Although the proposed road maintenance fee has already been deferred until next year, transportation companies still worry about its impact, and have proposed waiting for a full economic recovery.
Transportation companies say if road maintenance fees are added, it may push some businesses to the brink of bankruptcy.
Transportation companies say they are struggling to keep prices stable, as petrol price has been raised two times since the beginning of 2012. If road maintenance fees are added, they say, it may push some businesses to the brink of bankruptcy.
Le Thanh Thao from Quang Chau Transportation Company said that if the newly-proposed road maintenance fee is applied, they would have to pay several times on the same route. “We already have to pay each time we transfer from one route to another. There are five stations just on the 190-km road from HCM City to Can Tho City.”
Tran Huy Hien, General Secretary of the Vietnam Freight Forwarders Association, said that, because the economic downturn is generally expected to continue through the next year, the road maintenance fee would adversely impact the operation of over 1,000 companies.
Hien added that logistical costs in Vietnam were already the highest in the world, with transport accounting for 50% to 60%.
“The new fee would reduce the competitiveness of Vietnamese products,” he warned.
Dinh Nam Dinh, Deputy Chairman of the HCM City Goods Transport Association, said the fee would exacerbate an already difficult situation for transportation firms.
Many delegates also expressed the opinion that the ministry should review the new fee regime. One delegate pointed out, "A container truck has to pay separate rates for its cabin and trailer. This is unreasonable, since in reality they make up one unit."
Besides, the fee would be levied on all the vehicles an individual or organisation owns, which was again unfair since they could own many but only use one or a few at a time, they said.
The new fees were originally planned to be collected from June 1, but this was later put off until January by the Government. Most delegates agreed that in any case there would have to be clear and transparent management of fees collected.
