Hundreds of drivers gather at the headquarters of Grab on Tong Duy Tan Street in Hanoi on December 7 to protest against the firms’ new commission policies.
The department had a meeting with Grab on the issue on December 9.
According to the department, Grab was wrong in its interpretation of changes in value-added tax (VAT) following Decree 126 when it decided to raise taxi prices and cut in commission for drivers.
"Decree 126 does not raise transportation costs and fees on drivers," the department stressed. The decree only defines the responsibility of enterprises to declare VAT on their revenues. It does not affect the rights of customers and income of drivers."
The department asked Grab to reconsider their prices so as not to affect their customers and drivers.
Earlier, Grab Vietnam raised taxi prices by between 3-10%. The app-base operator also raised the drivers' commission ratio to 20%. Drivers were required to pay an additional 10% deducted as personal income tax.
On December 7, hundreds of drivers gathered at the company's headquarters at 78 Tong Duy Tan Street in Hanoi, turning off their apps to protest against the new policies.
According to a driver, if a customer pays him VND100,000 for a trip, he would have to pay VND20,000 to the app's operator. And with VND80,000 left, he continues to face a 10% personal income tax deduction. That means he only keeps VND72,000 and he has to pay for fuel.
"If Grab does not agree to slash the ratio, I will stop working for the company," the driver said.