Circular No. 89/2014/TT-BGTVT amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 29/2009/TT-BGTVT dated November 17, 2009 of the Ministry of Transport guiding the implementation of some articles of the Agreement on Facilitating Cross-border Transport of Passengers and Goods among the Countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 29/2009/TT-BGTVT dated November 17, 2009 of the Ministry of Transport guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Agreement on Facilitating Transport of Persons and Goods Across Borders in the Greater Mekong Subregion

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On the basis of the Agreement on Facilitating Transport of Persons and Goods Across Borders in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS Agreement) signed on November 26, 1999 in Vientiane, amended on April 30, 2004 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and its Annexes, and the Protocol to the GMS Agreement;

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

At the request of the Director of the Department of International Cooperation and the Director General of the Vietnam Highway Administration,

The Minister of Transport promulgates this Circular amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 29/2009/TT-BGTVT dated November 17, 2009 of the Ministry of Transport guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Agreement on Facilitating Transport of Persons and Goods Across Borders in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 29/2009/TT-BGTVT dated November 17, 2009 of the Ministry of Transport guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Agreement on Facilitating Transport of Persons and Goods Across Borders in the Greater Mekong Subregion

1. Supplementing and amending Clause 4 of Article 4 as follows:

“4. Vehicles of countries implementing the GMS Agreement operating across borders must be conducted within a period of 30 days from the date of entry into Vietnam. If the vehicle cannot leave Vietnam within the prescribed time due to force majeure or other reasonable causes, the enterprise or cooperative using the vehicle must submit an application for extension of the permit. The permit will be extended if the cause of exceeding the time limit is force majeure or other reasonable causes.”

2. Supplementing and amending Point d of Clause 1 of Article 6 as follows:

“d) Professional qualifications: the transport managers of enterprises and cooperatives must have a professional qualification in transport at a level of intermediate or higher, or a qualification at a level of college or higher in other economic or technical fields; they must have at least three consecutive years of work experience in a transport unit or at least three consecutive years of management experience in transport (for enterprises and cooperatives that do not need to have a business license for road transport by motor vehicles according to regulations).”

3. Supplementing and amending Clause 2 and 3 of Article 6 as follows:

“2. Documents for applying for a permit

a) Application form for issuing an international road transport permit under the GMS Agreement of enterprises and cooperatives according to the model specified in Appendix 1 of this Circular;

b) Certified copy or copy with original for comparison of the business license for road transport by motor vehicles (for enterprises and cooperatives required to have a business license for road transport by motor vehicles according to regulations) or business registration certificate with registered business activities in road transport by motor vehicles (for enterprises and cooperatives that do not need to have a business license for road transport by motor vehicles according to regulations);

c) Certified copy or copy with original for comparison of certificates and diplomas of the direct transport managers of enterprises and cooperatives (only applicable to enterprises and cooperatives that do not need to have a business license for road transport by motor vehicles according to regulations);

d) Financial reports of enterprises and cooperatives for the last three consecutive years confirmed by local financial authorities or auditing units.

3. Issuing authority and process for issuing permits

a) Issuing authority: Vietnam Road Administration General Department.

b) Process for issuing permits:

Enterprises and cooperatives submit one set of documents to the Vietnam Road Administration General Department. The Vietnam Road Administration General Department receives and checks the documents; in case of receiving documents directly, if the documents are incomplete according to regulations, the Vietnam Road Administration General Department shall notify the enterprise or cooperative immediately on the same working day to request supplementation and completion of the documents. In case of submitting documents through postal services or other means, if the documents are incomplete according to regulations, within two working days from the date of receipt of the documents, the Vietnam Road Administration General Department must send a written notice to the enterprise or cooperative requesting supplementation and completion of the documents.

Within two working days from the date of receiving complete documents according to regulations, the Vietnam Road Administration General Department must issue the permit; in case of refusal to issue, it must reply in writing and specify the reasons.

c) Enterprises and cooperatives pay the fee for issuing the permit according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

4. Supplementing and amending Article 7 as follows:

“1. Conditions for vehicles to be issued permits

Vehicles legally owned by enterprises and cooperatives that have been issued international road transport permits under the GMS Agreement can be issued GMS road transport permits to transport passengers and goods.

2. Documents for applying for a permit

a) Application form for issuing a GMS road transport permit for vehicles according to the model specified in Appendix 2 of this Circular;

b) Certified copy or copy with original for comparison of the international road transport permit;

c) Certified copy or copy with original for comparison of the vehicle registration certificate and lease agreement for the vehicle with the leasing organization or individual or lease finance agreement if the motor vehicle does not belong to the transport business unit;

d) Certified copy or copy with original for comparison of the certificate of technical safety inspection and environmental protection;

đ) Certified copy or copy with original for comparison of the certificate of compulsory civil liability insurance for the owner of the motor vehicle towards third parties.

3. Issuing authority and process for issuing permits

a) Issuing authority

Provincial Departments of Transport where there are border gates implementing the GMS Agreement issue permits for vehicles of enterprises and cooperatives located in the locality.

Enterprises and cooperatives in provinces and centrally-administered cities without border gates implementing the GMS Agreement may apply for permits for their vehicles at the Vietnam Road Administration General Department or Provincial Departments of Transport with border gates implementing the GMS Agreement.

b) Process for issuing permits

A business or cooperative shall submit one set of application documents to the issuing authority. The issuing authority shall accept and examine the documents; if the documents are submitted directly and are incomplete according to regulations, the issuing authority shall notify the business or cooperative on the same working day to request additional or completed documents. If the documents are submitted through postal services or other appropriate means and are incomplete according to regulations, within two working days from the date of receipt of the documents, the issuing authority must send a written notice to the business or cooperative requesting additional or completed documents.

Within two working days from the date of receiving complete and compliant documents, the issuing authority must issue the permit; if it refuses to issue the permit, it must provide a written response stating the reasons.

c) A business or cooperative shall pay the fee as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.

4. Revocation and reissuance of the GMS road transport permit for vehicles

a) The issuing authority of the GMS road transport permit may revoke the issued permit if the business or cooperative does not comply with the contents recorded in the permit or violates management regulations concerning transport activities.

b) When the GMS road transport permit expires or becomes damaged or lost, the business or cooperative shall prepare an application for reissuing the GMS road transport permit according to the provisions of Clause 2 of this Article (in case of loss, the reason must be clearly stated). Expired or damaged permits must be returned to the issuing authority along with the application for reissuing the GMS road transport permit.

5. The GMS road transport permit issued to vehicles has a validity period of one year from the date of issuance.

6. Sample of the GMS road transport permit and vehicle activity logbook

a) The sample of the GMS road transport permit is specified in Appendix 3 of this Circular.

b) The sample of the vehicle activity logbook is specified in Appendix 4 of this Circular.

7. Extension of the GMS road transport permit and circulation time for vehicles of countries implementing the GMS Agreement in Vietnam

a) Eligible for extension: vehicles of countries implementing the GMS Agreement whose permits have expired or exceeded the circulation period in Vietnam due to legitimate reasons.

b) Authority to extend: Department of Transport of provinces and centrally governed cities where the vehicles encounter incidents.

c) Documents include: original GMS road transport permit, original vehicle activity logbook; certified copy of vehicle registration or copy accompanied by the original for verification; application for extension according to the form at Appendix 5 of this Circular.

d) Provisions for handling applications

Organizations and individuals shall submit one set of documents directly to the Department of Transport where the vehicles encounter incidents.

Within one working day from the date of receiving complete and compliant documents, the Department of Transport shall extend the GMS road transport permit for vehicles of countries implementing the GMS Agreement, which will be recorded in the extension section of the vehicle activity logbook; if the extension is denied, a written response stating the reasons must be provided immediately upon receipt of the documents.

5. Amend and supplement Article 11 as follows:

"1. Vietnam Highway Administration

a) Develop software for managing transport activities under the GMS Agreement;

b) Organize management, guidance, and inspection of road transport activities under the GMS Agreement;

c) Print and distribute national identification marks of Vietnam, passenger lists, and international GMS road transport permits according to the models issued in this Circular.

2. Departments of Transport of provinces and centrally governed cities shall disseminate and implement this Circular to relevant organizations and individuals within their jurisdictions.

3. Departments of Transport of provinces and centrally governed cities where border gates implementing the GMS Agreement are located shall, based on the quota of vehicles on the transport management software for the GMS Agreement, issue GMS road transport permits for vehicles of businesses and cooperatives operating in their localities and for vehicles of businesses and cooperatives from other localities passing through border gates under their management."

6. Replace Appendices 5, 7, 8, and 9 of Circular No. 29/2009/TT-BGTVT dated November 17, 2009, of the Minister of Transport with Appendices 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively accompanying this Circular.

7. Supplement Appendix 5 accompanying this Circular.

Article 2. Effectiveness of Implementation and Organization of Enforcement

1. This Circular shall take effect from March 1, 2015.

2. The Director of the Ministry's Office, the Director of the Ministry's Inspectorate, the Heads of Departments, the Directors of the Vietnam Highway Administration, the Directors of Provincial and Central City Transport Departments, the Heads of agencies, organizations, and individuals related to this matter shall be responsible for implementing this Circular.

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