Any individual or organisation that does not have their names included in the registration procedures of vehicles they own will be subject to fines from July 1, according to a new draft decree issued by the Ministry of Transport.

Drivers violate traffic regulations, vehicle owners will also fined

The ministry is seeking opinions from the public and agencies on fines levied on road and railway transport.

Under the draft decree, a fine of between VND100,000 (USD4.76) and VND200,000 (USD9.52) will be issued for individuals who are owner of motorbikes or other motorised vehicles and from VND200,000 to VND400,000 (USD19) will be for organisations that own the same vehicles.

Meanwhile, individuals who own a car or specialised vehicle will be fined VND2-4 million for violating the regulation, while organisations will pay VND4-8 million (USD190.47-380.95).

The draft decree stipulates that owners of vehicles must complete procedures to change the name of owner in the registration documents within a 30-day period after their sale. In case, the vehicle has been used by many owners earlier, the final owner must be responsible for fulfilling the re-registration documentation to transfer the ownership rights no matter how hard it proves to track down the original owner.

The same fines will also be applied to individuals or organisations that do not pay road maintenance fees for their vehicles. Fines will also be applied to those amending registration documents; technical verification papers or other vehicle-related papers and illegal advertisements on vehicles.

Government Decree 71 previously stipulated the fine of VND6-10 million (USD285.71-571.42) for car owners who do not complete procedures to have their name included in the registration documents, with a fine of from VND800,000 (USD38.09) to VND1.2 million (USD57.14) fine for motorbike owners.

However, the decree faced strong opposition from the public; therefore, it was halted after taking effect over only a few days last November.

Vehicle owners face fines

The draft decree also states that in cases where drivers violate traffic regulations, vehicle owners will also fined. Individual owners will be fined VND2-4 million and organisations VND4-8 million.

For passenger cars, excluding buses, owners will be fined for transporting higher numbers of passengers or overloaded freight than the regulated level.

For vehicles specialising in the freight transport, owners will be fined for violations such as carrying freight surpassing the design tolerance specified in the registration documents or technical verification certificates or transporting oversized freight without a license.