Any person, including Foreigners, driving a vehicle of which they are not the registered owner will be not fined under a new decree, provided they can prove they have rented or use such vehicles with consent, the Ministry of Public Security has confirmed.
Press conference fleshes out detail
The confirmation was made at a recent press conference held at the Ministry to give a heads up of the implementation of governmental Decree 71, which stipulates penalties for those who possess a vehicle that could have been sold, transferred or presented to them while procedures for change of ownership have yet to be completed.
Decree 71
According to the Decree, which took effect on 2012 November 10, the fine is VND2-4 million (US$96-192) for owners of motorbikes and VND6-10 million for 4-wheel vehicle owners.
Major General DO Dinh Nghi, deputy head of the Police General Department for Management of Social Order and Safety, said, “In case a traffic police officer finds that the name of the driver of a vehicle is different from the name in the vehicle registration certificate, the officer will not give a fine to the driver if they can prove that he or she has hired or borrowed the vehicle.”
Major General NGUYEN Van Tuyen, head of the Road and Railway Traffic Department, also said people should not be excessively worried about this penalty, since traffic police will only consider applying it after they stop drivers who have violated traffic rules for examination.
“Usually, police will consider such a penalty only in specific cases, such as those that involve traffic accidents or criminal cases,” Tuyen said.
Such confirmation from the ministry means that no one, including Foreigners, will be fined when they drive a vehicle that they have rented or borrowed if they can prove that they have done so.
Change of ownership
The ministry affirmed a fine will be issued in case police can prove that a vehicle's ownership has been changed for more than 30 days, but the procedures for this transfer have not been carried out. In a complex case, police can ask the previous owner of the vehicle for clarification.
It is the responsibility of those who buy a vehicle to contact the original owner of the vehicle to go through a transfer of ownership, Tuyen said.
Meanwhile, Major General Nghi pointed out that people in general do not want to carry out procedures for ownership transfer after they sell or buy vehicles due to the high fees involved.
Fee reduction to encourage registration
Therefore, the ministry has proposed that the Government reduce the fee to encourage people to implement such ownership transfers, Nghi said.
Letter or rental agreement
Foreigners driving vehicles held in another person's name should carry a letter stating that [Registered Owners Name] has permitted [Foreigners Name] to have care and control of [Vehicle VIN/Registration Number] with [Plate Number] attached.
As most Foreigners don't have handwriting like Vietnamese, have a Vietnamese sign it, even if a forgery.
DRIVING: Proof of vehicle rental/owner's consent needed NOW!
According to this link :
http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuoitr … wn-1.91763
They will prosecute the owners not the person who is riding the bike. Also goes on to say it's not legal.
Personally I just see it as a way of getting more money from people.
And it's only "supposed" to apply if they pull you over for other traffic infringements. In other words they can not stop you just to check the papers. But we all know how easy it is for them to pull you over saying you were doing something wrong!
It's going to be interesting to watch it develop....
If you read Decree 71 you will see that it is the driver who gets shafted.
I saw a CGST check this morning and one of the Vietnamese said this is a Tet fund raising exercise. Three Vietnamese and four Foreigners had never heard of the Decree 71 so it might save someone a $100.
Not everyone reads the news like you and I obviously do. And rental outfits still aren't complying, even today.
Good way to start a revolution with silly shit like this.
Don't worry about it.
Jaitch
You have not gotten the English translation of the latest development.
This hare-brained law has created an uproar among the Vietnamese so the government is forced to do a retreat.
As of 2 December, the government has decided to delay implementation of the said law, citing need for more implementation guideline. In the meantime, the traffic police is prohibited from fining anyone violating this law.
Link in Vietnamese.
http://vov.vn/Binh-luan/CSGT-Khong-duoc … 238037.vov
Anatta wrote:You have not gotten the English translation of the latest development.
This hare-brained law has created an uproar among the Vietnamese so the government is forced to do a retreat. ...In the meantime, the traffic police is prohibited from fining anyone violating this law.
The CGST weren't fining anyone this morning at the traffic stop, they were asking for the document.
Which might be a good idea, as people might do something about getting a document. All my motorcycles are in my wife's name and the drivers each carry personalised permissions.
Anyone who takes a rental without documentation is just this side of nuts. Rental documentation, a contract, is simplicity itself, only it no doubt attracts VAT.
Given the number of vehicle thefts it is actually a good idea.
Hey gang,
I believe that vehicle registration and written consent policies have been in place for a while. It is just that they were seldomly enforced. Thus, Vietnamese have long adopted the practice of not tranferring their vehicle ownerships, namely to avoid bureaucratic fees and red tapes.
But now, as the government seeks to increase it's administrative incomes, it clamps down on this practice. The going will be tough because there are million of vehicles out there, whose current owners know nothing about the registered owners. So, we have this sensationalization in the news. "That is all; there is nothing to see here."
As far as we are concerned, very few of us are allowed to own anything in Vietnam, and even fewer among us can actually walk away with anything without strings attached. So, we are pretty much covered.
The government ought to know that traffic fines are usually an unofficial 100,00 or 200,000 fine that goes in the policeman's own pocket, not in the governments pocket..i know cos its happened to me twice. I thinks its much more for cars.
The government creating new laws such as this is just giving individual policemen an excuse to get more money for himself..the government wont benefit at all....this is obvious ...surely the government realises this? Or maybe they dont....i have no idea really.
Correct ownership will be further enforced when the new annual road taxes come into effect.
Almost like other countries in the West.
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