The multi-level marketing business model is governed by the Law on Competition and Decree 110/2004/ND-CP, which were issued in late 2004. The government then issued Decree 42/2014/ND-CP replacing Decree 110. To improve the regulation and management of multi-level marketing enterprises, on March 12, 2018, the government issued Decree 40/2018/ND-CP, replacing Decree 42.

The decree defines multi-level marketing as a “business using a network of participants at different levels and branches who are entitled to commission, bonuses and other economic benefits from their business results and other people in the network.”

The decree restricts multi-level marketing to goods and provides for certain classes of goods to restricted from multi-level marketing, namely: medicines, medical equipment, veterinary drugs, plant protection agents, chemicals, insecticides and anti-bacterial preparations whose use is prohibited or restricted in the domestic sector and in the medical sector; and all types of dangerous chemicals.

The Decree prohibits misleading multi-level marketing activity, including:

1. The payment of any deposit, or a specific sum of money in order to sign a contract to participate in the multi-level marketing network;
2. Requesting other people to purchase a specific quantity of goods in order to sign a contract to participate in the MLM network
3. Enterprises selling or transferring networks of participants who have joined multi-level marketing activities of goods to other enterprises, excluding cases of acquisition, consolidation or merger of corporates, and
4. The provision of false or misleading information about the benefits of participating in multi-level marketing, features and uses of goods, as well as activities of multi-level marketing businesses.

The decree also bans organisation of seminars, conferences and training courses on the multi-level marketing model without the authorisation of the multi-level marketing enterprises.

Chapter 2 of the decree provides for the registration of a multi-level marketing (MLM) enterprise, Chapter 3 for the management of an MLM enterprise, Chapter 4 for the Management of MLM participants, and Chapter 5 for the responsibilities and activities of MLM enterprises.