Circular No. 34/2003/TT-BTC on the regime for collecting, paying, managing, and using fees for issuing vehicle registration certificates and license plates for road motor vehicles

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the collection, submission, and management of usage fees for issuing registration certificates and license plates for motor vehicles

||| Motor vehicle registration and license plates

||| Based on the Road Traffic Law;

||| Based on the Ordinance on Fees and Charges dated August 28, 2001, and Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002, of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Fees and Charges;

||| Based on Resolution No. 13/2002/NQ-CP dated November 19, 2002, of the Government regarding measures to control and reduce traffic accidents and congestion, and the opinion of the Prime Minister in Official Letter No. 467/VPCP-KTTH dated January 28, 2003, of the Government Office on adjusting the fee levels for initial registration tax, vehicle registration fees, and motorcycle registration fees;

||| The Ministry of Finance stipulates the regulations on the collection, submission, and management of usage fees for issuing registration certificates and license plates for motor vehicles as follows:

I. APPLICABLE OBJECTS

1. ||| Organizations and individuals within Vietnam and foreign organizations and individuals when obtaining from competent authorities (referred to collectively as the registration authority) a registration certificate and license plate for motor vehicles (collectively referred to as motor vehicles) must pay the registration and license plate issuance fee according to the provisions of this Circular, except in cases exempted from payment as provided in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. ||| The following cases are exempted from paying the registration and license plate issuance fee for motor vehicles:

a) Diplomatic missions, consular offices, and representative offices of international organizations under the United Nations system.

b) Diplomatic officials, consular officials, administrative and technical staff of foreign diplomatic and consular missions, 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, as certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or local foreign affairs agencies authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue diplomatic identification cards or service identification cards.

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

c) 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 under the categories mentioned in points a and b above, but are exempted from or do not have to pay the registration and license plate issuance fee according to international treaties that Vietnam has signed or joined. In this case, organizations and individuals must provide the registration authority with

- A request for exemption from paying the registration and license plate issuance fee, signed and clearly stating the full name, 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 and clearly stating the full name and stamped with confirmation by the head of the program or project).

3. In this Circular, some terms are understood as follows:

a) Motor vehicles include cars, tractors, motorcycles. Specifically:

- Passenger cars with up to seven seats are passenger cars, excluding lam cars.

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

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

- Hanoi City, Ho Chi Minh City, and other centrally-administered cities (such as Da Nang City, Hai Phong City...) include all districts and counties directly under the city, regardless of whether they are in the urban or rural areas.

- Provincially-administered cities and towns include all wards and communes under the provincial-level People's Committee, 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 applies only to motor vehicles registered for the first time in Vietnam (including used vehicles or those registered abroad) as stipulated by the Ministry of Public Security.

d) Reissuing registration certificates or license plates applies to cases where the registration certificate or license plate is lost; replacing registration certificates or license plates applies to cases where the motor vehicle undergoes renovation, changes color, or the registration certificate is torn or damaged, and the license plate is damaged or faded.

II. AMOUNT OF COLLECTION

1. Attached to this Circular is a table of fee rates for issuing registration certificates and license plates for motor vehicles divided into three different regions as follows:

a) Region I: Includes Hanoi City and Ho Chi Minh City.

b) Region II: Includes other centrally-administered cities (excluding Hanoi City and Ho Chi Minh City), provincially-administered cities, and towns where the provincial-level People's Committee is located.

c) Region III: Includes all areas outside Region I (a) and Region II (b) mentioned above.

2. Organizations and individuals currently located in which region must pay the registration and license plate issuance fee for motor vehicles according to the corresponding fee rate for that region, if it is an organization, then pay the fee according to the address of the headquarters recorded in the registration, if it is an individual, then pay the fee according to the address of the permanent residence registration.

3. Some indicators specified in the Table of Fee Rates for Issuing Registration Certificates and License Plates for Motor Vehicles apply as follows:

3.1. The fee rate for issuing registration certificates and license plates for passenger cars not engaged in passenger transport business as stipulated in Point 2, Section I of the Table of Fee Rates does not apply to the following cases:

a) Passenger cars of organizations (enterprises, companies...) and individuals engaged in passenger transport business that have been granted a business permit or a business registration certificate for passenger transport by a competent authority. In this case, when registering a passenger car, organizations and individuals engaged in passenger transport business must provide the registration authority with:

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

+ A business permit or business registration certificate for passenger transport issued by a competent authority

b) Passenger cars leased on financial lease to organizations and individuals who have been granted a business license for passenger transportation services (or a business registration certificate for passenger transportation services) by the competent authority. When registering the vehicle, leasing companies must provide the registration authority with:

+ An introduction letter from the leasing company specifying the number and type of passenger cars to be registered for financial leasing.

+ The financial lease agreement signed between the leasing company and the passenger transportation business company, clearly stating the number of passenger cars to be leased and the lease term (if it is a copy, it must be notarized by a state agency).

In cases (a, b) above, the fee for issuing the registration certificate and license plate shall be paid according to the rate specified in Point 1, Section I, Schedule of Fees issued together with this Circular.

3.2. The fee for reissuing or changing the registration certificate prescribed in Section II, Schedule of Fees does not apply to the reissuance or change of the registration certificate and license plate of passenger cars that are not engaged in passenger transportation business and motorcycles transferred from areas where lower fees are charged to areas where higher fees are charged (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 rates specified in Point 2 (for cars) and Point 4 (for motorcycles) in Section I of the Schedule of Fees issued together with this Circular.

Example 1: Mr. A has a household registration in Hanoi and was issued a registration certificate and license plate by the Hanoi Public Security Department. After selling the car to Mr. B, also in Hanoi, Mr. B only needs to pay the fee for reissuing or changing the registration certificate and license plate according to the rates specified in Section II, Schedule of Fees.

Example 2: Mr. H resides in Luc Ngan District, Bac Giang Province, and was issued a motorcycle registration certificate and license plate by the Bac Giang Public Security Department. After selling the motorcycle to Mr. B in Hanoi, Mr. B must pay the fee according to the new issuance rates in Hanoi specified in Point 2 (for cars) and Point 4 (for motorcycles) in Section I of the Schedule of Fees.

3.3. For individual-owned cars and motorcycles that were registered and issued license plates in areas where lower fees are charged and then moved to areas where higher fees are charged due to job transfer or household registration relocation, without changing ownership and with complete procedures as required by the Public Security Agency, the rates specified in Section II, Schedule of Fees shall apply.

3.4. The basis for applying the fee for issuing the registration certificate and license plate for motorcycles is the value used to calculate the stamp duty at the time of registration.

III. ORGANIZATION OF COLLECTION, PAYMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF FEE FUNDS

1. The Public Security Agency responsible for registering and issuing registration certificates and license plates for motor vehicles shall collect fees in accordance with the provisions of this Circular. When collecting fees, they must issue a receipt to the payer (the type of receipt prescribed by the Ministry of Finance).

2. Organizations and individuals registering motor vehicles must pay the fee according to the rates specified in this Circular before obtaining the registration certificate and license plate.

3. The amount of fees collected under 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 where the main office is located 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 for each period (as recorded 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 police agency responsible for collecting the fees shall retain a portion according to the following percentages:

- In Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City: 15%.

- In other centrally-administered cities: 25%.

- In other provinces: 40%.

The police agency shall use the retained amount according to the specific purposes as follows:

a) Printing (or purchasing) forms, declarations, applications, and registration files; certificates of registration; and books for tracking registration, including laminating and numbering the vehicles.

b) Repairing and maintaining equipment and machinery directly serving the collection of fees.

c) For purchasing equipment to modernize the fee collection process.

d) 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).

e) To establish a reward fund and welfare fund for staff directly involved in fee collection for 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 the revenue is lower than or equal to the previous year.

The entire amount of fees allocated according to the above ratios must be balanced in the annual financial plan by the Public Security Agency. During management, the funds must be used for the intended purposes according to current financial expenditure regulations and must be supported by legitimate invoices. Based on the retained funds for fee collection, the Director of the Provincial or Central City Public Security Agency may decide to reallocate surplus funds from units with excess funds to those with insufficient funds (if the local area has delegated vehicle registration to the district-level Public Security Agency) or to purchase equipment to modernize the fee collection process. At the end of the year, any unspent funds 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 for the Public Security Agency according to the prescribed ratio), the Public Security Agency shall deposit into the state budget according to the corresponding chapter, type, and item 046 sub-item 12 of the State Budget Classification and allocate 100% to the local budget for investment in road infrastructure development, public transportation, and traffic safety work.

Procedures for registration, declaration, collection, and payment of fees for issuing registration certificates and license plates shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of laws on fees and charges.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

This Circular shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. Other regulations concerning registration fees and license plates for motor vehicles that conflict with this Circular are hereby abolished. Other fees and charges (excluding registration fees and license plates) shall continue to be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 77/TC-TCT dated November 29, 1996 of the Ministry of Finance on the collection, payment, and management of state administrative fees for road traffic order and safety and urban traffic order and safety.

In the course of implementation, if there are any difficulties, it is requested that agencies, organizations, and individuals promptly report them to the Ministry of Finance for study and supplementary guidance./.