to evade post-market scrutiny will be closely monitored and subjected to heightened inspection and supervision. This is intended to effectively control the proliferation of counterfeit, fake, and substandard products in the market.
Dozens of invalidated drug registrations and hundreds of revoked cosmetic declarations recently also serve as a stark warning about product quality, raising serious questions about regulatory capacity, corporate accountability, and consumer confidence.
Despite long-standing regulations, the legal framework has evident loopholes. The dossier review process is often merely formalistic, lacking rigorous practical verification; licenses are frequently granted based solely on paperwork, without independent appraisals or on-site inspections. This system allows businesses to easily circumvent legal requirements with little fear of detection, undermining product safety and public trust.
More alarmingly, most violations are identified only after products have already entered the market, and in some cases, after widespread consumption. This points to a critically weak post-market surveillance system and a need of regular inspection and supervision measures. A pervasive public concern, therefore, is the unknown number of non-compliant products that remain undetected.
Clearly, regulatory agencies cannot shoulder the entire blame, especially when businesses deliberately break regulations. When business ethics are disregarded and short-term profit becomes the paramount objective, practices such as incorrect product formulation, false advertising, and evasion of quality inspections become unacceptably prevalent. Consumers ultimately bear the brunt of these failings, as they often lack the means to differentiate between safe, legitimate products and their substandard or counterfeit counterparts.
When adverse incidents do occur, processes for product exchange, refunds, and holding entities accountable are fraught with difficulties, leading to compounded harm for consumers in terms of both health and finances. More damagingly, such occurrences erode public trust in the state management system and even in brands previously considered reputable.
Revoking non-compliant product registrations is a crucial first step against counterfeit and substandard goods, but merely detecting violations and then recalling products is insufficient. Society demands a stringent source-to-market supervision system, featuring rigorous approvals, transparent post-market surveillance, and uncompromising handling of violations.
To genuinely purify and ensure market safety, beyond robust legal documents, regulators’ sense of responsibility and business ethics must be elevated, and consumers’ right to information vigorously upheld. This fundamental responsibility belongs to competent authorities, ensuring a truly safe pharmaceutical and cosmetics market.
