Administration and use of the fee

1. The Fund’s office can retain one point two percent (1.2%) of the actual fee amount collected to cover its expense for managing the collection of the road use fee as per regulations. The Fund’s office shall deposit the remaining amount into its budgetary contribution account at the State Treasury within no more than 03 working days from the date of fee collection.

2. For registry agencies

a) Fee collectors can retain one point two percent (1.2%) of the amount of road use fee actually collected for:

– The expense of fee collection as per regulations;

– The three percent (3%) of the fee amount retained, which is transferred to the Vietnam Register for the nationwide registry agencies’ system of management of the collection and payment of the road use fee (to cover the expense of development of software and database, subscription to internet leased line, specialized training, inspection and other relevant costs),

b) A portion of the fee amount collected shall be refunded to the entities that do not incur the fee pursuant to Section 2, Article 2 of this Circular.

c) The remaining portion of the fee amount collected (less those defined in Point a and Point b of this Section) shall be transferred (possibly through commercial banks) to the Vietnam Register. Vietnam Register shall submit this fee amount into the budgetary contribution account at the State Treasury within no more than 03 working days from the date of fee collection.

3. Vietnam Register and the Fund’s office shall declare, submit and finalize the fee amount collected on monthly and annual basis, respectively, according to Section 3, Article 19 and Section 2, Article 26 of the Circular No. 156/2013/TT-BTC dated November 06, 2013 by the Minister of Finance on guidelines for the implementation of certain articles of the Tax Administration Law; the Law on amendments to certain articles of the Tax Administration Law and the Government’s Decree No. 83/2013/ND-CP dated July 22, 2013. The contribution of the remaining portion of the fee amount collected (pursuant to Section 1 and Point c, Section 2 of this Article) into the state budget shall be under Subheading 2301 for road transport fee of the Chapter for the Ministry of Transport as the spending on the maintenance of the road infrastructure system pursuant to the Law of Road Traffic, the Government’s Decree No. 18/2012/ND-CP dated March 13, 2012 and other legislative documents concerning the Road Maintenance Fund.

4. The fee amount retained for fee collection: if the collection of the fee is recorded in entries under the corporate financial accounting regime, the fee amount retained shall be the collector’s income. If the collector is an administrative agency or public service provider, the fee amount retained shall be incorporated into its expenditure and be managed and used pursuant to the Law of state budget.

Article 9. Refund or crediting of fee payments

1. The fee amount paid for a vehicle defined in Point a, b and c, Section 2 of Article 2, shall be refunded to the owner of the vehicle or credited against the fee amount payable in the next period.

1.1. Before having an automobile defined in Point c, Section 2 of Article 2 repaired, its owner is required to present the accident scene record endorsed by the relevant police unit and return the inspection stamp and inspection certificate to the nearest registry agency to evince the refund of the fee amount after the vehicle is repaired and re-inspected to resume operation.

1.2. The application for refund or credit against the amount of road use fee in the following period (hereinafter referred to as fee reimbursement) includes:

a) The form of application for fee reimbursement, as defined in Form No. 02 annexed to this Circular;

b) The copies of written evidences of the duration during which the vehicle defined in Point a and b, Section 2, Article 2 is unavailable (such as a competent authority’s decision on vehicle seizure or revocation of the registration card and number plate);

c) The copy of the fee receipt. If the fee receipt is lost, the owner of the vehicle shall request the registry agency that collected the fee to provide a copy of the receipt;

d) Apart from the said documents, the owner of an automobile defined in Point c, Section 2 of Article 2 shall provide the record of retrieval of inspection stamp and inspection certificate, as defined in Appendix 03 to this Circular. The duration commensurate with the fee amount refunded or credited shall be counted from the date of the functional agency’s retrieval of the stamp and certificate of inspection.

1.3. The application for fee reimbursement is filed to the registry agency. The applicant shall bring the originals of the copies, upon submitting the application, for the registry agency to examine and compare papers. The registry agency shall affix the receipt stamp upon receiving an application, write the time of receipt and note the documents included in the application.

If the application is insufficient, the registry agency shall notify the applicant in 03 working days upon the former’s receipt of the application for the latter’s supplements.

1.4. In no more than 03 working days upon receiving an application for fee reimbursement, the head of the registry agency shall consider the application and issue the decision on fee reimbursement, as defined in Appendix 04, or notify the applicant in writing via the form defined in Appendix 05 to this Circular.

1.5. The fee amount refunded to or credited for the vehicle owner shall accord with that paid for the duration during which the vehicle is unavailable.

1.6. The decision on fee reimbursement shall evidence the registry agency’s declaration and finalization of the fee amount refunded or credited against the fee amount payable in the following period in the accounting record.

2. For commercial transport vehicles of cooperatives and transport companies (hereinafter referred to as the company), which cease operating in 30 consecutive days or more.

2.1. Upon the cessation of operation

a) The company applies in writing to the Department of Transport that manages and licenses the transport business or that is in charge of the location where the vehicle is used (if the vehicle is relocated to a different region). The application includes the form of application for cessation of operation, as defined in Appendix 06 to this Circular, and (the copy of) the license of automobile-based transport business.

b) Department of Transport shall be responsible for examining the application (by checking the conditions that the vehicle for which the cessation of operation is applied is a commercial transport and is owned by the company and that the requested duration of operation cessation of the vehicle is 30 consecutive days or more).

– If the conditions are not met, the company shall receive a notification, as defined in Appendix 07 to this Circular, to supplement the application. The process shall take 02 working days from the date that the application is taken in;

– If the conditions are met, the Department of Transport shall sign to endorse the application for operation cessation and make the record of temporary custody of the vehicle identification board (if any), as defined in Appendix 08 to this Circular. The process shall take 03 working days from the date the application is taken in.

c) The company shall submit an application to the motor vehicle registry agency, which includes the original form of application for operation cessation (with the relevant Department of Transport’ endorsement); the record of temporary custody of the vehicle identification board (if applicable); and the road use fee receipt (copy).

d) The registry agency shall take in and examine the application.

– If the application is not valid, the company shall receive a notification, as defined in Appendix 09 to this Circular, to supplement the application. The process shall take 02 working days. The absence of such notification means that the company’s application is valid.

– If the conditions are met, a record of retrieval of the road use fee stamp, as defined in Appendix 13 to this Circular, shall be made. The process takes 02 working days.

dd) The date that the Department of Transport endorses the form of application for operation cessation shall be the starting point of the duration of operation cessation to valid the exemption from the fee.

a) In the event that the company has not paid the road use fee on the vehicle under the application for operation cessation up to the start of its inactivity (pursuant to Point dd above), the unpaid amount of road use fee has to be paid in full to the relevant registry agency up to the start of the vehicle’s inactivity.

2.2. The company shall carry out the following procedure when resuming the operation of the vehicles rendered inactive:

a) The company shall submit an application for reissuance of road use fee stamp to the registry agency (that received the application of operation cessation). The application includes the form of application for reissuance of road use fee stamp, as defined in Appendix 14 to this Circular, and the (original) record of retrieval of the road use fee stamp;

b) The registry agency shall examine the application.

– If the application is not valid or the actual duration during which the vehicle ceases operating (from the start of cessation pursuant to Point 2.1 above to the date of application for resumption of operation) does not constitute at least 30 continuous days, the registry agency shall notify the ineligibility for exemption from the fee in writing via the form defined in Appendix 9 to this Circular.

– If the duration of the vehicle’s temporary inactivity reaches at least 30 days, the registry agency shall calculate the fee amount credited and the additional amount payable (if any) by multiplying the result of the division of the monthly fee rate by 30 days with the amount of inactive days in the following manner:

+ In the event that the vehicle does not incur the fee upon the cessation of its operation, the fee shall be charged upon the registration of resumed operation to the start of the following inspection interval, as per regulations.

+ In the event that the fee has been paid, the fee amount commensurate with the duration of temporary inactivity shall be credited against the fee amount payable in the following period. The registry agency shall make the written decision to credit the road use fee, as defined in Appendix 04, and issue the fee stamp commensurate with the fee amount deducted.

Example 9: On January 01, 2016, Company X paid the fee on an automobile for 18 months (to June 30, 2017). Company X’s application for the cessation of the vehicle’s operation after 1 month in use was approved by the supervisory agency. After 11 months of inactivity, the vehicle was registered for resumed operation on January 01, 2017. The registry agency issued a fee stamp valid for a period from 01, 2017 to May 31, 2018 inclusive (which includes 11 months from June 30, 2017).

Example 10: In the same hypothetical situation, Company X applied for the 20-month cessation of the vehicle’s operation (from February 01, 2016 to September 30, 2017). On October 01, 2017, it applied for resuming the vehicle’s operation. The registry agency then issued a stamp valid from October 01, 2017 to February 28, 2019 (17 months).

If the fee amount credited is less than the fee amount payable in the following period, the company shall pay an additional fee amount for the period of time that derives from the difference between the periodic duration that requires payment and the duration credited. The registry agency shall issue a receipt for the additional payment.

Example 11: Company Y owns an automobile on which the fee was paid for 12 months. The vehicle, after 05 months in use, ceased operation. At the end of the 12-month period, Company Y resumed the vehicle’s operation and the registry agency decided to credit the fee against that of the following period. For the following 12-month period, Company Y receives a 7-month credit from the paid fee amount (commensurate with the period of inactivity) and pays an additional amount for 05 months. The registry agency issues a 12-month fee stamp and a receipt for the company’s payment for 5 months.

If the vehicle identification board is temporarily revoked, the company shall apply in writing for reissuance of vehicle identification board to the Department of Transport (which keeps the vehicle identification board). The application includes the form of application for return of the vehicle identification board pursuant to Appendix 10 to this Circular, the Decision on crediting of the road use fee or, if the fee is yet paid for the period of temporary inactivity, the fee receipt (submit the copies with the originals for comparison).

Department of Transport shall examine the application and reissue the vehicle identification board (if any) to the company.

3. For the automobiles defined in Point dd, Section 2 of Article 2, driver training centers, cooperatives and companies (hereinafter referred to as the company) shall submit the following application to the relevant Department of Transport:

– The form of application for confirmation of the vehicle’s non-operation on the roads of the road transport system and its use solely on the land area under the company’s management and the company’s examination vehicles, pursuant to Appendix 11 to this Circular;

– The copy of the business registration certificate;

– The copy of the vehicle registration card (of each vehicle included in the application);

Department of Transport takes in and examines the application. If the application is insufficient, the Department of Transport shall notify the company of supplementing the documents in no more than 03 working days upon the date of receipt of the application. If the application is valid, the Department of Transport shall examine the company’s actual conditions and endorse the application form if the vehicles qualify as declared by the company. The process takes no more than 10 working days from the date that the documents are fully received. If the conditions examined differ from those mentioned in the application, the company shall be responsible for revising the application to acquire the Department of Transport’s endorsement.

The company shall submit 01 application form (endorsed by the Department of Transport) to the registry agency that inspects the company’s vehicles.

The company shall submit the copy of the application form (bearing the company’s authenticating seal) when having the vehicles inspected. The registry agency shall conduct the inspection and make comparison with the application form endorsed by the Department of Transport. If it matches, the road use fee shall be waived for such vehicles from the date of the Department of Transport’s endorsement.

If the quantity of the related vehicles changes during the company’s operations, the company shall apply for additional endorsement to the Department of transport under the said procedure.

If the company applies for the operation of the vehicles in the road transport system (to incur the fee waived), the company shall notify the Department of Transport and registry agency in writing. It shall then pay the road use fee to the registry agency for the vehicles to enter the traffic. The registry agency shall conduct an inspection, compute and collect the fee on the vehicles, which is charged from the date that the owner registers the resumed operation of the vehicles.

4. For the automobiles defined in Point e, Section 2 of Article 2, the owner shall not incur the fee for the period of 30 days or more during which the vehicle operate overseas provided that immigration documents issued by competent authorities are available. The owner of the vehicle shall provide notarized or certified documents on the vehicle’s immigration to the registry agency upon the vehicle inspection. If submitting copies, the owner has to present the originals for comparison. In the event that the fee has been paid for the duration of the vehicle’s overseas operation, the registry agency shall apply a respective credit to the fee amount payable in the next period.

5. For the automobiles defined in Point g, Section 2 of Article 2, the vehicle owner has to present a declaration of lost asset with the police’s confirmation. In the event that the fee has been paid for a duration of 30 days or more during which the vehicle is lost, the registry agency shall give a refund (or apply a credit to the fee amount payable in the next period if the vehicle is found).

If the vehicle is found, the owner shall present to the registry agency the record of the police’s return of the asset to the owner. The duration for which the fee is waived has to be at least 30 days from the date of loss declaration to the date of vehicle return.

6. If the fee collector detects errors in the fee rate or vehicle type, the registry agency shall contact the owner to collect an additional sum (if the fee is inadequately collected) or give a refund (if the fee is excessively collected) to the owner. In such situations, the fee collector and the owner shall make a written record as defined in Appendix 12 to this Circular to determine the additional payment or refund.