Circular No. 01/2013/TT-BGTVT on registering railway transport vehicles

CIRCULAR

Provisions on registration of railway transportation vehicles

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Pursuant to the Railway Law dated June 14, 2005;

Pursuant to Decree No. 107/2012/NĐ-CP dated December 20, 2012 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

At the proposal of the Director of the Transport Department and the Director of the Vietnam Railway Administration;

The Minister of Transport shall issue a Circular stipulating provisions on registration of railway transportation vehicles,

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates the registration of railway transportation vehicles operating on national railways, dedicated railways, and urban railways within the territory of Vietnam.

Article 2. Applicability

1. This Circular applies to organizations and individuals owning railway transportation vehicles; organizations and individuals related to the registration of railway transportation vehicles.

2. For foreign railway transportation vehicles participating in international rail transport running on Vietnamese railways, relevant regulations on international rail transport shall be implemented.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. Dedicated railway vehicles are vehicles used for:

a) Transporting people, materials, and equipment of railway business enterprises;

b) Rescuing victims of railway traffic accidents;

c) Inspecting construction, maintenance, and repair of railway works;

d) Serving security and defense purposes.

2. Changes to the main technical parameters of railway transportation vehicles include:

a) For locomotives: when changing engines of different types, changing engine power, changing drive systems, changing track gauges;

b) For carriages: when changing usage functions, changing load capacities, changing track gauges;

c) For dedicated railway vehicles: when changing usage functions; changing track gauges.

3. A valid copy is a copy certified or authenticated by a competent authority in Vietnam.

Chapter II

REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES

Article 4. General Provisions

1. Railway transportation vehicles (hereinafter referred to as vehicles) must have a Certificate of Registration of Railway Transportation Vehicles (hereinafter referred to as the Certificate of Vehicle Registration) when participating in railway traffic.

2. Registration includes:

a) Initial registration is the registration and issuance of a Certificate of Vehicle Registration for imported, domestically produced, or assembled vehicles before they are put into operation and use on railways.

b) Re-registration is the registration and issuance of a new Certificate of Vehicle Registration replacing the old one for vehicles in the following cases:

- When transferring ownership of the vehicle;

- When changing the main technical parameters of the vehicle.

3. Issuance of a new Certificate of Vehicle Registration:

When the Certificate of Vehicle Registration is lost or damaged, the vehicle owner must go to the registration authority to apply for a new Certificate of Vehicle Registration.

4. The owner of the vehicle must complete deregistration procedures in the following cases:

a) The vehicle is no longer used for railway traffic;

b) The vehicle is missing or destroyed.

5. The Certificate of Vehicle Registration follows the model specified in Appendix 5 of this Circular. In case of reissue, the Certificate of Vehicle Registration will bear the stamp "Reissued first time, reissued second time...".

Article 5. Registration Authority

The Vietnam Railway Administration is the agency responsible for registering, issuing Certificates of Vehicle Registration, or deregistering and recalling Certificates of Vehicle Registration.

Article 6. Procedures and Time Limits

1. Vehicles with complete files as stipulated in Articles 7, 8, 9, and 10 of this Circular will have their registration or deregistration, and recall of the Certificate of Vehicle Registration processed by the Vietnam Railway Administration.

2. The owner of the vehicle submits one set of application files for registration of the vehicle and proof of payment of the initial registration tax (if applicable) or requests deregistration directly or through the postal system to the Vietnam Railway Administration.

3. The Vietnam Railway Administration receives and checks the files. If the vehicle owner has not submitted complete files as required, the Vietnam Railway Administration must guide the vehicle owner to complete the files; if the files are received via the postal system, it must immediately notify the vehicle owner in writing to supplement the files.

4. Within no more than five working days from the date of receipt of the files as prescribed, the Vietnam Railway Administration will issue a Certificate of Vehicle Registration for complete and valid files or provide a written response to the vehicle owner explaining the reasons for non-approval.

Article 7. Documents for initial registration of vehicles

1. Application form for vehicle registration according to the model prescribed in Appendix 1 of this Circular.

2. One of the following types of documents:

a) Original (or certified copy) of the purchase or production contract of the vehicle (or sales invoice of the vehicle);

b) Certified copy of the decision on the transfer of the vehicle or the declaration of the type of vehicle currently in use, signed by the representative of the owner (or authorized person) in accordance with the provisions of the law.

For imported vehicles, there must also be the original customs declaration for imported goods.

3. Certificate of quality, technical safety, and environmental protection of the vehicle issued by the Vietnam Inspection Agency and still valid.

Article 8. Documents for re-registration of vehicles

1. Documents for re-registering vehicles in cases of ownership transfer:

a) Application form for re-registration of vehicles according to the model prescribed in Appendix 2 of this Circular;

b) Original Certificate of quality, technical safety, and environmental protection issued by the Vietnam Inspection Agency and still valid;

c) Original Vehicle Registration Certificate issued by the Vietnam Railways Administration;

d) Certified copies of documents confirming the ownership of the vehicle (purchase or sale contracts, invoices, or transfer decisions).

2. Documents for re-registration in cases where the main technical parameters of the vehicle have changed:

a) Application form for re-registration of vehicles according to the model prescribed in Appendix 2 of this Circular;

b) Original Vehicle Registration Certificate issued by the Vietnam Railways Administration;

c) Original Certificate of quality, technical safety, and environmental protection of the vehicle issued by the Vietnam Inspection Agency and still valid.

Article 9. Documents for requesting replacement of the Vehicle Registration Certificate

1. In case the Vehicle Registration Certificate is damaged:

a) Application form for replacement of the Vehicle Registration Certificate according to the model prescribed in Appendix 3 of this Circular;

b) Original Vehicle Registration Certificate issued by the Vietnam Railways Administration.

2. In case the Vehicle Registration Certificate is lost:

In case the Vehicle Registration Certificate is lost, the vehicle owner must report the loss of the Vehicle Registration Certificate to the Vietnam Railways Administration according to the application form prescribed in Appendix 3 of this Circular. Based on the application for replacement of the Vehicle Registration Certificate, the Vietnam Railways Administration will issue a confirmation of the report of the lost Vehicle Registration Certificate according to the model prescribed in Appendix 6 of this Circular. The time limit for considering and processing the replacement of the Vehicle Registration Certificate is 180 days from the date the registration authority receives the application for replacement of the Vehicle Registration Certificate.

Article 10. Documents for requesting cancellation of vehicle registration

1. Application form for cancellation of vehicle registration according to the model prescribed in Appendix 4 of this Circular.

2. Original Vehicle Registration Certificate issued by the Vietnam Railways Administration.

Article 11. Rules for numbering vehicle registrations

Principles for numbering vehicle registrations:

1. Railway transportation vehicles are divided into three types: locomotives, carriages, and specialized vehicles, and are registered according to each vehicle owner.

2. Each type of vehicle's registration number consists of three groups of symbols, group 1 at the top row, groups 2 and 3 at the bottom row, separated by a hyphen, wherein:

a) Group 1 is the abbreviated name or trade name of the enterprise that is the owner of the vehicle.

b) Group 2 is letters and numbers indicating the type and technical features of the vehicle proposed by the vehicle owner (not contrary to current legal regulations), suitable for the management of production and business of the vehicle owner.

c) Group 3 is the registration serial number of that type of vehicle issued by the vehicle registration authority. For vehicles already numbered by the enterprise or previously registered before the effective date of this Circular, the existing numbers shall be retained.

Example of carriage registration number of Vietnam Railways Corporation (trade name in English abbreviation is VNR) is as follows:

VNR

H431 - 328

Article 12. Provisions on the position of registration number marking on railway vehicles, color of the registration number characters and digits

1. Provisions on the position of marking registration numbers on vehicles:

After being issued a registration number for railway transport vehicles, the owner of railway transport vehicles must mark the registration number of railway transport vehicles on both outer sides of the body or at both ends of the railway transport vehicle in appropriate positions that are easy to observe and recognize.

2. Provisions on the color of the registration number characters and digits of railway transport vehicles:

a) Paint white or yellow if the body of the vehicle is dark-colored;

b) Paint cyan or black if the body of the vehicle is light-colored.

Article 13. Font style, font size, and registration number of railway transport vehicles

1. Font style, separator marks, and numbers: In Times New Roman font.

2. Font size of characters and numbers:

a) Group 1 has character and number sizes of 10-15 cm, with a spacing of 10 mm between symbols.

b) Group 2 has character and number sizes of 20-25 cm, with a spacing of 10 mm between symbols.

c) Group 3 has number sizes of 20-25 cm, with a spacing of 10 mm between symbols.

d) Dash: Length 35mm, width 15mm.

In special cases where the size of the vehicle body restricts the marking of font style, font size, and numbers according to the above regulations, the Vietnam Railway Administration shall be responsible for providing specific guidance.

Article 14. Responsibilities of the registration authority

1. Organize the implementation of railway transport vehicle registration in accordance with this Circular, guide the vehicle owners to prepare the registration application dossier.

2. Establish a database to manage railway transport vehicles nationwide; store and manage the registration application dossier.

3. Monitor, compile, and report to the Ministry of Transport every 12 months on the situation of vehicle registration.

4. Manage, print, and use seals and stamps for vehicle registration work.

5. Collect and use registration fees in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Article 15. Responsibilities of the vehicle owner

1. Declare and submit the complete registration application dossier in accordance with the regulations to the registration authority.

2. Bear responsibility under the law for the accuracy and legality of the dossier.

3. Pay registration fees in accordance with the provisions of the law.

4. Mark the registration number on the vehicle body in the correct position, size, and color as stipulated in Articles 12 and 13 of this Circular, in accordance with the registration number recorded in the Vehicle Registration Certificate.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 16. Transitional Provisions

1. Railway transport vehicles currently in operation and exploitation on the railway networks specified in Article 1 of this Circular must implement vehicle registration in accordance with this Circular. Specifically, railway transport vehicles such as locomotives and carriages owned by Vietnam Railway Corporation that have been in operation and use since before January 1, 2006 and have not yet been registered will follow the following schedule:

a) For locomotives and passenger carriages, vehicle registration must be completed by December 30, 2013;

b) For freight carriages, vehicle registration must be completed by December 31, 2014.

2. Railway transport vehicles that have been issued a Vehicle Registration Certificate by the Vietnam Railway Administration from January 1, 2006 to the present retain their old registration numbers. If the owner requests a new Vehicle Registration Certificate to comply with the contents of this Circular, the Vietnam Railway Administration will process the issuance of a new Vehicle Registration Certificate without collecting registration fees.

Article 17. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from March 1, 2013

2. Repeal the following Decisions and Circulars:

a) Decision No. 55/2005/QĐ-BGTVT dated October 28, 2005 of the Minister of Transport on the issuance of "Provisions on Railway Transport Vehicle Registration";

b) Decision No. 29/2006/QĐ-BGTVT dated August 1, 2006 of the Minister of Transport on "Amending and Supplementing Provisions on Railway Transport Vehicle Registration" accompanying Decision No. 55/2005/QĐ-BGTVT dated October 28, 2005 of the Minister of Transport;

c) Circular No. 26/2011/TT-BGTVT dated April 13, 2011 of the Minister of Transport on "Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of Regulations on Railway Transport Vehicle Registration" accompanying Decision No. 55/2005/QĐ-BGTVT dated October 28, 2005 of the Minister of Transport.

Article 18. Implementation Organization

1. Railway enterprises are responsible for urging and directing related organizations and individuals to implement this Circular.

2. The Vietnam Railway Administration is responsible for leading and coordinating with relevant agencies to inspect the implementation of this Circular.

3. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, organizations and individuals should promptly report to the Vietnam Railway Administration for compilation and reporting to the Ministry of Transport for consideration and resolution.

4. The Director of the Ministry's Office, the Inspector General, the Heads of Departments, the Director of the Vietnam Railway Administration, the Heads of agencies and units, and individuals concerned are responsible for implementing this Circular./.

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