Q&A on road maintenance fees

(Baonghean) - Question: Mr. Le Tuan Ngoc, residing in Hung Binh ward (Vinh city) asked: My family also has a motorbike with a capacity of less than 50 cm3, do we have to pay road maintenance fees? And when participating in traffic, do we have to bring the receipt of road maintenance fees?

Reply:1. According to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 2 of Circular No. 197/TT-BTC dated November 15, 2012 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the collection, payment, management and use of road use fees by vehicle, the subjects subject to road use fees are: Road motor vehicles, including: automobiles, tractors; trailers, semi-trailers pulled by automobiles, tractors (hereinafter referred to as automobiles) and 2-wheeled motorbikes, 3-wheeled motorbikes, motorbikes (hereinafter referred to as motorbikes) subject to road use fees.

In addition, according to the provisions of Clauses 30 and 31, Article 4 of Circular No. 17/2012/TT-BGTVT dated May 29, 2012 of the Ministry of Transport promulgating the National Technical Regulation on road signs, a motorcycle is a 2- or 3-wheeled motor vehicle and similar vehicles for transporting passengers, moving by an engine with a cylinder capacity of 50 cm3 or more, weighing no more than 400 kg for a 2-wheeled motorcycle or a carrying capacity of 350 kg to 500 kg for a 3-wheeled motorcycle. This definition does not include motorbikes.

A motorbike is a motor vehicle with 2 or 3 wheels and a maximum design speed of no more than 50 km/h. If the driving engine is a heat engine, the working capacity or equivalent capacity must not be greater than 50 cm3.

Your vehicle has a capacity of 49cm3 so it is considered a motorbike. However, according to the regulations in Circular 197/2012/TT-BTC mentioned above, all types of motorbikes (regardless of cylinder capacity) and motorbikes are subject to road use fees.

It is noteworthy that according to the provisions of Clause 7, Article 3, Circular 197/2012/TT-BTC, in case the owner of a motorbike belongs to a poor household according to the provisions of the law on poor households, he/she is exempted from road use fees.

In short, if you are not a poor household according to the law on poor households, you must pay road use fees for the motorbike you are using.

2. Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 58 of the 2008 Road Traffic Law, drivers must carry the following documents when operating a vehicle: a) Vehicle registration; b) Driving license for motor vehicle drivers specified in Article 59 of this law; c) Certificate of technical safety and environmental protection inspection for motor vehicles specified in Article 55 of this law; d) Certificate of civil liability insurance of motor vehicle owners.

Thus, currently the law does not have a regulation requiring road users to carry receipts for road maintenance fees.

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