A worker checks a car engine to ensure safety at the Motor Vehicle Registration Centre No. 29.03V. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Vietnam Register (VNR) said that it has reviewed car registrations and worked out long-term solutions to create favourable conditions and better management.

Under its proposal, VNR will review legal regulations and outline amendments related to the assessment and establishment of new vehicle registration centres.

In addition, it will periodically inspect the operation of registration centres and check the technical safety and environmental protection of vehicles.

The VNR has proposed a specific plan for an exemption from the first registration for new cars and strengthen inspection, examination and handling of violations of traffic inspectors and traffic police in vehicle inspection activities.

The VNR has also outlined a plan to allow car service centres to carry out inspections of technical safety and environmental protection for vehicles. This is the latest proposal made by the VNR.

To cope with widespread violations at auto inspection centres, the VNR has required transport departments at the local level to strengthen inspection, supervision and instruct registration centres to strictly comply with the provisions of Transport Ministry’s Circular No.16./2021 on technical safety and environmental protection inspection of road motor vehicles. The move aims to stop registration centres from making it difficult for residents and businesses who want to have assessments of technical safety and environmental protection of their vehicles, as well as raise awareness and professional ethics for effective solutions to reduce congestion, difficulties and troubles for residents and businesses.

The proposal also aims to carry out recruitment and training of human resources for registration centres. In addition, it is recommended that registration centres should offer employees appropriate salaries and bonuses so as to ensure their daily lives.

In late 2022, the VNR was assigned by the Ministry of Transport to develop a draft amending and supplementing circulars in the field of inspection, and it is expected to be submitted to the Ministry of Transport in May this year. However, due to the shortcomings discovered over the months, the Ministry of Transport has asked VNR to focus on compiling a draft amendment to Circular 16/2021/TT-BGTVT, and submit it to the Ministry of Transport in February 2023.

Circular 16/2021/TT-BGTVT details the inspection of technical safety and environmental protection for cars. This is a law that needs to be adjusted if Vietnam Register wants to implement new mechanisms for the exemption from first registration for new cars before they roll out from factories.

Over the past few months, the police have so far searched 32 vehicle registration and inspection centres nationwide and pressed charges against 248 individuals working at these facilities for alleged violations in vehicle testing, according to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

They were accused of taking bribes, falsifying documents, manufacturing, trading, and providing equipment and software for illegal purposes, Lieutenant General Tô Ân Xô, spokesperson of the MPS, said at a Government press briefing in early February.

“This is an organised bribery case involving Vietnam Register officials and leaders of vehicle testing centers across the country, causing substantial losses for society,” he said.

Investigations found that a number of Vietnam Register officials allegedly took bribes from auto testing centres on a monthly and quarterly basis to overlook violations while providing auto testing services, the MPS spokesperson added.

The fact that these suspects facilitated violations in auto testing activities is one of the reasons behind traffic accidents in the country, Xô said. — VNS