Chinese mooncakes sold in boxes
In mid-August, although there is still more than a month until the Mid-Autumn Festival, the streets selling confectionery in Hanoi are already bustling. Many types of Mid-Autumn cakes with diverse designs and sizes are sold in boxes, serving both retail customers and large-scale importers.
At a wholesale confectionery store on Hang Giay street (Hoan Kiem, Hanoi), reporters were introduced to many types of mini mooncakes originating from China.
According to this person, a 5kg box of mooncakes costs 380,000 VND. By weight, this price is considered quite low compared to many types of mooncakes being sold on the market. The seller introduced that this is a price for agents, each box only makes a profit of about 5,000 - 10,000 VND. Notably, the product is introduced to have a long shelf life. "The mooncakes here are new goods, with a shelf life until January 2027" - the seller said.
When we raised the issue of buying a large quantity and requested a red invoice to prove the origin of the goods, the seller admitted that he could not issue an invoice for this type of cake. "In my warehouse, there are cakes with import invoices, and there are also types without them. Especially mini mooncakes sold by weight cannot issue red invoices because they are related to dossiers and documents on food safety. This is a type of cake with fresh filling, belonging to the group of ready-to-eat foods" - the seller said.
Hot" cakes priced at several thousand VND per piece
Not only mini mooncakes sold in boxes, at another store also on Hang Giay street, many types of mooncakes with all kinds of fillings are also on sale.
Dozens of boxes of cakes with diverse designs are arranged in the store. According to the store owner, one of the product lines that customers are interested in in this Mid-Autumn Festival is the Nutted Mid-Autumn Festival cake.
The seller introduced that this type of cake has a filling advertised as "healthy", with a retail price of about 7,000 VND/piece.
The store also has Mid-Autumn cakes with melted egg filling, chocolate filling and many other fillings. Some products are packaged eye-catchingly, priced at about 60,000 - 75,000 VND/box of 6 pieces. With this price, a cake costs only about 10,000 - 12,500 VND.
Notably, the store owner said: "Exposing a red invoice will incur very high taxes" and the seller explained that if an invoice is issued, the price on the invoice may be significantly lower than the actual selling price at the store.
This person gave an example, a box of cakes has a selling price of 65,000 VND, but when issuing invoices, the company may only record a price 2-3 times lower than the actual selling price.
This information raises questions about the transparency of transaction value and invoices in the process of buying and selling Mid-Autumn cakes, especially when products are imported in large quantities for gifts or redistribution.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, lawyer Dang Van Cuong - Hanoi Bar Association - said that smuggling is defined as illegal trading across borders or from non-tariff zones into the country or vice versa of goods, currencies, foreign currencies, metals, precious stones and depending on the nature and severity of the violation, depending on the consequences occurring, the person committing the smuggling act will be administratively sanctioned or prosecuted for criminal liability.
In case the goods are worth 100 million VND or more, the perpetrator may be prosecuted for criminal liability for smuggling under Article 188 of the Penal Code with a minimum penalty of 50 - 300 million VND or imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years.
The penalty frame for smuggling crimes depends on the value of goods, the amount of illegally profited money and the details of the case. In case the item is worth one billion VND or more or illegally profited from one billion VND or more, it will be fined from 12 to 20 years in prison. At the time near Mid-Autumn Festival, functional agencies need to strengthen inspection and control of the market, promptly detect and handle cases of smuggling and trading in goods of unknown origin. Depending on the nature and severity of the violation, administrative sanctions will be applied or criminal prosecution will be initiated according to regulations," lawyer Dang Van Cuong emphasized.
In the context of the vibrant Mid-Autumn Festival cake market, the control of cheap goods, especially imported products lacking documents proving their origin, needs to be strengthened. This is directly related to the rights and health of consumers.
