Dialogue between Ministry of Transport and Enterprises: Documents and Real Situation Not Well-Matched

Under a survey on road transport firms made by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), up to 84 per cent of transport firms appreciated the sector’s reform of administrative procedures. However, the remaining 16 per cent said they still met with many difficulties relating to procedures.

According to the survey, the legal documents involved in goods transport received the least attention of firms, followed by civil servants’ code of conduct, understanding on laws of drivers, civil servants’ understanding on laws and legal documents.

 

The major problems facing transport firms in business process include training to change FC-type driving license; weight of vehicle tonnage, regulation on location of road toll stations, business conditions and granting of transport business license under Decree 91; fund of road maintenance.     

At the meeting between the Ministry of Transport and enterprises co-held by the ministry and the VCCI, many enterprises showed their urgent feeling as saying that there are hundreds of legal documents in the road transport field, but many of them in fact are causing difficulties for enterprises.    

Tran Viet Hoe, chairman of the Danang Road Transport Association, said over the past times the government and the ministries had issued a number of legal documents relating to road transport, disordering relatively production and business activities of firms. For example, since July 1, 2010 trailer drivers must have FC-type driving license while in fact many drivers training establishments are unable to grant this kind of license due to time limitation, resulting in a large number of drivers having not yet had FC license by the deadline. For the document, transport activities have been stagnant.  

 

Hoe added Circular No. 90/2004/TT-BTC issued on September 7 2004 on “introduction of collection, payment, management and usage of road tolls” required the minimum distance between two toll stations must be 70 kilometers and above. However, recently the Ministry of Finance has issued Circular No. 106/2009/TT-BTC relating to the appointment of 545 Construction Joint Stock Company to collect tolls at the two stations of Hoa Phuoc and southern Hai Van tunnel with the toll level which is from 1.5 times to 2 times higher than the starting level and the distance between the two stations is only about 30 kilometers. Obviously, the new circular has been against Circular 90. The ministry’s circular 106 has continued adding difficulties to transport firms and showed the inconsistency in issuing and implementing policies, legal documents, causing inconvenience to the Danang Road Transport Association in particular and drivers on the north-south route in general. In front of the public opinion, the Ministry of Finance on June 1, 2010 adjusted transport charges at the station at southern Hai Van tunnel as before, but remained these unstable at the Hoa Phuoc station.   

 

Luong Hoang Trung, vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Goods Transport Association, said Item 3 of Article 57 of the Ordinance on Administrative Punishments regulated in case of applying fines to violators, civil servants have rights to hold in custody driving license or other vital papers till violators complete their punishment term. Thus, in almost all violations of road transport, drivers are held in custody driving license. 

 

Trung expressed the application of legal documents in the real situation has caused many difficulties as well as expense and time-consuming for drivers and firms. Currently, the circulars and ordinances all regulated violators to pay fines at local treasury. This seems to origin from Circular No. 47/2006-BTC that regulated that fines of administrative violations will accommodate 100 per cent for local budget and partially support operation expanse for agencies in charge of dealing with violations.

 

Such regulations force violators to go to pay fines and get back papers by themselves, causing difficulties for drivers and transport firms whose headquarters are far from places where they were punished.

 

Trung proposed that state agencies should allow violators to choose place to pay fines and the choice will be written specifically on punishment minutes which will be sent to chosen local authorities. Violators would have to spend all expenses for sending, Trung said.     

 

Another example is involved in holding vehicles of violators. Under the regulations, civil servants are allowed to hold in custody vehicles for ten days before making punishment decision over violators. In addition, authorized agencies may hold in custody vehicles and vital papers in case of other violations to road transport under Article 46 and Item 3 of Article 57 of the Ordinance on Administrative Punishments.    

Many transport firms said along with the increase of vehicles, administrative violations are too much, thus holding in custody of vehicle is unnecessary. The custody of vehicles will cause financial damage for transport firms because they are unable to operate without vehicles. In fact, many drivers or transport firms must bribe authorized servants to take their vehicles out.

Transport firms have also complained other obstacles such as procedures of granting badge; funds of road maintenance and petrol charges.  

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry has collected all opinions of firms and transferred to the Ministry of Transport for research and consideration of adjustment or supplement in order to ensure these regulations to be suitable to the real situation.