Emission fees for vehicles impractical: ministry

In discussion for a draft of a governmental decree on environmental protection fees regarding emissions, several provinces have proposed to make vehicle owners pay for the fees as well.

However, the Ministry of Finance said sources of emissions that have yet to be dictated by laws on emission management will not have to pay the fees yet.

The laws have yet to determine the total amount of emissions released by vehicles, as well as the levels of pollutants in such emissions, so "there is no basis yet to determine the fees that vehicles must pay," the finance ministry said.

The ministry added that fee collection for vehicles is not feasible, especially for motorbikes, an essential means of transport for people with low incomes.

The draft for the decree currently states that projects and businesses which release emissions into the environment must pay for the fees.

Vietnam currently has around 5.1 million cars and tens of millions of motorbikes. It also has dozens of industrial complexes and around 120,000 industrial production facilities, with 138 units deemed as heavily polluting.

The ministry said most of the emission-releasing individuals and organizations are not fully aware of their responsibilities. Therefore, a decree on fee collection for protecting the environment is necessary, it said.

The fee collection is expected to increase the national budget by VND1.2 trillion (US$49 million) a year, the finance ministry said. The money would be used to resolve air pollution issues at localities where emission sources are located.