Regulations on payment of road use charges via ETC in Vietnam

Regulations on payment of road use charges via ETC in Vietnam (Image from the Internet)

On September 30, 2024, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree 119/2024/ND-CP stipulating electronic payment of road use charges in Vietnam.

Regulations on payment of road use charges via ETC in Vietnam

Specifically, Article 15 of Decree 119/2024/ND-CP regulates the payment of road use charges via ETC in Vietnam as follows:

(1) Mode of operation of the installed device system at road toll stations by non-stop electronic means

- Single-lane mode with barrier

In this mode, the barrier at the road toll station will open for vehicles to pass through when the vehicle has a valid terminal card and successfully completes the payment of road usage fees.

- Multi-lane free mode

In this mode, the toll station area will only maintain the gantry and toll collection devices attached to the gantry. This mode is only applied at the entrance of the highway.

(2) The process of handling transactions for payment of road use charges via ETC in Vietnam

- When the vehicle enters the recognition zone of the system of devices installed at the road toll station, the system will read the information, send the transaction information to the Operating System and Data Center of the payment service provider for road usage fees to process the payment and send the information back to the system at the toll station to complete the transaction.

- The exchange of information and the process of handling transactions for payment of road usage fees are carried out according to the standards and technical specifications of road toll stations and other relevant technical standards.

- After completing the transaction, the payment service provider for road usage fees and the operating unit will synchronize the transaction information into the Road Traffic Electronic Payment Data System.

(3) Methods of payment for road usage fees

Payment for road usage fees is carried out by open and closed methods, including:

- The open method is a payment method where the vehicle owner pays a fee at the road toll station regardless of the distance traveled on the charged section, based only on the type of vehicle.

- The closed method is a payment method where the vehicle owner pays a fee at the road toll station based on the distance traveled on the charged section and the type of vehicle.

(4) Highways and connected highway sections are organized into a collection system to be implemented by the closed method with non-stop electronic means.

(5) Road toll stations not on highways must implement the collection of road usage fees by non-stop electronic means and maintain at least one mixed collection lane or one incident handling lane (a collection lane that applies both non-stop electronic means and stop-and-pay) in each direction as stipulated.

(6) The design, investment, construction, renovation, and upgrade of road toll stations, the mode of operation of installed systems at toll stations, and the method of collecting road usage fees are decided by the competent authority in the Feasibility Study Report of the road infrastructure investment project or in the Scheme for exploiting road infrastructure assets.

More details can be found in Decree 119/2024/ND-CP which takes effect in Vietnam from October 1, 2024.

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