Joint Circular No. 2699/TT-LB guiding the implementation of Decision No. 159-HĐBT dated September 14, 1982 of the Council of Ministers on the collection of ferry crossing fees and floating bridge fees.

CIRCULAR

DECISION NO. 2699-TT-LB OF November 3, 1982 BY THE JOINT MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND FINANCE GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF DECISION NO. 159/HĐBT
OF September 14, 1982 OF THE STATE COUNCIL ON COLLECTION OF FEES FOR PASSENGER AND VEHICLE CROSSING FERRIES AND FLOATING BRIDGES
BY FERRY, FLOATING BRIDGE

The State Council issued Decision No. 159-HĐBT on September 14, 1982, adjusting the fee levels for passenger and vehicle crossing ferries and floating bridges to be implemented nationwide from October 1, 1982. The Joint Ministry of Transport and Finance hereby guides the following points:

I. OBJECTS OF COLLECTION AND AMOUNT OF FEES

1. Fee Levels and Objects Subject to Fees:

a) The fee level for passengers traveling by bicycle includes both the person and the bicycle.

b) The fee level for passengers traveling by motorcycle includes both the person and the motorcycle.

c) The fee level for passenger-carrying buses and minibuses is based solely on the vehicle, excluding passengers.

d) The fee level for various types of trucks includes both the cargo and animals on board the vehicle.

đ) Goods transported by ferries and floating bridges (point 9 in the table specified in Article 1 of Decision No. 159-HĐBT) weighing 61 kilograms or more must pay fees, except for goods carried on trucks as specified in point d.

2. For bicycles carrying goods, the fee is set at 2 dong for ferry and floating bridge crossings under 200 meters, and 2.5 dong for crossings over 200 meters, equivalent to the fee for three-wheeled vehicles, rickshaws, and improved vehicles not carrying goods.

3. If a truck pulls a trailer, the trailer is charged separately according to its weight: under 3 tons, the fee is 8,000 dong for ferry crossings under 200 meters, and 12,000 dong for crossings over 200 meters.

4. The monthly ticket fee applies uniformly to passengers with or without bicycles or motorcycles.

II. OBJECTS EXEMPT FROM PAYMENT OF FEES FOR CROSSING FERRIES AND FLOATING BRIDGES

1. The objects exempted from payment according to point 3 of Article 1 of Decision No. 159-HĐBT include all types of vehicles belonging to the police, People's Armed Police, military forces, and public security forces.

Children under ten years old are also exempt from paying fees for crossing ferries and floating bridges.

2. When crossing ferries and floating bridges, those entitled to exemption from fees must present necessary documents for inspection such as:

- Disability certificate or proof for disabled veterans and war invalids.

- Student card or school certification for students.

- Military personnel, police, and armed police must have insignia or other necessary documents.

III. TICKETS, BOOKLETS, AND MONTHLY STAMPS

1. Ferry and floating bridge crossing fees, ticket booklets, and monthly stamps shall be printed uniformly by the Road Management Department and the Transport Service Departments according to the model specified in the attached appendix of this Circular to be distributed to sections, zones, and sub-zones assigned to the ferry and floating bridge terminals.

If a locality has only one road management section, the Transport Service Department may delegate printing to that section according to the approved quantity of tickets, booklets, and monthly stamps.

Ferry and floating bridge crossing tickets and monthly stamps must be printed with the prescribed fare amount. When used, they must be stamped with the name of the ferry or floating bridge terminal to distinguish revenue sources.

The management and accounting of ferry and floating bridge crossing tickets, booklets, and monthly stamps shall follow the regulations for managing and accounting passenger tickets and ticket sales revenue in the automobile transport sector as stipulated in Decision No. 054-QĐ-TT dated January 8, 1975 of the Ministry of Transport.

2. Sections (central and local), zones, or sub-zones managing roads need to inventory the remaining number of tickets at sections, zones, or sub-zones and at ferry and floating bridge terminals.

While new tickets are being printed, existing tickets can temporarily be used with the new fare stamped on them. Old tickets stamped with the new fare sold to passenger cars, buses, minibuses, and trucks must also be stamped by the relevant section, zone, or sub-zone. The ink color for stamping the new fare must differ from the original print to avoid confusion. Tickets stamped with the new fare must be recorded in the accounting books of sections, zones, or sub-zones detailing the quantities of each type of ticket, calculated in monetary value, and managed strictly to prevent misuse.

3. Workers, civil servants, and cooperative members (agricultural, handicraft, and transport) who travel daily through ferries and floating bridges are entitled to purchase monthly or annual tickets as decided by the State Council. When purchasing monthly tickets, they must provide an introduction letter from their workplace or cooperative.

Based on the introduction letter, ferry and floating bridge terminals sell tickets to these individuals using stamps printed for each month and affixed to the booklet.

The booklet is valid for one year, and stamps purchased for a specific month are only valid for that month and should be affixed to the booklet.

They must use the designated ferry or floating bridge terminal listed in the booklet and cannot lend it to others.

The cost of purchasing tickets is borne by workers, civil servants, and cooperative members themselves.

IV. METHODS OF PAYMENT FOR FEES
BY FERRY, FLOATING BRIDGE

1. Units and organizations with regular daily traffic of trucks, buses, minibuses, and passenger cars on routes with ferries and floating bridges should sign contracts with sections, zones, or sub-zones managing roads, receiving tickets within a range of once a month and settling accounts by bank transfer at 50% of the value of the received tickets. At the end of the month, the remaining number of tickets and the number of tickets used are counted, converted into money, and settled by bank transfer to the section, zone, or sub-zone.

For each trip, units and organizations hand over the purchased tickets to drivers to present when crossing the ferry or floating bridge terminal. Staff at the ferry or floating bridge terminal must collect part of the tickets and return the remaining portion to the driver for settlement with the unit or organization.

Units and organizations with occasional traffic on routes with ferries and floating bridges may advance cash to drivers to purchase tickets when crossing ferries and floating bridges.

2. To facilitate passengers traveling by bus and minibus from having to wait to buy tickets for ferries and floating bridges, bus stations may act as agents to sell tickets for ferries and floating bridges. At these bus stations, when selling tickets for routes with ferries and floating bridges, they simultaneously sell tickets for ferries and floating bridges to passengers and collect the fees.

To provide this service, bus stations and sections, zones, or sub-zones managing roads will enter into contracts. Bus stations receive a commission of 5% of the value of the sold tickets. This agency fee is included in the annual budget of the ferry or floating bridge terminal. Regularly, every five days or a maximum of ten days, after tallying the number of sold tickets and the revenue from ferry and floating bridge crossing fees, bus stations transfer the funds into the bank account of the section, zone, or sub-zone managing roads.

3. When staff travel through ferries or floating bridges and purchase tickets, their units or agencies shall settle the ticket costs together with travel expenses. Expenses for ferry and floating bridge tolls (excluding monthly ticket fees that employees must pay themselves for daily work-related travel through ferries or floating bridges) shall be accounted for in production costs or circulation fees (for production and business units) and approved budget expenditures (for administrative and public service units).

V - ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF FINANCES FOR FERRY LANES AND FLOATING BRIDGES
BẾN PHÀ, CẦU PHAO

1. Ferry lanes and floating bridges (under central or local management) are direct production units under the management of sections, zones, or sub-zones of road administration according to Article 4 of Decision 159-HĐBT of the Council of Ministers, implementing an economic accounting system based on revenue covering expenses to achieve profitability.

The contents of income and expenditure are as follows:

+ Income includes:

- Revenue from selling single tickets, monthly tickets, and toll tickets for ferry lanes and floating bridges.

- Other revenues (if any).

+ Expenditure includes:

- Salaries and allowances of ferry lane and floating bridge staff as approved.

- Raw materials and supplies according to quotas (oil, rags, etc.).

- Minor repairs and equipment.

- Installation, maintenance, and preservation costs for river-crossing facilities and equipment.

- Management costs for ferry lanes and floating bridges (including paper and printing costs for tickets, commission fees for agents, etc.).

2. Sections, zones, or sub-zones managing roads must:

a) Develop annual and quarterly financial income and expenditure plans for each ferry lane and floating bridge, and submit them to the Road Administration Bureau (for centrally managed ferry lanes and floating bridges) and the Department of Transport (for locally managed ferry lanes and floating bridges) for review and approval of financial income and expenditure targets including:

- Total expected income

- Total allowable expenditure

- Surplus or deficit. If actual income exceeds planned expenditure, the unit must remit the surplus to the section, zone, or sub-zone to reduce allocated repair and management funds for roads and bridges according to plan. If actual expenditure (including contributions to the two funds mentioned in Section VI for units with planned deficits) exceeds actual income, the deficit must be covered by the section, zone, or sub-zone.

b) Once the financial income and expenditure plan is approved by superiors, the section, zone, or sub-zone managing roads must allocate financial income and expenditure targets to each ferry lane and floating bridge and send these targets to the Road Administration Bureau, the Department of Transport, the financial authority, and the Investment and Construction Bank at the local level. The total financial targets allocated to each ferry lane and floating bridge must equal or exceed the targets set by the Road Administration Bureau and the Department of Transport for the section, zone, or sub-zone.

Ferry lanes and floating bridges have the responsibility to find all possible measures to fulfill and exceed the assigned plans.

Local financial authorities and the Investment and Construction Bank have the responsibility to supervise, inspect, and assist ferry lanes and floating bridges in implementing approved plans.

c) Based on original documents regarding daily income and expenditure, records must be kept in comprehensive and detailed books for each ferry lane and floating bridge accurately, promptly, and completely. Every ten days, twenty days, and monthly, reports on financial income and expenditure for each ferry lane and floating bridge must be compiled and submitted to superiors.

d) Open a separate account at the Investment and Construction Bank for each section, zone, or sub-zone managing roads for ferry and floating bridge toll revenues. At the same time, require each ferry lane and floating bridge to deposit daily cash receipts from ticket sales into this bank account.

Ferry lanes and floating bridges near sections, zones, or sub-zones may deposit cash directly to the section, zone, or sub-zone, or the section, zone, or sub-zone may dispatch personnel to collect cash at the ferry lane or floating bridge for centralized deposit into the bank.

Ferry lanes and floating bridges with small daily income and located far from sections, zones, or sub-zones, where transportation conditions are inconvenient, may deposit into the bank account of the section, zone, or sub-zone every five days. During non-deposit periods, ferry lanes and floating bridges must strictly manage cash.

2. Ferry lanes and floating bridges must post the objects of collection, rates, exemptions from ferry and floating bridge tolls according to the decision of the Council of Ministers, as well as ferry and floating bridge regulations. Organize ticket-selling and control departments at both ends of the ferry lane and along the descent path for passenger convenience and ticket control.

3. To ensure proper toll collection and prevent revenue loss, ferry lanes and floating bridges must organize convenient pathways with secure barriers for easy control. Passengers caught evading tickets intentionally must pay twice the fare. These penalty tickets have a special design, and employees who excel in checking and selling penalty tickets receive 20% of the total penalty ticket revenue, while the remainder is paid to the state budget.

4. To strengthen management, the Road Administration Bureau and the Department of Transport must conduct inspections and provide assistance every six months to sections, zones, or sub-zones managing roads and ferry lanes and floating bridges to complete assigned tasks.

VI - REWARDS AND PENALTIES

1. Ferry lanes and floating bridges can be considered for rewards and welfare funds amounting to 24% of the total annual salary fund of ferry lane and floating bridge staff (excluding unreasonable expenses in the salary fund) if they meet all the following criteria and tasks:

a) Ensuring smooth and rapid ferry crossings.

b) Meeting financial income and expenditure targets.

c) Ensuring safety in all situations on the ferry lane and in the water.

d) Properly managing assets, materials, capital, and strictly adhering to economic and financial management policies of the Party and State.

đ) Ensuring cleanliness and order, and complying with established service hours.

In cases where ferry lanes and floating bridges fail to meet the above criteria and tasks, deductions will be made from the reward and welfare funds for each criterion and task, ranging from 10 to 20% of the basic allocation for each fund.

- Specifically, for financial expenditure (revenue-expenditure difference), each percentage point not meeting the plan will result in a 20% penalty on the basic allocation for each fund.

The distribution ratio between the two funds is:

- 70% for the reward fund

- 30% for the welfare fund

2. If the ferry terminal or pontoon bridge exceeds the financial target (difference in revenue or expenditure), for every 1% increase in revenue difference or decrease in expenditure difference, it shall be entitled to 1.5% of the annual wage fund of the workers and staff of the ferry terminal or pontoon bridge. If the actual increase in revenue difference or decrease in expenditure difference is insufficient to allocate 1.5% of the wage fund as a bonus, then the amount achieved through the increase in revenue difference or decrease in expenditure difference shall be the amount enjoyed.

The supplementary ratio for the two funds:

- 70% for the reward fund

- Thirty percent for the Welfare Fund.

3. If each reward and welfare fund exceeds six months' average actual wages of the workers and staff of the ferry terminal or pontoon bridge throughout the year, the amount exceeding six months' wages (from the seventh month onwards) shall be retained at 30% for the ferry terminal or pontoon bridge and 20% for the section, area, or sub-area (the use of this portion will be detailed in a subsequent Circular). The 30% retained for the ferry terminal or pontoon bridge shall be distributed as follows:

- 70% for the reward fund

- Thirty percent for the Welfare Fund.

4. If the ferry terminal or pontoon bridge fails to meet the standards and tasks and thus has its allocation ratio for the reward and welfare funds reduced excessively, resulting in an average per capita of less than 60 dong for both funds combined, then it shall be supplemented to reach that average (60 dong per capita). The distribution ratio of the reward and welfare funds managed by the section, area, or sub-area shall be determined by the road management authority.

5. By the end of the year, if the ferry terminal or pontoon bridge reports completion of the targets and tasks mentioned above and receives confirmation from the section, area, or sub-area (for terminals under central administration) or the Department of Transport (for terminals under local administration), it may temporarily allocate 75% of the anticipated amount according to the regulations for the two funds. For ferry terminals or pontoon bridges that fail to meet the targets and tasks, at the end of the year, they shall be allocated 60 dong per worker and staff member of the ferry terminal or pontoon bridge. The section, area, or sub-area must review each standard and task, determine the level of achievement, calculate the reduction and the amount to be allocated for each terminal, and propose to the Road Management Bureau (if the terminal is centrally managed) or the Department of Transport (if the terminal is locally managed) for approval after consulting with the finance department at the same level.

The amount allocated to establish the funds shall be included in the revenue and expenditure difference.

- After officially reviewing the allocation ratios for the reward and welfare funds for each ferry terminal or pontoon bridge, the section, area, or sub-area shall proceed to settle the temporarily allocated amounts. If there is a shortfall, additional allocations shall be made to make up the difference.

Based on the decision of the Council of Ministers and this guiding Circular issued jointly by the Ministries, the Road Management Bureau and the Department of Transport need to provide further detailed guidance so that the sections, areas, or sub-areas managing roads, ferry terminals, and pontoon bridges can uniformly implement these provisions.

This Circular takes effect from October 1, 1982. All previous regulations contrary to this Circular are hereby abolished.