Circular No. 212/2010/TT-BTC on the regime for collecting, remitting, managing, and using registration fee for motor vehicle registration certificates and license plates

CIRCULAR

Article on the regime for collecting, submitting, managing and using registration fees and license plate fees for motor vehicles.

 and license plates for road motor vehicles

 ______________________

Based on the Road Traffic Law;

Based on Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002 and Decree No. 24/2006/NĐ-CP dated March 6, 2006 amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Fees and Charges;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 16/2008/NQ-CP dated July 31, 2008, of the Government on gradually alleviating traffic congestion in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City;

Pursuant to the Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;
Following the Prime Minister's opinion expressed in Circular No. 5595/VPCP-KTTH dated August 10, 2010;

The Ministry of Finance hereby stipulates the regime for collecting, submitting, managing and using registration fees and license plate fees for road motor vehicles as follows:

Article 1. Scope of application

Organizations and individuals in Vietnam and foreign organizations and individuals when obtaining from public security agencies the vehicle registration certificate and license plates for road motor vehicles must pay the registration fee and license plate fee according to the provisions of this Circular. This Circular does not apply to special-purpose vehicles participating in road traffic (registered by transportation authorities) and military motor vehicles used for national defense purposes.

Article 2. Exemption from Fees

The following cases are exempted from paying the fee for issuing vehicle registration certificates and license plates:

1. Diplomatic missions, consular offices, and representative offices of international organizations within the United Nations system.

2. Diplomatic officials, consular officials, administrative and technical staff of diplomatic missions and consular posts of foreign countries, members of international organizations under the United Nations system, and members of their families who are not Vietnamese citizens or do not reside permanently in Vietnam shall be issued diplomatic identification cards or service identification cards by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or local foreign affairs agencies authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In this case, when registering motor vehicles, the registrant must present to the registration agency a diplomatic identification card (red) or a service identification card (yellow) as prescribed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

3. Other foreign organizations and individuals (representative offices of intergovernmental international organizations outside the United Nations system, representative offices of non-governmental organizations, delegations of international organizations, members of other agencies and organizations) not falling within the scope of Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article but exempted from paying or not required to pay the registration fee and license plate fee pursuant to international treaties to which Vietnam is a party. In this case, the organization or individual must provide the registration agency with:

- An application for exemption from paying the fee for issuing a registration certificate and license plate, signed, with full name noted, and stamped (if it is an organization).

- A copy of the agreement or arrangement between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of another country in Vietnamese (certified by a Notary Public or signed, clearly stating the full name and stamped with confirmation by the head of the program or project).

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, some terms are understood as follows:

a) Road motor vehicles, including: Cars, tractors, and other types of vehicles issued similar license plates as cars (referred to collectively as cars); motorcycles. Specifically:

- Passenger cars with less than 10 seats (including the driver) are passenger cars, excluding lam cars.

- Motorcycles include: two-wheeled motorcycles, three-wheeled motorcycles, motorbikes, and similar types of vehicles, including motorized vehicles for disabled persons.

b) Cities and towns specified in this Circular are determined based on state administrative boundaries, specifically as follows:

- Hanoi City and Ho Chi Minh City and other centrally-administered cities include all districts and counties directly under the city regardless of whether they are inner-city or suburban, urban or rural areas.

- Provincially-administered cities and towns include all wards and communes under the city or town, regardless of whether they are inner-city or inner-town wards or outer-city or outer-town communes.

c) Issuing new registration certificates and license plates only applies to motor vehicles registered for the first time in Vietnam (including used vehicles or those registered abroad) according to regulations of the Ministry of Public Security.

d) Reissuing registration certificates or license plates applies to cases where the registration certificate or license plate is lost; exchanging registration certificates or license plates applies to cases where the road motor vehicle has been refurbished, repainted, or where the registration certificate is torn or damaged, or the license plate is damaged or faded.

e) Areas:

- Area I: Consists of Hanoi City and Ho Chi Minh City.

- Area II: Consists of centrally-administered cities (excluding Hanoi City and Ho Chi Minh City), provincial centrally-administered cities, and towns.

- Area III: Consists of other areas outside Areas I and II mentioned above.

Article 4. Fee Schedule

1. The fee for issuing vehicle registration certificates and license plates shall be implemented according to the following Fee Schedule:

Unit of measurement: VND/time/vehicle

2. Based on Item I of the Fee Collection Table, the People's Councils of Hanoi City and Ho Chi Minh City shall promulgate specific fee collection levels suitable to local circumstances.

From the date this Circular takes effect, if the People's Councils of Hanoi City and Ho Chi Minh City issue specific collection rates, then apply the minimum collection rate for registration fees and license plate fees as stipulated in Section I of this Table.

For special-purpose vehicles of the police used for security purposes permitted to register in Area I, apply the minimum collection rate stipulated in Section I of this Table.

3. Organizations and individuals currently located in a particular area must pay the registration fee and license plate fee for motor vehicles according to the collection rate corresponding to that area. If it is an organization, pay the fee at the address of its registered office as recorded in the business registration, if it is an individual, pay the fee at the address of their permanent residence registration.

4. Some indicators specified in the Fee Collection Table for issuing registration certificates and license plates for motor vehicles shall be applied as follows:

4.1. The collection rate for registration fees and license plate fees for passenger cars not engaged in passenger transport business, as stipulated in Point 2, Section I of the Collection Rate Table, does not apply to the following cases:

a) Passenger cars of organizations and individuals engaged in passenger transport business, which have been granted a business permit or a business registration certificate for passenger transport by competent authorities. In such cases, when registering passenger cars, organizations and individuals engaged in passenger transport business must provide the registration agency with:

+ A letter of introduction from the company issued by the competent authority granting the business license or the registration certificate for passenger transport. The letter of introduction must clearly state the number and type of vehicles registered.

+ The business license or registration certificate for passenger transport issued by the competent authority.

b) Passenger transport vehicles leased on financial lease to organizations or individuals granted by the competent authority with a business license for passenger transport (or a registration certificate for passenger transport). When registering the vehicle, leasing companies must provide to the registration authority:

+ A letter of introduction from the leasing company, clearly stating the number and type of passenger transport vehicles registered for financial lease.

+ The financial lease contract signed between the lessee company, which is a passenger transport business company, and the leasing company, which must clearly state: the number of passenger transport vehicles leased, the lease term (if it is a copy, it must be notarized).

For the above cases (a, b), the fee for issuing a new registration certificate and license plate must be paid according to the rate specified in Point 1, Section I, Table of Collection Rates stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article.

4.2. The collection rates for fees for reissuing or changing the registration certificate prescribed in Section II, Table of Collection Rates do not apply to the reissuance or change of registration certificates and license plates for passenger transport vehicles that are not in operation and motorcycles transferred from areas where lower collection rates are applied to areas where higher collection rates are applied (regardless of whether there is a change in ownership). In such cases, organizations and individuals must pay the fee for reissuing or changing the registration certificate and license plate according to the new issuance rate specified in Point 2 (for cars) and Point 4 (for motorcycles) in Section I, Table of Collection Rates stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article.

Example 1: Mr. A has his permanent residence in Hanoi and was issued a registration certificate and license plate by the Hanoi Public Security Department. After selling the vehicle to Mr. B who also resides in Hanoi, Mr. B only needs to pay the fee for reissuing or changing the registration certificate and license plate according to the rate specified in Section II, Table of Collection Rates stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular.

Example 2: Mr. H resides in Luc Ngan District, Bac Giang Province, and was issued a registration certificate and license plate (car or motorcycle) by the Bac Giang Public Security Department. After selling the vehicle to Mr. B in Hanoi, Mr. B must pay the fee according to the new issuance rate in Hanoi specified in Point 2 (for cars) and Point 4 (for motorcycles) in Section I, Table of Collection Rates stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular.

4.3. For personal cars and motorcycles that have been issued registration certificates and license plates in areas where lower collection rates are applied and are transferred to areas where higher collection rates are applied due to job transfer or change of permanent residence, without changing ownership and with complete procedures as required by the Public Security Authority, the collection rate specified in Section II, Table of Collection Rates stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article shall apply.

The value of motorcycles used as the basis for calculating the registration and license plate fee is the tax valuation at the time of registration.

Article 5. Organization of collection, submission, management and use of registration fees

1. The Public Security Authority responsible for registering, issuing registration certificates and license plates for motor vehicles shall collect fees in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

2. Organizations and individuals registering motor vehicles on public roads must pay the registration fee at the prescribed rate under this Circular before being issued a registration certificate and license plate.

3. The amount of fees collected according to this Circular, depending on the amount of revenue, must be deposited into the account "Temporary Holding Account for Fees and Taxes" opened at the State Treasury located at the main office, either daily or weekly. The entire amount of fees collected, after deducting the cost of purchasing license plates at the price set by the Ministry of Finance during each period (as stated on the sales invoice issued by the Ministry of Finance), the remaining amount (considered as 100%) will be distributed and used as follows:

3.1. The Public Security Authority collecting the fees may retain a portion according to the following percentage:

- In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City: The People's Council of the city shall specify, but not exceeding 10%.

- In other centrally-administered cities: 20%.

- In other provinces: 35%.

The Public Security Authority shall use the retained funds according to the following specific purposes:

a) Printing (or purchasing) forms, declarations, applications, and registration files; certificates of registration; books for tracking registrations; including laminating and engraving vehicle numbers.

b) Repairing and major repairs of assets, machinery, and equipment directly serving the collection of fees.

c) Other regular expenses directly serving the issuance of registration certificates and license plates according to the state regulations (excluding salary costs for police officers and civil servants already receiving salaries according to the prescribed regulations).

d) Establishing a reward fund and welfare fund for staff directly involved in collecting fees for issuing registration certificates and license plates. The average annual contribution to these two funds per person shall not exceed three months' salary if the revenue exceeds the previous year, and two months' salary if it is equal to or less than the previous year.

The entire amount of fees retained according to the above percentages, the Public Security Authority must balance against the annual financial plan. During management, the funds must be used for the designated purposes according to current financial expenditure regulations and must be supported by legal invoices. Based on the retained funds for fee collection, the Director of the Provincial Public Security Department or the Central City Public Security Department may decide to reallocate funds from surplus units to deficit units (if the local area has delegated vehicle registration to the Public Security Bureau). At the end of the year, if the funds are not fully spent, they can be carried over to the next year for continued use according to the prescribed regulations.

3.2. The remaining amount (total revenue minus the cost of purchasing license plates, minus the amount retained by the Public Security Authority according to the specified ratio), the Public Security Authority shall deposit into the state budget according to the corresponding chapters, types, items, and sub-items of the current state budget classification and shall be managed and used according to the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

Article 6. Implementation Organization

1. This Circular shall take effect forty-five days from the date of issuance. This Circular replaces Circular No. 34/2003/TT-BTC dated April 16, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance on the regulations for collection, payment, management, and use of fees for issuing vehicle registration certificates and license plates for motor vehicles, and Circular No. 115/2004/TT-BTC dated December 3, 2004 amending and supplementing Circular No. 34/2003/TT-BTC dated April 16, 2003.

2. Other contents related to the collection, payment, management, use, revenue receipts, and publicizing the regulations on the collection of fees for issuing vehicle registration certificates and license plates for motor vehicles not mentioned in this Circular shall be implemented in accordance with the guidance provided in Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002; Circular No. 45/2006/TT-BTC dated May 25, 2006 amending and supplementing Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of laws on fees and charges; and Circular No. 60/2007/TT-BTC dated June 14, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration and guiding Decree No. 85/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2007 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration.

3. In the course of implementation, if there are any difficulties, organizations and individuals are requested to promptly report to the Ministry of Finance for research and supplementary guidance./.