Driving a vehicle without a valid owner can be fined up to 8 million VND.

Illustrative image.

According to the provisions of Point a, Clause 4 and Point l, Clause 7, Article 30 of Decree 100/2019/ND-CP: “4. Fines from VND 400,000 to VND 600,000 for individuals, from VND 800,000 to VND 1,200,000 for organizations that are owners of motorbikes, scooters and similar vehicles that commit one of the following violations:

a) Do not dovehicle registration procedures(to transfer the vehicle owner's name in the Vehicle Registration Certificate to your name) according to regulations when purchasing, being given, being gifted, being allocated, being transferred, or inheriting property that is a motorbike, scooter, or vehicle similar to a motorbike"

“7. A fine of VND 2,000,000 to VND 4,000,000 shall be imposed on individuals and VND 4,000,000 to VND 8,000,000 shall be imposed on organizations that are owners of automobiles, tractors, specialized motorbikes and similar vehicles that commit one of the following violations:

l) Not completing the vehicle registration procedure (to transfer the vehicle owner's name in the Vehicle Registration Certificate to one's name) as prescribed when purchasing, being given, being gifted, being allocated, being transferred, or inheriting property such as a car, tractor, specialized motorbike, or vehicle similar to a car;"

Previously, Decree 46/2016/ND-CP only fined the above acts at the level of 1,000,000 - 2,000,000 VND and 2,000,000 - 4,000,000 VND if the car owner is an individual or organization; fined 100,000 - 200,000 VND and 200,000 - 400,000 VND if the motorbike owner is an individual or organization.

Thus, according to the above regulations, from January 1, 2020, if the owners of motorbikes, cars and similar vehicles have transactions such as buying, selling, giving, being allocated, being transferred, inheriting assets but do not register the vehicle name change, they will be fined according to the levels in Decree 100/2019/ND-CP.

Specifically, for motorbike and scooter owners, the maximum fine is up to 600,000 VND for individuals, 1,200,000 VND for organizations, and especially for car owners, the maximum fine will be up to 4,000,000 VND for individuals, 8,000,000 VND for organizations.

Driving a car that has not been transferred to the owner after purchase will be fined up to 8 million VND. Illustrative photo

In cases of transferring ownership without registration, the obligation to pay taxes to the state will not be fulfilled, and at the same time, it will cause difficulties in managing the means of transport. Therefore, the Road Traffic Law stipulates that this is a violation and will be punished according to Decree 100.

If the vehicle belongs to a family member or even a friend and is borrowed by someone else to participate in traffic (when proven), there will be no penalty.

Many analysts believe that this penalty for not transferring ownership of a vehicle only applies to the act of not transferring ownership when there is a contract of sale, transfer, donation, inheritance... and does not apply to the act of lending or transferring the right to use but not transferring ownership. When transferring the right to use (lending), the civil responsibilities still belong to the owner of the motor vehicle.