Circular No. 45/2021/TT-BGTVT on toll station operations

CIRCULAR

Provisions on toll station operations

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On the basis of Decree No. 86/2012/NĐ-CP dated October 19, 2012, issued by the Government detailing and guiding implementation of certain provisions of the Metrology Law;

Pursuant to the Public-Private Partnership Investment Law dated June 18, 2020;

Pursuant to Decree No. 12/2017/NĐ-CP dated February 10, 2017, issued by the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

Pursuant to Decision No. 19/2020/QD-TTg dated June 17, 2020 of the Prime Minister on the collection of service fees for road usage through electronic automatic non-stop systems;

At the proposal of the Director of the Infrastructure Department and the General Director of the Vietnam Highway Administration;

The Minister of Transport issues this Circular on the operation of toll stations for national highways.

 

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates the operation of toll stations on the road network in Vietnam.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to organizations and individuals related to the operation of toll stations on the road network in Vietnam.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

1. A toll station (hereinafter referred to as the toll station) is a place where fees for using roads are collected from vehicles participating in road traffic.

2. The fee collection management unit is an organization authorized by competent authorities to collect or permitted to collect fees for using roads.

3. The fee collection operating unit is an organization assigned tasks or contracted services by the fee collection management unit to perform the task of collecting fees for using roads at toll stations, or it is the fee collection management unit itself if the fee collection management unit carries out the task directly.

4. The service provider for electronic non-stop fee collection is an entity defined in Clause 7, Article 3 of Decision No. 19/2020/QD-TTg dated June 17, 2020, of the Government on the collection of road usage fees through electronic non-stop methods (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 19/2020/QD-TTg) and is contracted by the fee collection management unit to provide electronic non-stop fee collection services.

5. The system management and monitoring operating unit is an entity entrusted or authorized by competent authorities to manage, operate, and exploit data from the management and monitoring system.

6. Toll station infrastructure includes: control house; gantry and toll gate (if any); road surface and lighting system within the toll station area; lane dividers (if any); toll booth (if any); safety equipment and traffic safety systems at the toll station.

7. The front-end system and equipment installed at the toll station, directly interacting with vehicles passing through the station (hereinafter referred to as the front-end system) includes electronic devices such as card readers, antennas, license plate recognition cameras, vehicle entry recognition devices, high-speed barriers, and other automated hardware, software, and equipment. The front-end system connects to the back-end system to send transaction information and receive information about vehicles and terminal cards.

8. The central management system (hereinafter referred to as the back-end system) includes subsystems, hardware, and software located at the Data Center, serving essential business and operational requirements of the automatic non-stop fee collection system. The back-end system receives and processes transactions sent from the front-end system, manages accounts, customers (vehicle owners), terminal cards, registered vehicles using terminal cards, settlement, reconciliation reports, bank connections, and other management and operational functions.

9. The management and monitoring system is a software and information technology infrastructure with functions to manage, monitor, and exploit traffic flow and revenue data from vehicles passing through toll stations.

Article 4. Principles of toll station operations

1. Criteria for establishing toll stations on roads:

a) Must be within the scope of the project (not applicable to the fee collection method specified in point a, Clause 1, Article 9 of this Circular).

b) Must be approved by competent authorities in the feasibility study report of the investment project or in the asset exploitation plan of the road transport infrastructure.

c) Implement electronic non-stop fee collection methods and use advanced and modern road usage fee collection technologies; in case of applying other methods, approval from competent authorities is required.

d) In cases where toll stations recover costs for public-private partnership projects, they must ensure the project's investment efficiency.

e) Publicly disclose the location of toll stations on national and local mass media; at the People's Committee of the district and commune where the toll station is located, starting from when the competent authority approves according to the provisions of point a of this clause.

2. Principles of toll station operations: Toll station operations must be transparent and open; ensure safety and privacy of personal information of users, only providing information with the user's consent or upon request of state authorities according to the law.

Chapter II

ROAD TOLL STATION OPERATIONS

Article 5. Management and operation of toll stations

1. For projects constructed and operated under the public-private partnership model, the toll station infrastructure and the Front-End system are project components that must be built and completed before the project is put into operation.

2. For projects constructed and operated under other forms as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, in cases where the competent authority approves the policy to collect road usage fees, the toll station infrastructure shall be implemented within the project and completed before it is put into operation. The fee collection management unit proposes the investment form to the competent authority.

3. For projects currently in the operational phase: The fee collection management unit proposes the organization form for collecting fees, funding sources, and the investment form for the Front-End system to the competent authority for decision-making.

Article 6. Operation and maintenance of the Back-End system

1. The Back-End system is managed, operated, maintained, and capital recovered through the electronic non-stop road usage service fee collection service charges by the service provider.

2. In addition to the data center specified in Point d, Clause 1 of Article 6 of Decision No. 19/2020/QĐ-TTg, the electronic non-stop road usage service fee collection system must have a backup data center or a data backup system for the data center. The data center, backup data center, or backup system of the electronic non-stop road usage service fee collection system must be placed (or rented) at a data center with technical assurance level 3 or higher as specified in Appendix A of Technical Standard TCVN 9250:2012 Data Center - Requirements for Telecommunications Infrastructure; and must comply with the provisions of Circular No. 03/2013/TT-BTTTT dated January 22, 2013 issued by the Minister of Information and Communications on the application of technical standards and regulations for Data Centers.

Article 7. Operation and maintenance of toll station infrastructure and the Front-End system

The fee collection operating unit implements the operation and maintenance of toll station infrastructure and the Front-End system according to assigned tasks or service collection contracts with the fee collection management unit. Operating and maintenance costs are taken from the toll collection operation costs and the maintenance and operation project costs during the operational phase, or the electronic non-stop road usage service fee collection system costs.

Article 8. Working hours and uniforms

1. Toll stations operate 24/7 throughout the year, including holidays and public holidays (except in cases of cessation or temporary cessation of collection as provided for in a competent authority's document).

2. When a toll station must cease operations due to force majeure, the fee collection operating unit must take measures to ensure traffic congestion does not occur around the toll station; simultaneously, it must immediately report to the fee collection management unit and the competent authority to take remedial measures and resume toll station operations as soon as possible.

3. Workers at toll stations must wear uniforms while performing their duties. The uniform design for workers at toll stations is decided by the fee collection operating unit but must ensure that it includes the insignia, emblem of the fee collection operating unit, nameplate, and position badge placed in easily visible positions.

Article 9. Forms and methods of collecting road service fees

1. Collection of road service fees shall be carried out through electronic toll collection without stopping and single-stop forms.

a) Electronic toll collection without stopping is an automatic form of collecting road service fees where vehicles participating in road traffic do not need to stop at toll stations to pay for using the road.

b) Single-stop form is a method of collecting road service fees where vehicles must stop once at the toll station's lane control gate to pay for using the road when passing through the toll station.

2. Collection of road service fees shall be conducted through open and closed methods.

a) Open method is a collection method where the vehicle owner pays a fixed amount at the toll station regardless of the distance traveled on the section of the road subject to road service fees, but dependent on the type of vehicle.

b) Closed method is a collection method where the vehicle owner pays a fixed amount at the toll station based on the distance traveled on the section of the road subject to road service fees and the type of vehicle.

3. Highways; consecutive highway sections; highway routes; interconnected highway routes shall be organized into a unified system of collection implemented through the closed method.

4. Mixed toll lanes (lanes applying both electronic toll collection without stopping and single-stop forms) at toll stations shall be arranged according to the provisions of point a and point b, Clause 3, Article 5 of Decision No. 19/2020/QĐ-TTg.

5. The forms and methods of collecting road service fees shall be decided by the competent authority in the Feasibility Study Report of the investment project or in the Operation Plan of Road Traffic Infrastructure Assets.

Article 10. Collection Data

1. Collection data includes information on the vehicle owner from the electronic toll collection system and transaction history data.

2. Information on the vehicle owner from the electronic toll collection system includes the following:

a) Contact information of the vehicle owner: Identity card number, or citizen identification card number, or passport number; business registration code, residential address or main office address; contact phone number and email address (if available) for receiving electronic toll collection receipts.

b) Unique identifier of the road vehicle recognized for payment from the toll account.

c) Vehicle weight, passenger capacity, vehicle type, license plate number.

3. Transaction history data includes:

a) Transaction information files when the vehicle passes through the toll station;

b) Files on traffic volume, toll revenue, single trip tickets, monthly tickets, quarterly tickets;

c) Lane surveillance video files, cabin surveillance video files (if available), panoramic surveillance video files;

d) Image files of vehicles passing through the toll station including: License plate images ensuring clear reading of the license plate; full view images of the vehicle ensuring recognition of the vehicle type;

đ) Account balance information and transaction history of the electronic toll collection system.

4. Collection data must comply with the provisions in Section 5.3.5 TCVN 10849:2015 Electronic Toll Collection System and relevant regulations of the competent authority.

5. Data retention regime

a) Minimum retention period of 1 year: Panoramic surveillance video files, cabin surveillance video files (if available);

b) Minimum retention period of 5 years: Lane surveillance video files; image files of vehicles passing through the toll station;

c) Retention from the date the toll station begins operation until 10 years after the PPP contract is terminated: Owner information data from the electronic toll collection system; transaction information files when the vehicle passes through the toll station; data files on traffic volume, revenue from road service fees, single trip tickets, monthly tickets, quarterly tickets.

Article 11. Data Connection for Collection

1. Collected data shall be connected according to the provisions set forth in Clause 5.3.6 of TCVN 10849:2015 Electronic Toll Collection System and the requirements for Back-End connection among service providers.

2. For projects implementing closed mode, the Collection Operation Unit must immediately connect and synchronize transaction history data to the Back-End system of the service provider when the vehicle passes through the entry toll station.

3. Service providers must ensure mechanisms for connecting, sharing, and synchronizing data on the principles of readiness, feasibility, convenience, avoiding duplication, and wastage during management and operation, and as required by competent authorities. The costs for connecting collection data between Back-End systems shall be agreed upon by the service providers in accordance with applicable laws.

4. The data specified in Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 10 of this Circular must be connected to the Management and Supervision System of the competent authority (if any).

5. Data connection must ensure transmission speed and redundancy; meet security and information/data protection requirements as stipulated in Clause 5.3.7 of TCVN 10849:2015 Electronic Toll Collection System and current regulations on ensuring information system security.

Article 12. Management and Utilization of Collection Data

1. The Vietnam Highway Administration manages and utilizes collection data from highway toll stations on its Management and Supervision System; accesses electronic non-stop collection data through login credentials provided to access the portal designated for state management agencies within the service provider's Back-End system. Data management and utilization must comply with legal provisions on information security.

2. The Department of Transport and Roads manages and utilizes collection data from highway toll stations on the Management and Supervision System of the competent authority (if any); accesses electronic non-stop collection data from locally managed highway toll stations through login credentials provided to access the portal designated for state management agencies within the service provider's Back-End system.

3. The service provider manages electronic non-stop collection data on the Back-End system in accordance with the service contract.

4. The Collection Management Unit and the Collection Operation Unit manage collection data at toll stations under their jurisdiction in a single-stop format.

5. The Collection Management Unit and the Collection Operation Unit may utilize electronic non-stop collection data from toll stations under their jurisdiction through login credentials provided to access the portal of the service provider's Back-End system.

6. Vehicle owners may access their account data for road usage service fees on the electronic non-stop road usage service fee collection system through login credentials provided to access the customer portal of the service provider's Back-End system.

Article 13. Management and Oversight of Highway Toll Station Operations

1. The Collection Management Unit, Collection Operation Unit, and service provider must regularly inspect and oversee toll station operations to ensure compliance with regulations; provide complete information, data, figures, and documents as required by competent authorities regarding issues related to supervision, inspection, investigation, and handling matters concerning traffic safety and security during operation.

2. Competent authorities manage, inspect, and oversee highway toll station operations using the Management and Supervision System or other professional methods, and handle violations of toll station activities in accordance with the law and contractual provisions.

3. The Management and Supervision System plays a role in providing information to support the oversight of road usage service fee collection activities at toll stations, detailed in Appendix 1 issued together with this Circular.

4. The parties: Collection Management Unit, Collection Operation Unit, and service provider have the responsibility to cooperate, provide, and update information on the Management and Supervision System as required by the competent authority.

Chapter III

MANAGEMENT OF COLLECTED FUNDS

Article 14. Opening and using accounts for collecting road service usage fees of vehicle owners

1. Opening and using accounts for collecting road service usage fees shall be carried out in accordance with Articles 10 and 11 of Decision No. 19/2020/QĐ-TTg.

2. The entire amount in the account for collecting road service usage fees must be managed independently and separately from other funds of the Service Provider and can only be used for purposes specified in Clause 3 of this Article.

3. The account for collecting road service usage fees shall be used to perform the following transactions:

a) Receiving prepaid payments into the account;

b) Paying back amounts due to vehicle owners;

c) Transferring payments to Management Units; paying electronic non-stop road service fee collection services to the Service Provider;

d) Depositing fines into the state budget according to the provisions of the law.

đ) Paying other services as prescribed by law.

4. Vehicle owners deposit money into the account for collecting road service usage fees (through direct payment methods, bank account linking, and other forms) to use electronic non-stop road service fee collection services as stipulated.

5. In cases where vehicles equipped with terminal cards have insufficient funds in their accounts for collecting road service usage fees when passing through electronic non-stop road service fee collection lanes, they must use hybrid toll lanes.

Article 15. Responsibilities of the Service Provider and Management Units

1. The Service Provider has the responsibility:

a) To issue receipts for road service usage fees accurately to the correct recipients and values at toll stations; not to collect or obstruct those who are not required to pay road service usage fees according to the law at toll stations, and not to change the road service usage fee rates without written approval from the competent authority;

b) To conduct annual revenue audits in accordance with the law and service contracts;

c) To regularly inspect and supervise the collection of road service usage fees to ensure compliance with the contract or the law;

d) To return the revenue collected from road service usage fees to the Management Unit after deducting the service charges of the toll station according to the service contract;

đ) To manage all funds deposited by vehicle owners into the account for collecting road service usage fees of the Service Provider in accordance with the law;

e) To issue value-added tax invoices for the service charges of toll stations paid monthly and transfer these invoices to related Management Units;

2. The Management Unit has the responsibility:

a) To report to the competent authority on the use of the account for collecting road service usage fees of the Service Provider, including: management measures for the use of the account for collecting road service usage fees of the Service Provider, agreements/commitments with banks regarding the management and use of the account for collecting road service usage fees of the Service Provider;

b) To declare and pay taxes in accordance with the law;

c) To prepare periodic monthly, quarterly, six-monthly, and annual reports on revenue from collecting road service usage fees and the situation of collecting road service usage fees, and to report to the competent authority as prescribed;

d) To verify, reconcile, and accept the revenue from road service usage fees transferred by the Service Provider. To use this fund to repay the PPP contract.

Article 16. Reconciliation of collected amounts and transfer of funds to the account for road service usage fees; vouchers and electronic invoices for collection activities

1. Reconciliation of prepaid account payments made by vehicle owners: On a daily basis, the Service Provider shall reconcile the amount paid by vehicle owners into the prepaid account with the bank, agents, and intermediary payment units. Monthly, if interest is calculated on the balance in the vehicle owner's prepaid account, the Service Provider shall be responsible for adding the accrued interest for the month to the vehicle owner's prepaid account according to the bank's interest calculation rules.

2. Reconciliation of road service usage fee collections between the Service Provider and the Collection Management Unit shall be carried out based on the following principles:

a) The Service Provider shall reconcile the daily collection data for road service usage fees immediately after the data closing time (24 hours from the data closing time) with the Collection Management Unit as the basis for confirming the amount of road service usage fees collected on that day; the data closing time is agreed upon in the service provision contract.

b) Before the fifth day of each month, the Service Provider and the Collection Management Unit shall reconcile and settle accounts for the previous month.

c) Within thirty days from the end of each fiscal year, the Service Provider and the Collection Management Unit shall settle accounts and finalize the settlement for the previous year.

3. The Service Provider shall be responsible for establishing a reconciliation and fund transfer process consistent with this Circular and relevant laws.

4. The Collection Management Unit shall be responsible for coordinating with the Service Provider to implement the reconciliation process and address and adjust any errors or discrepancies identified through the reconciliation process.

5. The Service Provider shall be responsible for publicly disclosing the daily collection amounts and the outstanding balances owed by vehicles at each toll station (if applicable).

6. On a daily basis, the Collection Operation Unit and the Service Provider shall be responsible for verifying and updating accurate data in the Management and Monitoring System regarding the following items: Collected amounts, outstanding road service usage fees owed by vehicles at each toll station, transferred amounts to PPP projects (details by project), retained amounts; revenue, traffic volume, and explanations for revenue and traffic volume variances.

the amount retained; revenue, volume, and explanation of revenue and volume variances.

Article 17. Transfer of collected road service usage fees and payment of service provision costs

1. Based on the reconciled data agreed upon after daily reconciliation with the Collection Management Unit, the Service Provider shall transfer the entire amount of collected road service usage fees (including value-added tax) from each electronic non-stop toll station to the Collection Management Unit after deducting the service provision cost for electronic non-stop toll collection services according to the service provision contract between the Service Provider and the PPP Project Enterprise. The transfer time shall comply with Clause 1, Article 14 of Decision No. 19/2020/QĐ-TTg and the service provision contract between the Service Provider and the PPP Project Enterprise but not exceeding twelve hours from the data closing time. In cases where banking systems are closed on holidays or weekends preventing the transfer of funds, the transfer shall be made immediately (within six hours) when the banking system resumes operations.

2. The Service Provider shall be responsible for establishing a process for handling electronic non-stop toll collection transactions; declaring and paying various taxes on the retained portion of road service usage fee collections.

3. The Collection Management Unit shall be responsible for declaring and paying various taxes in accordance with tax laws.

Article 18. Operating costs, service fee collection for electronic non-stop toll road usage services, supervision costs for toll collection activities

Clause 1. Operating costs for collecting tolls for road usage services are necessary expenses to complete tasks of collecting tolls for road usage from vehicles participating in road traffic. Operating costs for collecting tolls for road usage services are determined according to regulations issued by state agencies or contracts for providing electronic non-stop toll road usage services that have been signed.

Clause 2. Service fees for collecting electronic non-stop toll road usage services are amounts that the service provider earns to recover investment, construction, renovation, management, operation, and maintenance costs of electronic non-stop toll road usage projects. The service fees for collecting electronic non-stop toll road usage at each toll station are specifically defined in the contract for providing electronic non-stop toll road usage services and are directly deducted from the revenue from toll road usage services of road construction projects with tolls.

Service fees for collecting electronic non-stop toll road usage will be adjusted according to the provisions in the clauses of the contract for providing electronic non-stop toll road usage services or relevant laws.

3. Supervision costs for road usage service fee collection activities

The managing unit is responsible for arranging staff to carry out inspection and supervision work on toll collection, reconciliation of toll road usage service payment data with the service provider or with the PPP project enterprise in cases of joint collection. Costs for inspection and supervision work, reconciliation of the managing unit are taken from operating toll collection costs.

The competent authority organizes the implementation and operation of the Management and Supervision System; establishes and submits to the higher-level management agency for decision-making on annual budget allocation from regular expenditure for road economic activities according to the Ministry of Finance's regulations.

Chapter IV

RESPONSIBILITIES IN COLLECTION ACTIVITIES

Article 19. Responsibilities of the owner of road traffic vehicles

Clause 1. Implement the responsibilities of the owner of road traffic vehicles as stipulated in Article 22 of Decision No. 19/2020/QĐ-TTg.

Clause 2. Pay tolls for road usage according to regulations, comply with regulations of competent authorities and the managing unit when participating in road traffic on toll roads.

Clause 3. Owners of road traffic vehicles using monthly or quarterly tickets must affix terminal cards and follow the method of collecting electronic non-stop toll road usage services.

Clause 4. Only one terminal card can be used for one vehicle participating in road traffic. In case the terminal card is damaged or causes issues affecting the equipment of the service provider or the toll account of the vehicle owner; or if the owner wishes to change the service provider, they must contact the service provider to handle the situation.

Article 20. Responsibilities of the Managing Unit

Clause 1. Lead in building and approving procedures for collecting tolls for road usage services suitable with the form and method of collecting tolls for road usage services at toll stations; internal regulations on inspection, violation handling, and issue resolution during the process of collecting tolls for road usage services.

Clause 2. Publicly announce continuously five days before and post public notices at toll stations when organizing the start of toll collection regarding the starting point of toll collection, toll station location, collection technology, collection form, collection target, toll rate, and exempted or reduced targets. In cases of changes in toll rates, collection technology, collection form, collection target, the unit must publicly announce and post similar notices as when starting toll collection thirty days prior (or according to the document of the competent authority). Forms of public announcement include posting on local and central mass media; simultaneously sending announcements to the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association.

For projects invested under the public-private partnership model, throughout the entire collection period, the managing unit (or authorizing the collection operation unit) must publicly display information on electronic signboards (VMS boards) installed in the control room area, including: project name, project value (in cases where the project has not been settled, it is announced based on the total investment amount), total toll collection time, start date, remaining collection time, previous month's toll station revenue (revenue data updated no later than the 10th day of the following month), phone number for receiving feedback.

Clause 3. Report statistical, accounting, bookkeeping, settlement of revenue, declaration, and payment of taxes according to legal regulations.

Clause 4. Manage assets entrusted to manage, assets received from the state, toll station assets formed during the investment process in accordance with current regulations and contracts signed with competent authorities.

Clause 5. Pay state asset usage fees or infrastructure road asset exploitation rights fees (if applicable) according to legal regulations on state asset management and utilization.

Clause 6. Hand over toll station assets to the competent authority or designated units upon contract termination. Assets handed over must be in normal operational condition as stipulated in the contract.

Clause 7. Comply with decisions on temporarily suspending, stopping toll collection, or deducting toll collection time made by the competent authority or units assigned by the competent authority to manage toll collection activities.

Clause 8. Provide full information, data, figures, documents as required by functional agencies regarding issues related to supervision, inspection, investigation, and handling of security and traffic safety issues during exploitation.

Article 21. Responsibilities of the Toll Collection Operating Unit

1. Perform tasks assigned by the Toll Management Unit or carry out service collection contracts signed with the Toll Management Unit. Coordinate with local authorities at toll stations to maintain security and order during the collection of road usage service fees, ensure traffic safety, prevent traffic congestion, and guarantee that no negative phenomena, obstruction, or harassment occur in the collection process; promptly address any violations during the collection process.

2. Manage labor and resolve benefits for workers at toll stations in accordance with the law.

3. Backup collection data as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 10 of this Circular for monitoring and post-audit purposes.

4. Comply with the installation of management and supervision equipment and software by authorized agencies, and take responsibility for coordinating and ensuring stable and continuous online connection with the authorized agency's management and supervision system for toll collection, and implement the provisions of Article 13 of this Circular.

5. In case the toll collection technology system experiences malfunctions or damage, the Toll Collection Operating Unit must promptly report to the authorized agency or the Toll Management Unit; simultaneously, quickly repair the system issues. The repair time shall not exceed 48 hours from the moment the system malfunctions or is damaged. During the repair period, the Toll Collection Operating Unit must publicly announce at the toll station and through media outlets; implement measures to ensure quick, safe, and efficient collection to avoid traffic congestion, and adopt measures to monitor and prevent revenue loss from road usage service fee collection.

6. Ensure environmental sanitation around the toll station; comply with traffic organization plans on the route where the toll station is located, approved by the competent authority.

7. Adhere to decisions to temporarily suspend or stop collection made by authorized agencies or units tasked with managing road usage service fee collection by authorized agencies.

8. Do not allow the following actions to occur:

a) Fraud involving road usage service fees or collusion in fraud during the collection of road usage service fees;

b) Interfering with the toll collection technology system, surveillance system, management system, vehicle weight inspection equipment, and engaging in corrupt practices in the field of vehicle weight surveillance; reporting false revenues to defraud road usage service revenues;

c) Organizing ticket sales and inspections untimely, harassing ticket buyers; failing to sell all types of monthly and quarterly tickets as required; obstructing and causing traffic congestion at the toll station area; collecting road usage service fees in violation of regulations;

d) Accepting cash from road transport vehicle users without issuing tickets or issuing incorrect type tickets for vehicles passing through the toll station; allowing road transport vehicles (which require tickets) to pass through the toll station without tickets;

đ) Failing to perform maintenance on toll station assets; arbitrarily dismantling, liquidating, or selling toll station assets; failing to calibrate and inspect equipment groups that require calibration and inspection according to regulations;

e) Using technology or other methods to upload inaccurate data to the toll collection management and supervision system, or interfering with the toll collection surveillance software leading to discrepancies in traffic volume and revenue at the toll station.

9. Bear the responsibility to compensate the Toll Management Unit for losses incurred due to temporary suspension or cessation of collection, except for periods of collection interrupted due to the Toll Collection Operating Unit's fault or other cases stipulated in the contract.

Article 22. Responsibilities of the Service Provider for Collection

1. Fulfill the responsibilities of the Service Provider for Collection as prescribed in Article 26 of Decision No. 19/2020/QĐ-TTg, except where otherwise provided by the competent authority.

2. Backup collection data as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 10 of this Circular to serve monitoring and post-audit activities.

3. Ensure that the performance index (hereinafter referred to as KPI) of the interconnection and coordination system among Service Providers for Collection complies with the provisions set out in Appendix 2 attached to this Circular.

4. Ensure that the KPI of the electronic non-stop toll collection system at toll stations meets the minimum requirements of the competent authority.

5. Comply with decisions to temporarily suspend or stop collection made by the competent authority or by units assigned by the competent authority to manage the collection of road usage service fees.

6. Coordinate with the System Management and Monitoring Unit to reconcile daily collection data on the system.

7. Not allow the occurrence of the following acts:

a) Fraud involving road usage service fees or collusion in fraud during the collection of road usage service fees;

b) Interfere with the collection technology system, the monitoring and management system, the vehicle weight inspection equipment system, and engage in negative practices in the field of vehicle weight monitoring; report false revenue to fraudulently increase road usage revenue;

c) Misuse funds in the account for collecting road usage service fees.

8. Bear responsibility for compensating losses to the Collection Management Unit in cases of temporary suspension or cessation of collection, except for periods of collection interrupted due to errors of the Service Provider for Collection or other cases as stipulated in the contract.

Article 23. Responsibilities of the System Management and Monitoring Operation Unit

1. Adequately staff operational personnel to ensure stable and continuous operation of the System Management and Monitoring.

2. Coordinate with the Collection Management Unit, the Collection Operation Unit, and the Service Provider for Collection to reconcile collection data on the System Management and Monitoring.

3. Uniformly provide reports as specified in point a, Clause 1, Article 25 of this Circular or ad hoc reports upon request of the competent authority through the System Management and Monitoring.

4. Receive and report to the competent authority complaints from the Collection Management Unit, the Collection Operation Unit, and the Service Provider for Collection during implementation.

5. Notify acts of fraud and violations of traffic laws by road transport vehicle owners to the Collection Management Unit and relevant authorities for handling in accordance with the law and contractual provisions.

6. Perform maintenance, repair, and upgrade of the System Management and Monitoring to ensure stable and continuous operation.

7. Ensure confidentiality of information and security of collected data in accordance with regulations.

Article 24. Responsibilities of State Management Authorities

1. The Vietnam Highway Administration is the agency responsible for state management of toll stations and the collection of road usage service fees on national highways and expressways under central management. It is responsible for organizing implementation, inspecting, and supervising the operation of the electronic non-stop toll collection system and toll stations on the road network in accordance with the law and this Circular.

2. Local government agencies are responsible for state management of toll stations and the collection of road usage service fees on local roads; on national highways and expressways where the competent authority is the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city. They are responsible for organizing implementation, inspecting, and supervising the operation of the electronic non-stop toll collection system and toll stations on the road network in accordance with the law and this Circular.

Article 25. Reporting System

1. The revenue collection management unit and service provider have the responsibility to implement periodic reports sent to the competent authority or the unit assigned by the competent authority to manage revenue collection activities, as follows:

a) Report name: Periodic report on road service revenue, traffic volume through toll stations, and Periodic report on asset management and utilization;

b) Content required for reporting: Road service revenue, traffic volume through toll stations; situation of asset management and utilization;

c) Reporting entities: Revenue collection management units and service providers;

d) Receiving authority: Competent authority or the unit assigned by the competent authority to manage revenue collection activities;

đ) Method of sending and receiving reports: Direct submission or via postal service;

e) Deadline for submitting reports:

Monthly report on road service revenue and traffic volume through toll stations: Submitted before the 10th day of the following month; mid-year report (first six months) submitted before July 10 each year; annual report submitted before February 28 of the following year.

Mid-year report on asset management and utilization: Submitted before July 10 each year; annual report submitted before January 10 of the following year.

g) Frequency of reporting:

Monthly report on road service revenue and traffic volume through toll stations: Periodic monthly, mid-year (first six months), and annual reports.

Mid-year report on asset management and utilization: Periodic mid-year (first six months) and annual reports.

h) Time period for data consolidation for reporting:

Monthly report: From the first day to the end of the reporting month;

Mid-year report (first six months): From January 1 to June 30 of the reporting year;

Annual report: From January 1 to December 31 of the reporting year.

i) Reporting form templates:

Monthly report on road service revenue and traffic volume through toll stations: According to Model 1 to Model 7 of Appendix 3 issued together with this Circular;

Report on asset management and utilization: According to Model 8 of Appendix 3 issued together with this Circular.

2. In addition to the periodic reports stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the revenue collection management unit and service provider shall be responsible for submitting ad hoc reports upon request of the competent authority or the unit assigned by the competent authority to manage revenue collection activities.

3. The revenue collection management unit and service provider are responsible for the accuracy of the reported data. Specifically, the annual report on road service revenue must be audited independently or confirmed by the tax authority.

Chapter V

TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF COLLECTION, STOPPING COLLECTION, EXCEPT DURING COLLECTION PERIOD

Article 26. Temporary Suspension of Collection

1. Temporary suspension of collection when the PPP Project Enterprise or the revenue collection management unit violates the quality maintenance of highway infrastructure, which has been warned twice in writing by the competent authority with a deadline for rectification. Specific details about violations of quality maintenance are defined in Appendix 4 issued together with this Circular. The temporary suspension period starts from the date specified in the suspension notice until the PPP Project Enterprise or the revenue collection management unit completes the rectification, but not less than one day.

2. Temporary suspension of collection when the PPP Project Enterprise, the revenue collection management unit, the revenue operation unit, or the service provider causes situations that pose risks to traffic safety or prolonged traffic congestion on the route, which has been requested twice in writing by the competent authority to rectify within a deadline but fails to do so or delays doing so. The temporary suspension period starts from the date specified in the stop notice until the PPP Project Enterprise, the revenue collection management unit, the revenue operation unit, or the service provider completes the rectification, but not less than one day.

3. Temporary suspension of collection when the revenue operation unit commits violations as stipulated in Point a and Point b of Clause 8, Article 21 of this Circular, and the service provider commits violations as stipulated in Point a and Point b of Clause 7, Article 22 of this Circular. The temporary suspension period starts from the date specified in the suspension notice until the revenue operation unit or the service provider completes the rectification of the violation consequences and receives a written permit from the competent authority to resume fee collection.

4. Temporary suspension of collection when the revenue operation unit commits violations as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 21 of this Circular, which has been requested at least twice in writing by the competent authority with a deadline for rectification. The temporary suspension period starts from the date specified in the suspension notice until the revenue operation unit completes the contents stipulated in Clause 4, Article 21 of this Circular.

5. Temporary suspension of collection when the technology system or equipment directly serving the collection of road service fees malfunctions or breaks down and is not promptly repaired as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 21 of this Circular. The temporary suspension period starts from the date specified in the suspension notice until the revenue operation unit repairs the malfunction and receives a written permit from the competent authority to resume fee collection.

6. Temporary suspension of collection when there is a request from the competent authority due to disease outbreaks, natural disasters, war, or national security and defense needs, or in accordance with state policies.

7. Temporary suspension of collection when the revenue collection management unit, revenue operation unit, or service provider intentionally delays or fails to comply with decisions of the competent authority.

8. Cases of temporary suspension of collection not due to the fault of the revenue collection management unit, revenue operation unit, or service provider shall be handled according to the provisions of the law or the service collection contract.

Article 27. Suspension of Collection

1. In cases where the project has exceeded the collection period for capital recovery as stipulated in the contract, the Collection Management Unit must proactively suspend collection or implement the decision to suspend collection issued by the competent authority (or the unit entrusted by the competent authority to manage the collection of road usage fees). The time for suspension of collection shall be determined according to the collection contract between the competent authority and the Collection Management Unit or the contract with the PPP Project Enterprise.

2. Suspension of fee collection in cases prescribed in Clause 2, Article 52 of the Law on Investment under Public-Private Partnership.

Article 28. Deduction of Collection Time

1. Deduction of collection time when the Collection Operating Unit, Service Provider does not perform data backup as required by Article 10 of this Circular, except in cases of legitimate reasons approved by the competent authority. Two days of collection time will be deducted if there is no data backup for 10 to 15 days; four days of collection time will be deducted if there is no data backup for 16 to 30 days; for cases without data backup from day 31 onwards, two days of collection time will be deducted for every five days without data backup.

2. Deduction of collection time when the Collection Management Unit, Collection Operating Unit, Service Provider fails to report as required by Article 25 of this Circular or fails to pay the State asset usage fee, or fails to pay the infrastructure asset exploitation right fee as prescribed by current regulations after being reminded twice by the competent authority, each reminder being at least five days apart. One day of collection time will be deducted if the report is late by 10 to 30 days; two days of collection time will be deducted if the report is late by 31 to 60 days; for cases where the report is late by more than 60 days, one day of collection time will be deducted for every five days of delay in submitting the report.

Article 29. Organization of Temporary Suspension, Suspension, and Deduction of Collection Time

1. The competent authority decides on temporary suspension, suspension, or deduction of collection time:

a) The Vietnam Highway Administration decides on temporary suspension, suspension, or deduction of collection time for toll stations on national highways and expressways managed by the central government;

b) For toll stations on local roads and national highways and expressways where the competent authority is the People's Committee of provinces and centrally-administered cities, the competent local authority decides on temporary suspension, suspension, or deduction of collection time within their jurisdiction.

2. The time during which temporary suspension occurs as prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 of Article 26 of this Circular shall not be counted towards extending the collection period for road usage service fees as stipulated in the contract signed between the competent authority and the PPP Project Enterprise.

3. Daily revenue during temporary suspension is calculated based on the average daily revenue of the month immediately following the suspension. In cases where the Collection Operating Unit violates the provisions at points a and b of Clause 8, Article 21 of this Circular, and the Service Provider violates the provisions at points a and b of Clause 7, Article 22 of this Circular, in addition to the temporary suspension as prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 26 of this Circular, daily revenue during temporary suspension is determined as three times the highest revenue day of the month immediately following.

Average daily revenue in the month is the average daily revenue of total ticket revenue, monthly ticket revenue, quarterly ticket revenue recorded in that month.

4. During the period of temporary suspension, the Collection Management Unit, Collection Operating Unit, and Service Provider are responsible for ensuring smooth and safe traffic flow, and may not cause traffic congestion or obstruction, and must widely announce through mass media at both central and local levels, as well as publicly at the toll station.

5. Cases of deduction of collection time are deducted at the end of the project's capital recovery period when settling the project contract.

Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 30. Forward Processing

1. For project contracts currently under negotiation but not yet signed, the competent authority shall review and adjust the relevant clauses in the project contract based on the provisions of this Circular.

2. For toll stations that have been located and for which contracts and supplementary agreements in the form of public-private partnership have been signed before the effective date of this Circular, they shall be implemented according to the signed contracts and supplementary agreements. As for the operational costs of collecting road usage service fees from the time of switching to electronic non-stop road usage service fee collection, they shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Circular, other related regulations, and the signed contracts.

Article 31. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from March 31, 2022, and replaces Circular No. 15/2020/TT-BGTVT dated July 22, 2020, issued by the Ministry of Transport regarding the operation of toll stations for road usage service fees.

2. In cases where the referenced documents in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, the provisions of those amended, supplemented, or replacing documents shall apply.

Article 32. Implementation Organization

1. The Director of the Ministry's Office, the Inspector General of the Ministry, the Heads of Departments, the Director of the Vietnam Highway Administration, the Heads of agencies, organizations, and individuals concerned are responsible for implementing this Circular.

2. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, organizations and individuals are requested to promptly report them to the Ministry of Transport for consideration and resolution./.