'Allowing fines to be paid on the spot is in line with public sentiment.'

"Paying fines to the treasury and impounding vehicles is very inconvenient for businesses and citizens," said Bui Danh Lien, Chairman of the Hanoi Transport Association.

The Ministry of Public Security has just released the first draft of the Circular guiding the implementation of Decree 171/2013 - regulating administrative penalties for violations in the field of road and rail transport, which includes a provision allowing organizations and individuals who violate the regulations to pay fines on the spot to the person issuing the penalty decision and receive a receipt for the fine payment.

From a business perspective, Mr. Bui Danh Lien, Chairman of the Hanoi Transport Association, strongly supports this proposal from the Ministry of Public Security.

Mr. Lien stated that this draft by the Ministry of Public Security has incorporated feedback from transport businesses and drivers for decades.

According to the Chairman of the Hanoi Transport Association, he was once a victim of vehicle impoundment for very minor and seemingly minor violations. However, it took him a great deal of time and effort to get his vehicle released from the impound lot.

"Because of an objective violation, my vehicle was impounded, and I had to go back and forth repeatedly to see the person who would resolve the issue. The fine isn't much, but it takes 2-3 days of travel, which is really tough for drivers," Mr. Lien said.

According to Mr. Bui Danh Lien's suggestion, the Ministry of Public Security also needs to improve the accident investigation process. This is because, in many cases, accidents are caused by other vehicles colliding with the victim, yet the vehicles involved are still impounded.

"The vehicle is not at fault, the driver should be fined," said Mr. Bui Danh Lien, Chairman of the Hanoi Transport Association.

"Businesses also have to borrow money from banks to operate, so unjustly impounding their vehicles like this is like drowning them again," Mr. Lien shared. "Or, if there is a violation, and the vehicle is not at fault but the driver is, then they should be fined, but the vehicle should be returned."

Furthermore, he argued that applying information technology to the enforcement process would benefit all parties. Accordingly, paying fines via personal or company accounts, or through express delivery, to retrieve vehicles is an effective way for businesses to quickly rotate capital, for violators to avoid fatigue, and for government officials to have less work to do.

Regarding this draft, Major General Nguyen Van Tuyen - Director of the Department of Road and Rail Traffic Police (Ministry of Public Security) said that this regulation aims to simplify administrative procedures, helping violators avoid the inconvenience of having to travel multiple times to pay fines. Accordingly, there will be many forms of fine payment, not just direct payment.

However, according to a traffic expert, while allowing direct payment of fines avoids inconvenience for violators, it could easily lead to corruption within law enforcement if not strictly controlled and supervised.

Photo: Le Hieu.

The draft also stipulates that if more than 10 days have passed (since receiving the administrative penalty decision) and the individual or organization that committed the administrative violation in the field of road and rail transport has not paid the fine, enforcement measures will be taken.

For each day of delay in paying the fine, an additional 0.05% of the total unpaid fine will be charged (including public holidays and days off as stipulated by the state, and calculated from the day following the last day of the payment deadline).

According to the Communist Party of Vietnam