Proposal to abolish road maintenance fees for motorbikes

Believing that the cost of collecting road maintenance fees for motorbikes is expensive and time-consuming while the amount collected is too little, at the explanation session on the Ordinance on Fees and Charges organized by the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee on the afternoon of April 11, many full-time National Assembly deputies proposed that the Government consider eliminating this type of fee.

Road toll revenue for motorbikes is too low and ineffective - Photo: D.D.Minh

Reporting at the explanation session, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong said that in 2013, the Road Maintenance Fund (RTF) collected 5,500 billion VND from cars, and the expected revenue from motorbikes was 2,600 billion VND, but only 500 billion VND (about 20%) was collected.

Deputy Nguyen Anh Son (Nam Dinh) said that "the total revenue is too modest" and "requested the Ministry to inform the upcoming handling direction for the BTDB Fund". Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee (FB) Tran Van reflected the opinion of voters that the revenue is too small, not achieving results, while the cost of organizing the collection is too large. "BTDB fees for motorbikes have only collected 20% of the expected amount, not achieving results. Motorbikes are a popular and essential means of transport for people. If this fee is not of great value, the management and organization costs are too high, not commensurate, should we not collect it for motorbikes anymore?", Mr. Van suggested and Deputy Minister Truong replied: "If necessary, we will ask for more opinions to have the direction of the Government and the National Assembly on collecting funds for motorbikes. The amount is not large, but it shows the people's contribution to infrastructure".

People complain about waste on waste

Vice Chairman of the People's Committee Dinh Van Nha reflected that people are concerned about the situation of overlapping fees. Because the Ministry of Transport said that it has basically "eliminated" 24 state toll stations and switched to collecting fees per vehicle, but by 2016 when National Highway 1A is renovated, nearly 20 more BOT toll stations will appear with quite high density. "So how will the Ministry advise the Government, will they still apply vehicle fees, how will they solve the problem of overlapping fees?", Mr. Nha asked.

Deputy Minister Truong explained that there are currently 57 toll stations nationwide, of which 24 state stations have basically finished collecting, the remaining 33 stations collect according to BOT. Regarding the BOT stations springing up on National Highway 1A, the Ministry of Transport has calculated that there is only one station every 70 km, a total of 17 stations. "Through calculations, for a 20-ton truck traveling from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, the total fee to be paid is about 1.5 - 1.7 million VND. This fee is not large so it is acceptable," said Mr. Truong, affirming that "The fee does not overlap because according to regulations, the money collected for the road maintenance fund is not invested in BOT, while BOT projects, investors must maintain themselves".

Deputy Tran Ngoc Vinh (Hai Phong) pointed out the widespread situation of overcharging fees, with fees overlapping fees but poor quality and services. “Many types are not suitable, fees overlapping fees put the burden on the people. I would like to request the Minister of Finance to clarify the responsibility of the industry?”, Deputy Vinh asked.

Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung explained that currently, according to the list, there are 301 fees and charges, and the Ministry has previously reviewed and abolished 340 types that are not in accordance with regulations. Mr. Dung affirmed that "there is no phenomenon of overlapping fees", but the reason for public complaints is due to misunderstanding that the prices of some types of services set by organizations (parking, apartment management fees, etc.) are fees. Regarding responsibility, Mr. Dung said that he has inspected, checked, and issued many directive documents...

Faced with a general answer that did not "hit" the issue, Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Public Finance Phung Quoc Hien asked the Ministry of Finance to further explain the current situation where people are still confused and do not understand what is a fee, a charge and what is a service price. "The parking fee, although very small, sometimes 10,000 VND, is very arbitrary, sometimes they collect up to 30,000 VND, and at festivals they collect up to 100,000 VND. I tell you, behind that organization are some local authorities. This is a story that I think must be made clear and transparent about what is a price and what is a fee," Mr. Hien requested. Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Law Nguyen Sy Cuong also asked the Minister to clearly answer: "Are there any group or local interests in this matter?"

Affirming that the current parking fee is a fee, according to the Minister of Finance, "the implementation process in many places is still frustrating, arbitrarily pushing prices higher according to seasons and festivals. This responsibility belongs to the People's Committees at all levels."

“The inspector is very hot, the handler is very cold”

According to the report of the Ministry of Finance in 2011, the revenue from fees and charges reached nearly 42,000 billion VND, equivalent to 5.8% of total budget revenue. In 2012, it was nearly 29,000 billion VND, accounting for 4% of total budget revenue and in 2013, it was more than 31,200 billion VND, accounting for 3.8% of total budget revenue.

Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on National Defense and Security Le Viet Truong cited the State Audit's report on a number of units with very large surplus funds for fees and charges, especially the Ministry of Information and Communications with a surplus of more than VND2,000 billion, and said that "the inspection report shows that the fee and charge situation is very hot but the handling is too cold". "For several years, there have been recommendations to administratively handle 4 people and transfer 1 person to the investigation agency. If it is so lenient, what is the responsibility of the Minister?", Mr. Truong raised the issue.

The inspection and examination work has not been thoroughly answered by the Minister of Finance. Regarding this issue, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, in her conclusion, noted: “The inspection and examination work has not been handled promptly and has not been clarified. This work has not received much attention.” The Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly also commented that the explanation of the Ministry of Finance made some deputies dissatisfied. It is worth mentioning that people are upset about overlapping fees, but the explanation has not clarified how many types are outside the list and how many types overlap. Ms. Ngan requested the Ministry of Finance to review how many types of fees are outside the list and how many types of service prices are being confused with fees to avoid creating frustration and burden when people have to bear too much.

According to Thanh Nien