Directive No. 39/CT-TTg enhancing the use of non-stop electronic toll collection services

DIRECTIVE

Accelerating the provision and enhancing the use of non-stop electronic toll collection services

The building of non-stop electronic toll collection (ETC) systems to replace manual toll collection has been identified by the National Assembly, Government and Prime Minister as a task which must be fulfilled in order to transparentize and modernize toll collection activities, create convenience for traffic participants and save social cost. The Prime Minister has recently directed ministries, sectors and localities to resolvedly accelerate the building of ETC systems, thus achieving certain initial results which serve as grounds for continued implementation of comprehensive measures for building of ETC systems according to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 19/2020/QD-TTg of June 17, 2020, on non-stop electronic toll collection in the coming time.

In order to accelerate the building of ETC systems at all toll plazas nationwide, the Prime Minister requests:

1. The Ministry of Transport

- To concentrate efforts on and resolvedly direct the implementation of ETC projects (phase 1 and phase 2 projects), ensuring their implementation schedule, quality, inter-connectivity, synchronism, safety and confidentiality in accordance with law and the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 19/2020/QD-TTg of June 17, 2020.

- To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with provincial-level People’s Committees in, arranging separate ETC lanes at toll plazas; guide traffic participants to move through toll plazas through proper lanes (ETC lanes or mixed-use lanes).

- To timely remove difficulties and problems facing road infrastructure construction project investors and ETC service providers so as to ensure compliance with Decision No. 19/2020/QD-TTg; together with the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises, promptly work out plans on investment in ETC systems at projects managed by the Vietnam Expressway Corporation, ensuring synchronous linkage among the whole ETC systems and not letting manual toll collection persist as at present.

- To sign annexes to BOT contracts with road infrastructure construction project investors in order to supplement contents on building of ETC systems.

- To support road infrastructure construction project investors and ETC service providers during negotiation, conclusion and performance of toll collection service contracts, ensuring conformity with the objectives and schedules of ETC projects, harmony of interests among related parties, publicity, and transparency while not letting negative phenomena occur in toll collection activities.

- To decide to suspend toll collection activities at projects which fail to shift to apply ETC at their toll plazas in accordance with law.

- To coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security and functional forces in intensifying the implementation of solutions for ensuring traffic order and safety; to strictly handle drivers who intentionally commit violation of law, causing traffic congestion or adversely affecting social order and safety at toll plazas, especially those where ETC systems have been installed and put into operation.

- To direct motor vehicle inspection units and related agencies and units to install e-tags on cars coming for inspection and concurrently share vehicle data with toll collection service providers in order to ensure consistency in the terms of vehicle data.

2. The Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense

- To direct their attached functional agencies to coordinate with the Ministry of Transport and toll collection service providers in installation of e-tags on road vehicles of the public security and national defense sectors.

- The Ministry of Public Security shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Transport and provincial-level People’s Committees in, implementing solutions for ensuring public security and social order and safety in the process of installation and operation of ETC systems; take the initiate in preventing, fighting and strictly handling violations of law; arrange separate lanes for ETC and guide vehicles moving through toll plazas; coordinate with toll service providers and road infrastructure construction project investors to extract image data collected at toll plazas so as to obtain grounds for adopting measures for sanctioning vehicles which are not yet installed with e-tags or which have already installed with e-tags but the relevant toll accounts’ balance is not enough to make payment for toll collection transactions but intentionally move through ETC lanes, thus obstructing traffic at toll plazas.

3. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Transport in, guiding the use of e-invoices in ETC activities in accordance with law. To guide the performance of tax obligations concerning ETC activities in accordance with law.

4. The Ministry of Information and Communications

- To guide the use of radio frequencies for ETC systems; to protect frequencies of ETC systems and handle harmful interference in accordance with law.

- To guide and support toll collection service providers in ensuring information security for ETC systems in accordance with law; to inspect and evaluate information security for ETC systems and respond to circumstances threatening information security.

- To examine and supervise toll service providers’ observance of legal provisions on information technology concerning ETC activities.

- To direct news agencies and press agencies to boost public communication about the benefits of, as well as the law and directions of the Prime Minister on, ETC.

5. The State Bank of Vietnam

- To direct commercial banks to connect vehicle owners’ bank accounts with toll accounts, ensuring linkage, convenience and safety.

- To coordinate with and guide toll collection service providers in implementation of legal provisions in the banking sector concerning ETC activities.

- To coordinate and guide the settlement of issues related to account linkage and handling of interest amounts on accounts concerning ETC activities in accordance with law.

6. Provincial-level People’s Committees

- To coordinate with the Ministry of Transport in disseminating, mobilizing and requesting vehicle owners subject to toll collection to use ETC services by installing e-tags on their vehicles and making payment via toll accounts.

- To urgently apply ETC at toll plazas for which local administrations act as the competent state agency, ensuring implementation schedules, linkage and synchronism as prescribed in Decision No. 19/2020/QD-TTg. For toll plazas where ETC systems have been installed, these systems must be put into operation immediately.

- To coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Transport in, ensuring social order and safety for toll collection activities under ETC projects in their localities.

7. The Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises

- To determine funding sources for building ETC systems at expressway projects managed by the Vietnam Expressway Corporation according to direction of Standing Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh at Document No. 331/TB-VPCP of September 15, 2020.

- To coordinate with the Ministry of Transport in working out a roadmap and schedules for building ETC systems at projects managed by the Vietnam Expressway Corporation, ensuring conformity with practical situations.

8. Toll collection service providers

- To sign toll collection service contracts with road infrastructure construction project investors for use as grounds for building ETC systems under Decision No. 19/2020/QD-TTg.

- To invest in, build, renovate, manage, operate and maintain ETC systems under Decision No. 19/2020/QD-TTg and approved ETC projects; to collect road toll in a sufficient manner from proper subjects as prescribed by law; to ensure synchronous and uninterrupted operation of ETC systems; to absolutely protect information security for ETC systems, including also the protection of confidentiality of personal information of vehicle owners in accordance with law; not to intervene to falsify information and data on road toll collection.

- To accelerate the installation of e-tags on road vehicles, ensuring quick, convenient and easy use.

- To coordinate with related agencies and units in organizing dissemination and propagation of regulations on ETC in the mass media.

9. Road infrastructure construction project investors

- To sign toll collection service contracts with toll collection service providers and annexes to BOT contracts with competent state agencies to supplement contents on ETC for use as grounds for building ETC systems under Decision No. 19/2020/QD-TTg.

- To coordinate with toll collection service providers in investing in, building, renovating, managing, operating and maintaining ETC systems, ensuring compliance with Decision No. 19/2020/QD-TTg and approved ETC projects.

- To strictly comply with the Ministry of Transport’s decisions on suspensions of toll collection activities at toll plazas that fail to shift to ETC (if any).

10. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees and socio-political organizations shall direct the installation of e-tags on vehicles under their management (including also those of their attached units) so as to use ETC services; restrict payment of road toll by manual mode when moving through toll plazas where ECT systems have been put into operation.

11. The Vietnam Automobile Transport Association shall disseminate and mobilize transport businesses to install e-tags on vehicles used for provision of transport business so as to be able to move through toll plazas via ETC lanes to reduce traffic congestion at toll plazas.

12. Vehicle owners and vehicle operators

- To install e-tags on their vehicles when bringing their vehicles to inspection centers in the nearest time when moving through toll plazas where systems ETC have been put into operation.

- Not to operate their vehicles through ETC lanes when their vehicles are not yet installed with e-tags or have been installed with e-tags but the toll accounts’ balance is not enough to make payment for toll collection transactions.

- To proactively coordinate with functional forces and related units at toll plazas; not to disturb or obstruct toll collection activities, especially at toll plazas where ETC systems have been installed and put into operations. Those who intentionally commit violations shall be strictly handled in accordance with law.

For the Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister

TRINH DINH DUNG