ALERT

Pursuant to Essential Supplies and Services Law 2012, the Union Government released a Notification No.5/2023 (“Notification No. 5/2023”) on 4 July 2023 to designate and declare Online Sales Business as an essential service, and allows the Ministry of Commerce (“MOC”) to issue prohibition orders, regulatory orders, supervision orders, protection orders, and the orders which are necessary.

Following Notification No.5/2023, the MOC issued two orders on 21 July 2023; (1) Notification No. 50/2023(“Essential Services Order”) which states that no one will be allowed to conduct Online Sales Business without the registration certificate after six months from the date of the issuance of this Essential Services Order, and (2)Notification No. 51/2023 regarding registration of Online Sales business (“Registration Order”).

Online Sales Business means business which is the sale of goods and services through online services system. Definition of goods and services are not included in the Registration Order, however, according to Consumer Protection Law 2019, Goods mean any items that are purchased by the consumer for consumption or use by himself/herself or by other people including negotiable financial instruments, shares, loan certificates and cash, and Service means the action of fulfilling the needs of the consumer with or without a consideration in the form of a business or performance.

Registration Process

Anyone who wishes to operate Online Sales Business have to apply for registration certificate with the following requirements to the Department of Trade (“DOT”) via online.

For Company or Business Organizations

• Registered under  existing relevant law
• Official owned website
• Being able to submit Location  to operate the Online Sales Business

For Natural Person

• Permanent resident in  Myanmar
• Age of 18
• Being able to submit Location  to operate the Online Sales Business
• Being able to comply  the criteria of this Registration Order
• Of sound mind
• Not being in the  blacklist of any government organizations

Requirements

• Color photo of the responsible person  
• National scrutiny card of the responsible person
• Recommendation letter  from the relevant government department, organization or ward or tract administration  officer to confirm the location of the Online Sales Business
• Types, conditions and  warranties of the goods or services
• Documents evidencing  the importation or local manufacture of the goods
• Documents relating to  the approval for the goods or services from relevant department and  government organization if any

The DOT shall either issue or refuse to issue Registration Certificate after receiving the application. If the DOT refuses to issue a Registration Certificate, the revised application can be submitted within 30 days. If the application is successful, registration fee shall be remitted within 2 weeks from the date of receipt of notification letter from the DOT, and after the remittance has been conducted, a Registration Certificate will be issued online.

Registration Certificate

The term of the Registration Certificate will be 2 years from issue date and renewal must be applied (60) sixty days prior to expiry. Any amendments of Registration Certificate can be submitted to DOT with the relevant application form and the service fee. Direct or indirect transfer of Registration Certificate is not permitted.  The list of Registration Certificate holders will be published at DOT online registration system.

Compliance Requirements

It is very important for every registered Online Sales Business to be aware on non-compliance. Regarding sales of goods and services, Registration Certificate holders have the responsibility for information and warranties, quality assurance for consumer protection, exchange of the goods, maintaining the personal data of the consumer and so on.

Penalties

Failure to comply with compliance requirements of the Registration Order, administrative penalties will be imposed, which include suspension of Registration Certificate for a term and cancellation of Registration Certificate. The decision can be appealed to the MOC within 30 days by writing, and decision of the MOC will be conclusive and final.

During the term of the administrative penalties, Online Sales Business should not be operated and the penalty for default can result in a fine not exceeding MMK five hundred thousand and imprisonment from six months to three years in accordance with the Essential Supplies and Services Law 2012.

Conclusion

Registration Order aims to govern the legal conduct of business through e-commerce platform, and the implementation of Registration Order will provide more protection and take action on violations of consumer rights. On the other hand, if the loss or damage of consumer is not suffering from due to goods or services provided by the holder of Registration Certificate, such holder has the right to defend itself under the law to recover the reputation of its business.