Businesses caught selling alcohol to anyone under 18 years old will be fined up to VND1 million (US$44), according to new decree set to take effect this November as a means of enforcing Vietnam’s current alcohol laws.

Government Decree No. 105/2017 on liquor sales, set to take effect on November 1, will maintain the country’s policy of regarding the sale of alcoholic beverages to underage people, along with several other actions, as illegal.

The current law, Decree No. 94/2012 on the production and sale of alcohol, came into force in January 2013.

Pursuant to Decree 185/2013, those who sell booze to customers under 18 years old will be subject to a fine between VND500,000 ($22) and VND1 million.

Aside from the sale of liquor to minors, penalties for running a liquor business without a license or formal permission from municipal or provincial departments of industry and trade will also be enforced under Decree No. 105/2017.

The decree states that economic offices at district and ward levels will be allowed to process permits for the production of alcohol and the retail sale of liquor.   

Using prohibited and substandard ingredients in the production of alcohol as well as presenting and trading liquor without labels or declaration of origin are also against the law.

In order to raise awareness of promulgations on the liquor business, the Vietnam Association for Responsible Drinking is coordinating a series of events with the National Committee for Traffic Safety.

Banners hung across city streets and instructions provided to sellers on how to politely deal with customers in certain situations are included in the initiative, with the ultimate goal of preventing the sale of alcohol to underage people.

In cases where customers appear to be 25 years old or younger, shopkeepers are advised to request personal identification papers.

If buyers cannot present such a document, sellers can politely refuse business and ask customers to return once they can prove their age.

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