Vietnam - Fee opposition hits top gear

Ministry of Transport’s latest fee collection proposal to restrict personal vehicle usage has faced strong reactions from the business community.

Hanoi Transport Association was the first professional organisation to react strongly with it (MoT) having asked the government and the National Assembly’s Standing Committee to add to the list of fees and charges.

Under the MoT’s proposal, the fee levied on automobiles with a cylinder capacity of under 2,000 cubic centimetres is set at VND20 million ($950) per year, it hikes to VND30 million ($1,400) per year for automobiles with a cylinder capacity from 2,000cc to 3,000cc and VND50 million ($2,380) per year for automobiles over 3,000cc in cylinder capacity.

For motorbike owners, the proposed fee is set at VND500,000 ($23) per year for motorbikes of less than 175cc and VND1 million ($46) per year for over 175cc motorbikes.

“Such fee levels are beyond tolerance of businesses and local residents,” said Vietnam Auto Transport Association chairman Nguyen Manh Hung.

Hung Vuong Taxi Company deputy director Nguyen Thanh Tung said the taxi fare would be added VND2,000 per km if the MoT proposal got the go-ahead with a fee of around VND2 million per month per taxi unit, driving taxi firms into a predicament when 1km going by taxi would cost approximately VND16,000.

“Policies need to factor on the interests of firms and people. State management bodies should realise current burdens of transport firms and the labourers,” said Hoang Ha Transport Company director Hoang Quang Ngoc.

Hanoi Transport Association chairman Bui Danh Lien suggested delaying enforcement of new fee proposal by an additional five to 10 years when local transport infrastructure be remarkably improved.

“How will people travel if even motorbike usage is restricted. More buses are OK but creating more roads could present another challenge alongside additional investments put into building more bus stops, car maintenance centres and relevant human resources,” Lien argued.

Later last week, in a meeting with MoT leaders the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) asked for the proposal to be reconsidered.

For its part, the MoT said its proposal got heartening support from the ministries of Planning and Investment, and Finance.

It argued traffic conditions in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City could become far worse unless bold steps like this proposal were taken in a timely manner.

According to MoT, just 612,691 cars, tantamount to 612,691 vehicle owners or 0.77 per cent of Vietnam’s population, would be affected by the new policy. These cars are mainly for personal usage, so that basically new fee scheme would not affect market prices as well as production and business costs.

Anh Minh | vir.com.vn

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