Violating traffic laws in Vietnam, pay the fine immediately or you will be charged 0.05% interest per day!

Circular No. 18/2023/TT-BTC regulating "procedures for collecting, paying fines, offsetting the difference in fines, fine receipts and funds from the State budget to ensure the operation of forces handling administrative violations" issued by the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam on March 21, 2023 has officially taken effect since May 5, 2023. Notably, individuals and organizations committing administrative violations will have to pay interest of 0.05% on the total fine amount for each day of late payment. This regulation also applies to violations of the Traffic Law.

Specifically, if the deadline for implementing the decision on administrative sanctions prescribed in Clause 2, Article 68 and Clause 1, Article 73 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations has passed and the individual or organization has not paid the fine, the penalty decision will be enforced and for each day of late payment, the violating individual or organization must pay an additional 0.05% of the total unpaid fine. The number of days of late payment of the fine includes holidays and days off according to the prescribed regime and is calculated from the day following the last day of the deadline for paying the fine to the day before the administrative violating individual or organization pays the fine to the state budget.

No late payment of administrative fines will be charged in the following cases:

a) During the period of suspension of execution of the decision on administrative violation handling;

b) During the review period, decide to reduce or exempt the remaining amount or allow the fine to be paid in installments.

The method for determining the time to calculate late payment penalty is as follows:

a) In case the penalty decision is delivered directly, the date for calculating the late payment penalty is after 10 days (including holidays and days off) or after the implementation period stated in the administrative penalty decision from the date of receipt of the penalty decision according to the provisions of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations;

b) In case the penalty decision is sent by post in the form of a guarantee, the date for calculating the late payment penalty is after 10 days (including holidays and days off) or after the implementation period stated in the administrative penalty decision from the date the penalty decision is validly issued according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 11 of the Postal Law dated June 17, 2010;

c) In case the sanctioned individual or organization does not have confirmation of the date of receipt of the sanction decision, cannot present the date the sanction decision was validly issued according to the provisions at Point a, Point b of this Clause, but is not in the case of intentionally not receiving the sanction decision according to the provisions at Point d of this Clause, the date for calculating the late payment fee for the enforcement of the sanction decision is calculated from the date of issuance of the sanction decision after 12 days (including holidays and days off) for cases where the sanction decision states a time limit of 10 days from the date of issuance of the sanction decision or from the third day after the enforcement period stated in the sanction decision for cases where the sanction decision states a time limit of more than 10 days from the date of issuance of the sanction decision (including holidays and days off).

In case the fine payer proves the date of receipt of the penalty decision and the proof is well-founded, the fine collection agency specified in Clause 1, Article 3 of this Circular shall calculate the late payment fee for the execution of the penalty decision after 10 days or after the execution period stated in the penalty decision from the date of receipt of the penalty decision that the fine payer has proven;

d) In cases of intentional refusal to receive the penalty decision, the provisions of Article 70 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations shall apply. The agency of the person with authority to issue the penalty decision and the agency with enforcement authority shall notify the State Treasury where the fine is collected of the time considered as delivery of the penalty decision so that the State Treasury can calculate the late payment penalty.

d) In case the sanctioned individual or organization intentionally fails to pay the late fine, the competent authority to collect the fine specified in Clause 1, Article 3 of this Circular shall collect the administrative fine on the sanction decision; at the same time, still calculate the late fine and clearly state on the fine collection and payment voucher the late payment amount calculated before the date the administrative violating individual or organization pays the fine./.