Imposing road maintenance fees on motorcycles: Lack of feasible solutions!

(Baonghean.vn) - In 2014, the Road Maintenance Fund collected approximately 25 billion VND in road usage fees from motorcycles and scooters (reaching about 67% of the assigned target). In the first six months of 2015, only over 1.7 billion VND in road usage fees from motorcycles and scooters were collected, reaching about 12.3% of the assigned target. All 21 districts and towns failed to meet their collection targets.

In accordance with the policies of the Government and the Ministry of Transport, the collection of road maintenance fees has been given attention by all levels of government and the transport sector in Nghe An province. They have directed, disseminated, and encouraged the public to understand and comply with Government Decree 18/2012/ND-CP dated March 13, 2012, and Circular No. 197/2012/TT-BTC dated November 15, 2012, of the Ministry of Finance. On August 15, 2013, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Decision No. 42/2013/QD-UBND stipulating the subjects, collection rates, collection methods, and percentage of road usage fees for motorcycles in the province. Accordingly, motorcycles with a cylinder capacity up to 100 cm3 are charged 80,000 VND in Vinh City and 60,000 VND in other areas; motorcycles with a cylinder capacity over 100 cm3 are charged 130,000 VND in Vinh City and 110,000 VND in other areas. For wards and towns, 8% is retained, while for communes, 15% is retained.

Due to a lack of enforcement mechanisms, many people do not pay the fee. This is creating unfairness and is one of the reasons why road maintenance fee collection for motorcycles is low.

In accordance with Decision 42/2013 of the Provincial People's Committee (August 2013), localities implemented the plan, established the necessary mechanisms, and proceeded with data collection, surveys, and reporting. Based on this, the provincial level allocated budgets to the localities. Preparations were completed, and collection only began at the end of 2013. The direct collection level was the commune level, which in reality was delegated to the hamlets and villages. This fee revenue provided a source of funding for the transportation sector to supplement the maintenance and protection of transportation infrastructure. However, fee collection still faced many difficulties and shortcomings, resulting in low achievement. In 2014, the Road Maintenance Fund collected approximately 25 billion VND in road usage fees from motorcycles and scooters, reaching about 67% of the allocated budget. In the first six months of 2015, due to various reasons including the late issuance of the 2015 fee collection budget decision, the Road Maintenance Fund collected only over 1.7 billion VND, reaching only about 12.3% of the allocated budget.

In Vinh City, which has the largest number of motorcycles with 54,564 vehicles, the collection of fees has been steadily declining. In 2013, 3.659 billion VND was contributed to the fund, in 2014 only 2.22 billion VND, and in the first six months of 2015, less than 600 million VND was collected. Many wards and communes are facing difficulties in fee collection. Mr. Nguyen Danh Phuong, Accountant of Hung Dung Ward People's Committee, Vinh City, stated: According to statistics, there are approximately 4,100 motorcycles in the ward. In 2013 – the first year of collection – Hung Dung Ward achieved the highest collection in the city with 464 million VND. However, in 2014, only about 134 million VND was contributed to the fund. In the first six months of this year, the ward has implemented the collection program in various blocks, but most have reported that due to information about many localities stopping collection and the lack of penalties for non-compliance, people are not in agreement. "Due to a lack of enforcement mechanisms and reliance solely on voluntary compliance, many people do not pay," Mr. Phuong stated.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, Chief of the Road Maintenance Fund Office of Nghe An province, the implementation of road maintenance fund collection from motorcycles still faces many difficulties. The collection of road usage fees for motorbikes is challenging because Nghe An is a large province with many mountainous districts and sparse populations, resulting in small amounts of collected fees that do not cover the costs of collection. Statistical data on the number of motorbikes in localities is difficult, and the statistics are prone to discrepancies. Furthermore, the police have not yet penalized owners who fail to pay road usage fees for motorbikes, leading to a lack of voluntary payment among the public. Therefore, despite the significant need for road maintenance in the province (over 14,000 km of district and commune roads), the fund's revenue is low and insufficient to meet the needs in a timely manner.

Meanwhile, currently, vehicle owners who fail to pay road usage fees per vehicle will be subject to administrative penalties as stipulated in Circular 186/2013/TT-BTC and related legal documents, with fines ranging from 1 to 3 times the fee amount. However, only competent authorities in the field of fees and charges have the authority to impose or propose penalties; the procedures for inspection, verification, and processing of violations are cumbersome, therefore, this is not currently implemented.

“Many residents have complained that when checking compliance with traffic safety laws, traffic police do not require them to check compliance with road usage fees. In reality, those who pay and those who don't are treated the same, creating inequality. Therefore, in the future, the implementation of collecting road maintenance funds from motorbikes will face difficulties, because people feel that not paying will not result in penalties,” said Mr. Phuong, Accountant of Hung Dung Ward People's Committee.

In a conversation with us, Mr. Nguyen Hong Ky – Provincial Party Committee member and Director of the Department of Transport – stated that Nghe An is still a poor province with a large geographical area, boasting over 14,000 km of district and commune roads. The need for repairs is immense, while budgetary conditions are difficult and road maintenance funds are limited. Therefore, the motorcycle fee for the road maintenance fund is a crucial source of funding that effectively supports road maintenance and reduces the financial burden on the State. The objectives and significance of this policy are excellent, but its implementation still faces many obstacles.

Currently, the Ministry of Transport is also very concerned about whether or not to collect road maintenance fees from motorcycles because it relates to the budget and directly affects localities. However, if implemented without penalties, it will be very difficult to collect and will not be effective. In addition, some localities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang... have proposed not collecting road maintenance fees from motorcycles. However, these are localities with large budget revenues, so abolishing the fee would have little impact, but for poorer provinces, this could be a burden. At the 14th session of the Provincial People's Council, term 2011-2016, no resolution was passed to stop collecting the fee, which also means that Nghe An has not yet decided to stop collecting the fee. “Since 2015, Nghe An province has allowed localities to retain 60% of the total revenue collected from road usage fees for motorcycles and scooters to rebuild and repair rural roads as part of the new rural development movement. Thanks to this, the movement has been accelerated and has yielded more positive results, with local people in remote, disadvantaged areas also benefiting from the Road Maintenance Fund. Nghe An has submitted a request to the Central Road Maintenance Fund and the Ministry of Transport to allow the province to continue collecting road usage fees for motorcycles and scooters,” said Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, Chief of the Nghe An Provincial Road Maintenance Fund Office.

Thu Huyen