Ho Chi Minh City delays collection of road fees from bike owners

The city’s administration is required to submit prepare such reports and postpone the fee collection, the council said in a request sent to the former.

The fee collection had previously been slated to be carried out this month, according to under a decision of the administration.

The people’s council requested that the reports detail the plan and method of fee collection and its possible efficiency, the advantages and disadvantages of applying, and relevant proposals.

The city’s administration has thus asked relevant agencies to review all related legal documents to prepare the reports.

The fee collection is stipulated in Government Decree 18/2012 dated March 13, 2012 on the establishment, management and use of the Road Maintenance Fund.

Based on the decree, the Ministry of Finance issued a circular to stipulate two fee ranges, including the VND50,000-100,000 ($2.3-4.6) range per year for electric bicycles and motorbikes with an engine capacity of 50 - 100 cubic centimeters (cc) and the VND100,000-150,000 range per year for those with engine sizes of over 100 cc.

Based on these ranges, People’s Councils in provinces and cities will determine their own rates that fit their social and economic characteristics.

Under the decree, users of motorized vehicles were supposed to pay a road maintenance fee, which was intended to feed the fund, from June 1, 2012, but the government later delayed the fee collection until January 1, 2013, given that people were facing difficulties in their daily lives due to the troubled economy.

However, while all other localities have set out their own fee rates and collected them since 2013, Ho Chi Minh City has continued to postpone its fee collection to spare residents any further burdens until now.