VietNamNet Bridge - From July 1, the car users who do not pay road maintenance fee will be fined from VND6 million to VND10 million ($300-$500).

According to Decree 71 of the Government on sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of road transport, from July 1, all cars that do not pay road maintenance fee will be fined between VND6-VND10 million. However, an official of the Hanoi traffic police department said the capital has not fined any case because of lacking specific guidelines.

According to statistics of the Vietnam Registration Administration, by June 29, vehicle registration stations across the country collected more than VND2.8 trillion ($133.3 million) of road maintenance fees from cars. There are still nearly 100,000 cars not paying the fee yet.

Under a circular on road maintenance fees, vehicle owners have to pay the fee from June 1, 2012, but the date was then extended to January 1, 2013. Accordingly, the users of motorcycles and cars have to pay the fees, except for ambulances, fire trucks, specialized vehicles, vehicles for security services and motorcycles of the poor.

With cars, the lowest fee is VND130,000 ($6) per month, applied to vehicles of under nine seats. The maximum rate of VND1.04 million ($50) is applied for trucks and specialized vehicles of over 27 tons of payload. The vehicle owners pay the fee when their vehicles are checked periodically. After paying the fee, the registration agency will stick a special stamp on the vehicle.

The rate of VND50,000 ($2.5) a year is applied to motorcycles under 100cc and from VND100,000 to VND150,000 for motorcycles of over 100cc in capacity. The authorities of provinces and cities are permitted to set the fees for motorcycles based on their own circumstances.

Le Ha