Buying public cars, delaying the change of owner, deliberately taking advantage of the 'blue license plate'

(Baonghean) - The situation of blue-plate cars (called public cars) after liquidation but without completing the procedures to transfer the name, change the license plate, freely running on the street as if no one is managing them.

On the afternoon of July 11, on the Vinh City bypass in Hung Nguyen town (Hung Nguyen district), a collision occurred, leading to a fight between an ambulance with license plate 37A-0615 driven by Xen Hong Ha, residing in Thach Giam commune (Tuong Duong) and a truck with license plate 37C-244.41 driven by Nguyen Xuan Ly, residing in Quynh Van commune, Quynh Luu district.

Here, the ambulance driver chased the truck driver with a knife, forcing the truck driver to call the police for help. After the police got involved, they discovered that the ambulance driven by Xen Hong Ha was a government vehicle that had been liquidated.

The ambulance, although it has been liquidated, still has a blue license plate and siren. Photo: Archive

Looking up at the Traffic Police Department, the ambulance was registered by Nghe An Mental Hospital. However, Dr. Pham Kim Thin - Director of the Mental Hospital confirmed that the ambulance with license plate 37A-0615 had been auctioned by the hospital since December 2016 for 42 million VND through Phu Quy Auction Company.

Doctor Thin also confirmed that the driver who used a knife to slash the truck driver was not a hospital employee. Thus, the ambulance was sold to an individual in December 2016, but to date the buyer has not completed the procedures to transfer the ownership or change the license plate as required, which is a violation of the law. This shows that many individuals who buy liquidated public vehicles do not transfer the ownership, change the ownership, or change the license plate, but still intentionally leave the blue license plate to use. This causes confusion between state vehicles and privately owned vehicles, and is even used to violate the law.

According to the statistics of Nghe An Department of Finance, from the beginning of 2017 to now, the whole province has 35 public cars that have been decided by the Provincial People's Committee for liquidation, of which 21 cars have been auctioned, and 14 cars are undergoing liquidation procedures. In recent years, Nghe An has had about 30 public cars liquidated each year.

Thus, every year, dozens of public cars are sold to individuals for personal use. However, it is worth mentioning that many individuals, after purchasing public cars, still deliberately leave the "blue license plate" for use, without completing the procedures to transfer the name, change the owner, or change the license plate. Like the ambulance mentioned above, although it has been liquidated, the driver still leaves the siren and lights on freely on the road and many people mistakenly think that this is a hospital ambulance.

Discussing this issue, Mr. Nguyen Truong Giang - Head of the Traffic Police Department's Handling Team of the Provincial Police said: "According to the law, vehicles bought and sold must be transferred and ownership must be transferred. However, the penalty according to Decree 46 only punishes the error of not transferring ownership of motor vehicles in two cases: Causing an accident with serious consequences or more; When the buyer goes to the registration office to do the vehicle procedures, if it is discovered that the deadline has passed, a fine will be imposed.

Thus, the legal sanctions are still light and not enough of a deterrent, so people's awareness still takes lightly the transfer of ownership when buying liquidated public vehicles. Currently, the management of liquidated public vehicles is very difficult because the buying and selling of vehicles takes place outside the market, some vehicle sales units do not notify the Traffic Police force, only when the vehicle buyer comes to do the transfer of ownership procedures, the Traffic Police agency will know.

Regarding the case of the ambulance of Nghe An Mental Hospital, which was auctioned since December 2016, the buyer has not yet completed the procedures to transfer the name, change the owner, and change the license plate at the Traffic Police Department of the Provincial Police. Mr. Le Anh Hoang - Deputy Head of the Handling Team said that if the owner comes to complete the registration procedures, we will impose a fine according to Decree 46/2016.

Accordingly, Decree 46/2016/ND-CP dated May 26, 2016 on Administrative sanctions for violations in the field of road and railway traffic stipulates: From January 1, 2017, vehicle owners (including liquidated public cars) who do not complete the vehicle registration transfer procedures will be administratively fined 1-2 million VND for individuals, and 2-4 million VND for organizations. Vehicle owners who do not comply with the revocation of vehicle registration, license plates, safety and environmental protection inspection certificates will be administratively fined 2-4 million VND for individuals, and 4-8 million VND for organizations.

According to the provisions of Circular No. 15/2014/TT-BCA dated April 4, 2014 of the Ministry of Public Security on vehicle registration, as soon as there is a decision to transfer, sell, give away, or donate a vehicle, the vehicle owner must notify in writing the agency that issued the vehicle registration certificate for monitoring. In case the vehicle owner does not notify, he/she will continue to be legally responsible for that vehicle until the organization or individual who bought, transferred, donated, or donated the vehicle completes the procedures for registration, transfer of ownership, and vehicle relocation. This is the regulation, but in reality, there are cases where the vehicle owner has sold the vehicle but has not notified in writing to the Traffic Police agency for monitoring. Therefore, handling is even more difficult.

Vehicle registration under the name of Nghe An Mental Hospital. Photo: Quynh Lan

Regarding this issue, Mr. Hoang Minh Quan - Head of Price and Public Asset Management Department of the Department of Finance said that, according to the provisions of Circular 15/2014/TT-BCA, within 30 days from the date of making the vehicle ownership transfer documents, the organization or individual who buys, is transferred, given, or gifted the vehicle must go to the vehicle registration agency to complete the registration and transfer procedures; if late, they will be fined from 1 to 2 million VND.

The regulations are like that, but in reality, many buyers of blue-plate cars still deliberately delay the transfer of ownership procedures, causing difficulties for management and tax losses for the state. It is thought that the state should have a mechanism to calculate the registration fee by adding 2% to the auction price to force the seller to complete the transfer of ownership procedures and transfer ownership to the buyer at the time of sale. Only then will the management of blue-plate cars after liquidation be more convenient. Furthermore, the fine should be increased and the vehicle can be seized in case of repeated violations, to ensure the deterrence of the law.

Using a liquidated blue-plate vehicle without transferring ownership is a violation of the law. Despite knowing this, many individuals still deliberately do not complete the transfer procedures, which makes us worry about the impure motives of the vehicle owner, not excluding the possibility of taking advantage of the blue-plate vehicle to commit illegal acts. Therefore, there needs to be close coordination between relevant sectors in the management and handling of liquidated public vehicles.

Quynh Lan