Vietnam may institute fuel fee for drivers

Vietnam’s Directorate for Roads of Vietnam has proposed a plan to subsidize road maintenance in the country by instituting a new fuel fee for drivers. The proposal requests a fee of VND1,000 (US$.04) for each liter of gas and VND330 (US$.01) per liter of diesel fuel. The Planning Division for the Directorates Road and Management department has looked at three different proposals for funding road maintenance, but the fuel fee was considered the best option. “Collecting the fee through fuel purchases is effective, saves time and raises money from the whole of society,” Tran Van Lan, head of the planning division said. Motorists are opposing the proposal. Nguyen Manh Hung, chairman of the Vietnam Automobile Transport Association, said that the new fee would mean that drivers would be charged registration tax, fuel fee and toll station fees. (August 2, 2011)