DECREE

ROAD USER CHARGES AND COLLECTION, PAYMENT, EXEMPTION, MANAGEMENT, AND USE THEREOF

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015; the Law on amendment to the Law on Government Organization and the Law on Local Government Organization dated November 22, 2019;

pursuant to the Law on Fees and Charges dated November 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Road Traffic dated November 13, 2008;

Pursuant to the Law on State Budget dated June 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Tax Administration dated June 13, 2019;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 105/2023/QH15 dated November 10, 2023 of the National Assembly on allocation of central government budget of 2024;

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The Government promulgates Decree on road user charges and collection, payment, exemption, management, and use thereof.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Decree prescribes road user charges (hereinafter referred to as “RUC”) and collection, payment, exemption, management, and use thereof (RUC per motor vehicles) and procedures for identifying vehicles exempt from RUC.

Article 2. Entities subject to RUC

1. Entities subject to RUC shall be road motorized vehicles that have been registered (issued with vehicle registration certificates and license plates), inspected for sale (issued with certificate of technical safety and environmental protection inspection), including: Motor vehicles, tractor units, and similar vehicles (hereinafter referred to as “motor vehicles”).

2. Motor vehicles under Clause 1 of this Article shall not be subject to RUC if:

a) the motor vehicles are destroyed as a result of accidents or natural disasters.

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c) the motor vehicles are damaged as a result of accidents to such an extent that repair of minimum of 30 days is required.

d) the motor vehicles are affiliated to enterprises, cooperatives, joint cooperatives providing transport services (hereinafter referred to as “enterprises”) and have not been operated for at least 30 consecutive days.

dd) the motor vehicles of enterprises do not engage in traffic, do not use public road (are only issued with certificate of inspection without inspection seal in accordance with regulations on technical safety and environmental protection inspection of road motorized vehicles of the Ministry of Transport) or motor vehicles that were serving traffic purposes and used public road (are issued with certificate of inspection and inspection seal in accordance with regulations on technical safety and environmental protection inspection of road motorized vehicles of the Ministry of Transport) and are now no longer serving traffic purposes nor using public road and are only used in: Driving schools; terminals; ports; mineral extraction areas; agro-forestry-fishery farming, manufacturing, processing areas; (traffic, irrigation, power) construction sites.

e) the motor vehicles are registered, inspected in Vietnam and have been operating in foreign countries for at least 30 days.

g) the motor vehicles have been stolen for at least 30 days.

3. Motor vehicles under cases under Clause 2 of this Article shall be exempt from RUC if sufficient documents under Article 8 hereof are provided. If RUC of such motor vehicles has been paid, vehicle owners shall be eligible for a refund or deduction from charges payable of the next payment corresponding to period in which the owners do not use road in accordance with Article 8 hereof.

4. Clause 2 of this Article does not apply to motor vehicles of national defense and public security forces.

5. RUC has not been applied yet to motor vehicles carrying foreign license plates (including vehicles issued with registration certificate and temporary license plates) and permitted by competent authority to be temporarily imported as per the law.

Article 3. Cases of RUC exemption

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1. Ambulances.

2. Fire fighting vehicles.

3. Vehicles serving funeral, including:

a) Vehicles specifically designed for funeral purposes (including: hearses, refrigerated trucks for body preservation and transport).

b) Other related vehicles serving funeral (including: passenger vehicles accompanying hearses, flower transport vehicles, portrait transport vehicles) that are vehicles used solely for funeral purposes and registered by funeral service providers. Funeral service providers shall submit written commitment stating that vehicles are used solely for funeral purposes to registration bodies upon vehicle inspection (the commitment shall include specific vehicle quantity and license plates).

4. Specialized vehicles serving national defense including vehicles carrying license plates that have red background, white lettering and carry specialized equipment for national defense purposes (including: tanker vehicles, crane trucks, vehicles transporting armed forces for parades conceived as passenger motor vehicles of at least 12 seats, transport vehicles with hoods and seats in trunks, control vehicles, military police vehicles, prisoner transport vehicles, rescue vehicles, satellite communication vehicles, and other professional vehicles serving national defense).

5. Specialized vehicles of entities within organizational structure of people’s public security including:

a) Vehicles of traffic police shall bear a phrase that reads “CẢNH SÁT GIAO THÔNG” (TRAFFIC POLICE) on both sides of vehicle body.

b) Vehicles of 113 police shall bear a phrase that reads “CẢNH SÁT 113” (113 POLICE) on both sides of vehicle body.

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d) Transport vehicles with seats installed in trunks of people's public security performing duty.

dd) Prisoner transport vehicles, rescue vehicles, and other specialized vehicles of people’s public security.

e) Professional vehicles (satellite communication vehicles, armored vehicles, anti-terrorist vehicles, riot control vehicles, other professional vehicles of people’s public security forces).

Article 4. RUC payers and collectors

1. Organizations and individuals owning, using, or managing vehicles (hereinafter referred to as “vehicle owners”) subject to RUC payment in accordance with Article 2 hereof shall be RUC payers.

2. RUC collectors include:

a) Directorate for Road of Vietnam shall collect RUC of motor vehicles of national defense and public security forces.

b) Registration bodies shall collect RUC of motor vehicles of registering organizations and individuals in Vietnam (other than motor vehicles of national defense and public security forces under Point a of this Clause). Vietnam Register shall consolidate RUC declared and submitted by registration bodies.

Chapter II

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Article 5. RUC

RUC is specified under Appendix I attached hereto.

If RUC amount payable is an odd number, the amount shall be rounded up to the nearest thousand VND.

Article 5. RUC calculation and payment

1. In respect of motor vehicles of registering organizations and individuals in Vietnam (other than motor vehicles of national defense and public security forces under Clause 2 of this Article).

In respect of motor vehicles inspected for the first time, RUC calculation shall start from the date on which certificate of inspection is issued to the vehicles. In respect of motor vehicles modified, repurposed, or transferred in terms of ownership from organizations to individuals (and vice versa), RUC calculation shall start from the date on which the modification, repurposing, ownership transfer is implemented according to new certificate of registration.

RUC shall be calculated by years, months, or inspection intervals of motor vehicles. Registration bodies shall issue RUC payment seal corresponding to payment period. To be specific:

a) RUC calculation and payment by inspection interval

a.1) In respect of motor vehicles whose inspection interval is 1 year or less: Vehicle owners shall submit RUC for the entirety of inspection interval and obtain RUC payment seal corresponding to the payment period.

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If RUC is paid for the entirety of inspection interval (18 months, 24 months, 36 months): Registration bodies shall issue RUC payment seal corresponding to inspection interval. When payment period (inspection interval) ends, vehicle owners must visit registration bodies for inspection and pay RUC for the next inspection interval.

If RUC is paid for one whole year (12 months): Registration bodies shall issue RUC payment seal corresponding to the payment period of 12 months. When payment period (12 months) ends, vehicle owners must visit registration bodies to pay RUC and obtain RUC payment seal for the next period (12 months or the remainder of inspection interval).

a.3) If vehicle owners apply for inspection before or after the stipulated date, registration bodies shall inspect the vehicles and calculate RUC from the last day of RUC payment period to the last day of the next inspection interval (if the next inspection interval is longer than 12 months, vehicle owners may pay for 12 months or the entirety of inspection interval). If period of time in which RUC is calculated does not add up to a full month, RUC shall be determined by number of days that does not add up to a full month divided by 30 days multiplied by RUC amount of one month.

a.4) if vehicle owners have not paid RUC of previous inspection intervals, in addition to RUC amount payable of subsequent intervals, vehicle owners must also pay RUC of previous intervals. Registration bodies shall pursue RUC arrears of previous intervals which equal RUC amount of one month multiplied by the period of time in which the owners fail to pay RUC.

a.5) If vehicle owners wish to pay RUC for a period longer than inspection interval, registration bodies shall collect RUC and issue RUC payment seal corresponding to period covered by the payment.

a.6) In respect of motor vehicles confiscated or revoked by competent state authorities; motor vehicles of administrative agencies or public service providers (bearing blue license plates); motor vehicles liquidated by national defense and public security forces; mortgaged motor vehicles that are suspended by credit institutions and foreign bank branches and not inspected for operation during periods of confiscation, suspension, awaiting liquidation and then sold or liquidated, new owners of the vehicles shall only be required to pay RUC from the date on which the vehicles are inspected for operation. During inspection for operation, vehicle owners shall present the following relevant documents to registration bodies: Decision on confiscation or suspension issued by competent authority; Decision on suspension of mortgaged property; Decision allowing liquidation in respect of property under ownership of administrative authorities, public service providers, national defense, public security forces; records or contracts finalizing the purchase of property sold via liquidation and auction.

If liquidated or sold vehicles have had their RUC paid for which covers past the date on which the vehicles are re-inspected for operation, vehicle owners shall resume RUC payment from the end of the paid period.

b) RUC payment by calendar year.

Agencies, organizations, and enterprises that wish to pay RUC by calendar year shall send written notice (for initial payment or payment that arises as a result of increase or decrease in number of vehicle) to registration bodies and pay RUC by calendar year for their vehicles.

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c) RUC payment by month

Enterprises accumulated at least 30 million VND/month in RUC are allowed to pay on a monthly basis. Enterprises shall send written notice (upon initial payment or payment that occurs as a result of increase or decrease in number of vehicles) to registration bodies and pay RUC for their vehicles.

On a monthly basis, enterprises that have registered monthly payment plan must visit registration bodies to pay RUC for the next month before the 1^st of the next month. Upon collecting RUC, RUC collectors shall issue RUC payment seal for vehicles respective to periods covered by the payments.

2. In respect of motor vehicles of national defense and public security forces: RUC shall be paid on an annual basis and at a rate in accordance with Point 2 and Point 3 Appendix I attached hereto.

3. Collectors shall, upon collecting RUC, produce and issue invoices to payers in accordance with Decree No. 123/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020 of the Government.

Article 7. RUC management and use

1. Collector that is the Directorate for Road of Vietnam shall submit all collected RUC to the central government budget. Expenditure on RUC collection shall be allocated in estimates of the collector by the state budget.

If collector is allowed to source operation expenses from RUC in accordance with Clause 3 Article 1 of Decree No. 82/2023/ND-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government, the collector shall reserve 1,2% of RUC collected to cover expenditure on RUC collection as per the law. The remaining amount shall be submitted to account of collector opened at the State Treasury in order to deposit to the budget within 5 working days from the date on which the RUC is collected.

2. Collectors that are registration bodies

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Cover expenditure on RUC collection as per the law.

Send 3% of the reserved amount of 1,32% to the Vietnam Register for the managing of RUC payment and collection of nationwide registration bodies.

b) Refund RUC payment for cases of exemption from RUC under Clause 2 Article 2 hereof.

c) The remaining amount (less amounts specified under Point a and Point b of this Clause) shall be transferred to collecting accounts of the Vietnam Register by collectors within 3 working days from the date on which RUC is collected. The Vietnam Register shall transfer the payments to accounts opened at the State Treasury for depositing to the budget within 2 working days from the date on which collectors transfer to collecting accounts of the Vietnam Register. Interests accumulated in collecting accounts of the Vietnam Register shall be transferred to the state budget.

3. The Vietnam Register and the Directorate for Road of Vietnam shall declare and use collected RUC on a monthly basis and finalize on an annual basis in accordance with Decree No. 126/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020 of the Government.

The Vietnam Register shall submit RUC (under Point c Clause 2 of this Article) whereas the Directorate for Road of Vietnam shall submit all collected RUC (or 98,8% of the collected RUC if they are allowed to source expenditure on RUC collection from collected RUC in accordance with Clause 1 of this Article) to the central government budget as per the law for the purpose of serving maintenance of road traffic infrastructures in accordance with the Law on Road Traffic.

4. RUC retained by collectors: If collectors apply corporate financial regulations, the retained RUC shall be deemed revenues of the collectors and subject to tax declaration and payment (VAT and corporate income tax) in accordance with tax laws; if collectors are administrative agencies or public service providers, the collectors shall manage and use the retained RUC in accordance with Article 5 of Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP and Clause 4 Article 1 of Decree No. 82/2023/ND-CP.

Article 8. Refund or deduction

1. In respect of motor vehicles under Point a, Point b, and Point c Clause 2 Article 2 hereof, if RUC has been paid, vehicle owners shall be eligible for a refund of paid RUC or a deduction from amount payable of the next interval.

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b) Application for refund of paid RUC or deduction from RUC amount payable of the next interval (hereinafter referred to as "refund”) consists of:

b.1) Written request for refund or deduction from RUC payable using Form No. 1 under Appendix II attached hereto.

b.2) Photocopies of documents proving period in which vehicles are unused under Point a and Point b Clause 2 Article 2 hereof (Decision on vehicle confiscation or suspension of competent authorities, documents on suspension of vehicle registration and license plates).

b.3) Photocopies of RUC invoices. If RUC invoices are lost, vehicle owners shall request respective registration bodies to issue invoice photocopies.

b.4) With respect to motor vehicles under Point c Clause 2 Article 2 hereof, in addition to the aforementioned documents, vehicle owners must also provide Record of submission of inspection seal and inspection certificate using Form No. 2 under Appendix II attached hereto. Period of RUC refund or deduction shall start from the date on which competent authority suspends inspection seal and certificate of inspection.

c) Application for RUC refund shall be submitted to registration bodies. Upon submitting the application, the applicants shall present original copies for comparison purposes. Upon receiving the application, registration bodies shall append seal of receipt, record time of receipt, and list all application contents.

If application for RUC refund is inadequate, registration bodies shall, within 3 working days from the date on which they receive the application, notify the applicants for revision.

d) Within 3 working days from the date on which adequate application for RUC refund is received, based on the application, heads of registration bodies shall issue Decision on refund/deduction of RUC using Form No. 3 under Appendix II or Notice on ineligibility for refund/deduction of RUC using Form No. 4 under Appendix II attached hereto and send to the applicants.

dd) RUC refunded or deducted shall correspond to the RUC covering the period in which the vehicles are unused.

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2. In respect of transport vehicles of transport service providers that have been suspended from operation for at least 30 consecutive days.

a) When vehicles are suspended

a.1) Transport service providers shall send the following documents to Departments of Transport that govern and license transport service or where vehicles are used (if vehicles are used elsewhere): Request for suspension of operation using Form No. 5 under Appendix II attached hereto; license to provide transport services in form of motor vehicles (photocopies).

a.2) Departments of Transport are responsible for receiving and inspecting the application (for eligibility such as: Vehicles to be suspended are used to provide transport services and owned by the transport service providers; period of suspension of each vehicle is at least 30 consecutive days).

In case of ineligibility, Departments of Transport shall issue Notice on ineligibility for suspension using Form No. 6 under Appendix II attached hereto and return the application to the applicants for revision within 2 working days from the date on which they receive the application.

If the application is adequate, Departments of Transport shall countersign the application, produce record of suspension of transport service badge and sign using Form No. 7 under Appendix Ii attached hereto within 3 working days from the date on which they receive the application.

a.3) Service providers shall send the following documents to registration bodies within 2 working days from the date on which Departments of Transport countersign the application: Original copies of Application for suspension from operation (countersigned by Departments of Transport); record of suspension of transport service badge and sign (in respect of vehicles issued with badges and/or signs); RUC invoices (photocopies).

a.4) Registration bodies receive and inspect the documents

If the documents are inadequate, registration bodies shall issue Notice on ineligibility for exemption from RUC using Form No. 8 under Appendix II attached hereto and send the application to the transport service providers for revision within 1 working day.

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a.5) Suspension period starts from the date on which Departments of Transport countersign the application for suspension for the purpose of determining cases of exemption from RUC.

If actual suspension period is more than 30 days longer than the expected period, at least by the 30^th day from the date on which the expected suspension period ends, the transport service providers shall submit additional application for suspension to Departments of Transport. If the transport service providers fail to produce additional application or fail to submit additional application verified by Departments of Transport to registration bodies within 2 working days from the date on which Departments of Transport verify, the transport service providers shall remain subject to RUC for vehicles suspended from operation for a period longer than expected.

If actual suspension period is at most 30 days longer than the expected suspension period, transport service providers are not required to submit additional application for suspension.

a.6) If the transport service providers have not paid RUC for vehicles to be suspended up until the date on which the suspension starts, the transport service providers shall be required to paid RUC calculated up until the date on which the suspension starts.

b) If the transport service providers wish to resume operation of suspended vehicles, registration bodies shall calculate RUC for deduction, re-issue inspection seal and Departments of Transport shall re-issue badges, signs and proceed with procedures below:

b.1) Transport service providers shall submit application for reissuance of inspection seal and RUC payment seal to registration bodies (which previously receive application for suspension): Application for issuance/re-issuance of inspection seal and RUC payment seal using Form No. 13 under Appendix 13 attached hereto, record of collection of inspection seal and RUC payment seal (original copies).

b.2) Registration bodies receive and inspect the documents

If the application is inadequate or actual duration of suspension (from the date on which suspension starts until the date on which operation resumes) does not add up to 30 consecutive days or more, registration bodies shall issue notice on ineligibility for RUC exemption using Form No. 8 under Appendix II attached hereto within 1 working day.

If the application is adequate and actual duration of suspension adds up to 30 consecutive days or more and is verified by Departments of Transport, registration bodies shall calculate RUC for deduction, additional RUC payable (if any) by dividing RUC of one month by 30 days and multiplied with number of days of suspension within 1 working day.

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If RUC of a vehicle has been paid, the respective amount shall be deducted from amount payable of the next interval. Registration bodies shall sign decision on RUC deduction using Form No. 3 under Appendix II.

If deducted amount is lower than amount payable of the next interval, transport service providers shall pay additional RUC for the interval between period in which RUC is paid by inspection interval and period in which RUC deduction is applied and registration bodies shall issue invoices based on the additional RUC required.

Re-issue inspection seal if inspection seal has not expired. If inspection seal expires, carry out inspection and issue inspection seal for new inspection interval.

b.3) Departments of Transport re-issue badges and signs

In respect of vehicles with suspended badges or signs, transport service providers shall apply for re-issuance of badges and signs to Departments of Transport (that suspend the badges and signs). The application consists of: Application for re-issuance of badges and signs using Form No. 9 under Appendix II attached hereto, Decision on deduction from RUC or RUC invoices if RUC has not been paid during suspension period (submit copies and original copies).

Departments of Transport shall review the application, re-issue badges and signs (if any) within 2 working days.

3. In respect of motor vehicles under Point dd Clause 2 Article 2 hereof:

a) Transport service providers submit the following documents to Departments of Transport:

Request for confirmation of motor vehicles not participating in traffic and not using roads of road traffic system using Form No. 10 under Appendix II attached hereto.

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Photocopies of vehicle registration (of each vehicle).

b) Departments of Transport are responsible for receiving and inspecting the documents:

If documents are inadequate, Departments of Transport shall notify the transport service providers to revise within 3 working days from the date on which they receive the documents.

If documents are adequate, Departments of Transport shall conduct physical inspection of the transport service providers and append verification to the request for confirmation if vehicles are eligible according to declaration of the transport service providers within 10 working days from the date on which they receive adequate documents. If inspection result does not match the application, transport service providers are responsible for revising the application.

c) Transport service providers shall submit 1 copy of the application for confirmation (verified by Departments of Transport) to registration bodies where their vehicles are inspected.

d) Registration bodies shall inspect and cross-examine against application for confirmation verified by Departments of Transport.

If vehicles that are participating in traffic or using roads of road traffic system no longer participate in traffic and use roads of road traffic system (become exempt from RUC payment), registration bodies shall produce Records of collection of inspection seal and RUC payment seal in accordance with Form No. 12 under Appendix II attached hereto.

If RUC of vehicles has not been paid as of the date on which application for confirmation of the vehicles not participating in traffic is submitted, RUC shall be calculated and charged for the period that lasts up until the date on which the application is submitted; if RUC of vehicles has been paid past the date on which the application is submitted, the RUC corresponding to the period from the date on which application is submitted to the end of the payment period according to RUC invoice shall be refunded. Registration bodies shall calculate, collect, or refund RUC to vehicle owners within 1 working day from the date on which they receive application for confirmation.

dd) If number of vehicles except from RUC increases during operation of transport service providers, service providers shall submit additional application for confirmation to Departments of Transport in accordance with procedures detailed above.

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4. In respect of motor vehicles under Point e Clause 2 Article 2 hereof accompanied by entry, exit documents of competent authority if these vehicles are used in foreign countries for at least 30 days, vehicle owners are required to pay RUC for this period. Vehicle owners shall present documents proving vehicles’ eligibility to entry, exit as per the law to registration bodies. If vehicles have had their RUC paid for during period in which the vehicles are used in foreign countries, registration bodies shall deduct from RUC payable of subsequent interval within 1 working day.

5. In respect of motor vehicles under Point g Clause 2 Article 2 hereof, vehicle owners must present declaration of loss of property verified by police authority. If vehicles have had their RUC paid for the duration of loss of at least 30 days, registration bodies shall calculate and refund (or deduct from RUC payable of subsequent interval if vehicles are found) within 1 working day.

If vehicles are found, vehicle owners must submit Record of transfer of property retrieved by police authority to vehicle owner to registration bodies.

6. If collectors discover that amount of RUC collected is incorrect or collected RUC does not match the type of vehicles, registration bodies must contact vehicle owners to collect additional amount (if collected amount is insufficient) or refund excess amount (if collected amount is excessive) to vehicle owners. In such cases, entities must produce record of handling of incorrect RUC payment between collectors and vehicle owners using Form No. 11 under Appendix II attached hereto to facilitate additional charge or refund.

7. In respect of vehicles of national defense and public security forces that have been liquidated, RUC shall apply to these vehicles in accordance with Point 1 of Appendix I attached hereto from the date on which new license plates are issued to these vehicles.

Chapter III

ORGANIZING IMPLEMENTATION

Article 9. Organizing implementation

1. Vietnam Register has responsibility to:

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b) print, issue, and manage the use of RUC payment seal of motor vehicles in accordance with form approved by the Ministry of Transport.

c) manage collection, payment, and refund of RUC; expedite and inspect RUC collection of nationwide registration bodies (amount collected, amount submitted annually) in order to ensure that registration bodies adequately submit RUC to state budget. Report to the Ministry of Transport to organize inspection, finalize RUC of registration bodies as per the law.

2. Registration bodies have the responsibility to:

a) collect RUC, manage collection, submission, and refund of RUC for registered vehicles in accordance with this Decree and guidelines of the Vietnam Register.

b) transfer RUC collected to collecting accounts in accordance with this Decree and guidelines of Vietnam Register.

c) on an annual basis, send reports on RUC settlement to Vietnam Register before January 20 of the following year.

3. Directorate for Road of Vietnam has the responsibility to:

a) collect RUC, manage collection and submission of RUC in accordance with this Decree.

b) on an annual basis, submit estimates and reports on RUC results to Ministry of Transport for consolidation and reporting to competent authority.

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a) based on RUC estimates in the planning year developed by Vietnam Register and road traffic authorities, produce RUC estimates and consolidate in annual budget estimates of the Ministry of Transport, send to Ministry of Finance at the same time as discussing annual state budget revenue - deficit estimates in accordance with the Law on State Budget.

b) consolidate propositions and recommendations for amendment, promulgation of documents of RUC collection (if any) and send to the Ministry of Finance.

c) develop system for connection, data sharing and direct relevant organizations to access, extract electronic data on RUC payment on National Public Service Portal and issue RUC payment seal with QR Code to vehicle owners in accordance with roadmap decided by the Ministry of Transport.

5. Departments of Transport have the responsibility to: Examine, verify, issue, and revoke badges, signs of motor vehicles exempt from RUC in accordance with this Decree.

Article 10. Entry into force

1. This Decree comes into force from February 01, 2024.

2. This Decree annuls:

a) Clause 1 Article 2 of Decree No. 09/2020/ND-CP dated January 13, 2020 of the Government.

b) Circular No. 70/2021/TT-BTC dated August 12, 2021 of the Ministry of Finance.

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4. If documents referred to in this Decree are amended or replaced, the new versions shall prevail.

5. Ministers, heads of ministerial agencies, heads of Governmental agencies, Chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities are responsible for the implementation of this Decree.

ON BEHALF OF. THE GOVERNMENT
PP. PRIME MINISTER
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER




Le Minh Khai