DECIDES:

Article 1.- To issue together with this Decision the "Regulation on organization and management of passenger cars’ activities by contractual mode".

Article 2.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after its signing. To annul the earlier regulations which are contrary to this Decision.

Article 3.- The head of the Vietnam Road Administration shall have to provide guidance for and coordinate with the provincial/municipal Communications and Transport (Public Works) Services in organizing and inspecting the implementation of this Decision.

Article 4.- The director of the Ministry’s Office, the head of the Ministry’s Legal Department, the head of the Vietnam Road Administration, the directors of the provincial/municipal Communications and Transport (Public Works) Services and the heads of the relevant agencies and units shall have to implement this Decision.

For the Minister of Communications and Transport

Vice Minister

REGULATION ON ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION OF PASSENGER CARS’ ACTIVITIES BY CONTRACTUAL MODE

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- This Regulation stipulates the basic principles on organization and management of activities of those cars engaged in the public transportation of passengers by the mode of package hiring contracts.

Article 2.- Objects of application and scope of regulation

- This Regulation shall apply to all organizations and individuals of all economic sectors, including organizations and individuals in joint venture or business cooperation with foreign parties, that operate on the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and are permitted by the competent State management agencies to engage in the public transportation (referred collectively to as transport units) inside and outside the country (in execution of the land road- transport agreements signed between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and other countries).

- Those cars which are not permitted to engage in public transportation of passengers must not transport passengers by mode of package hiring contracts.

- Those taxis which operate by contractual mode shall comply with the provisional regulation on organization and management of public transportation of passengers by taxis, issued together with Decision No.2472-QD/GTVT of September 20, 1997 of the Minister of Communications and Transport.

- Those cars which carry tourists under contracts shall comply with the regulation on the management of tourist transport by land roads and waterways, issued together with Decision No.2418/QD-LB of December 4, 1993 jointly by the Ministry of Communications and Transport and the General Department of Tourism.

Article 3.- In this Regulation, the following terms shall be construed as follows:

- Cars transporting passengers by contractual mode (hereafter called contractual cars for short) are transport units’ cars of 4 seats or more (including the driver’s seat), which are engaged in passenger transportation by mode of package hiring contracts.

- A contract on passenger transport by contractual mode is a voluntary agreement between the transport unit and the contractual car hirer or passengers, on the purpose and mode of exercising the rights and obligations of the contractual parties, such as the place and time of taking and releasing passengers, the itinerary and transport duration, the payment of freights, charges for awaiting time and other terms.

- Contractual car passengers are those who use the contractual car(s) for travelling.

- Contractual car hirer is the person who, on his/her behalf or with other’s authorization, signs a package car-hiring contract for travelling.

- Transport units are organizations or individuals that have their contractual cars hired and have been licensed for public transportation of passengers by the competent State management agencies.

Chapter II

ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF CONTRACTUAL CARS

Article 4.- Conditions for passenger transport by the mode of package hiring contracts

4.1. For transport units:

Transport units being enterprises established lawfully under the provisions of the Law on State Enterprises, the Law on Companies, the Law on Cooperatives (including cooperatives of different forms specified in the Model Statute of Communications and Transport Cooperatives issued together with Decree No.45/CP of April 29, 1997), the Law on Private Enterprises and the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam, or businessmen and business groups that have capital below the prescribed level and transport means operating under Decree No.66/HDBT of March 2, 1992 of the Council of Ministers (now the Government) shall all be entitled to transport passengers by contractual mode.

4.2. For contractual cars:

Contractual cars must all have passenger transport permits (for domestic transport) or inter-national transport permits (for overseas transport), issued by the competent State management agency(ies) in charge of communications and transport.

Contractual cars must meet the technical safety and environment protection norms set by the Ministry of Communications and Transport. Contractual cars must always be in the technically-good and safe conditions and have valid expertise certificates of technical safety and environment protection.

When performing a contract, each contractual car must carry a plate titled "Xe chay hop dong" (contractual car) installed behind the car’s windshield to the right of the car driver.

The plates "xe chay hop dong" carried by contractual cars throughout the country shall uniformly have a white background with red letters of VN TimeH computer font, sized 130-160 (bold), depending on the transport capacity of each type of car.

4.3. For drivers:

Drivers must all have valid driving licenses suited to the types of car they drive. Drivers must always carry with them the passenger transport contract (or the bill of advance freight payment) and the relevant papers to be shown to the authorities at the latter’s requests.

4.4. For car passengers and hirers:

Car passengers may be a collective of people from agencies or units or individual(s) wishing to hire car(s) for travelling.

Car passengers or hirers shall have to charter car(s) for the whole trip (a single or round one) in a transport contract.

Article 5.- Signing and performing contracts

A contract on passenger transport by car signed between a transport unit and a car hirer or passengers must be a written one made according to the form set by the Ministry of Communications and Transport.

Article 6.- Freights:

- The passenger transport freight of a contractual car is the one agreed upon between the transport unit and the car hirer or passengers’ representative, which shall be calculated on the basis of the freight bracket set for intra-provincial passenger transport (for contractual cars in service of intra-provincial passenger transport) or the freight bracket set for inter-provincial passenger transport (for contractual cars in service of inter-provincial passenger transport) plus the bridge, ferry and/or road tolls (if any).

- The sale of tickets shall not apply to contractual cars. Upon the completion of a contract, passengers shall receive a trip payment invoice issued by the Ministry of Finance.

Article 7.- Taking and release of passengers by contractual cars

- Passengers travelling by contractual cars shall be picked up and released at places already agreed upon in the contract or inscribed on the freight collection bill or at places stipulated by the People’s Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities.

- When performing a contract, contractual car(s) is(are) strictly forbidden to take non-contractual passengers along the route (including the car terminal’s surrounding area).

Article 8.- Scope of activities of contractual cars

- Contractual cars of transport enterprises established under the Law on State Enterprises, the Law on Companies, the Law on Cooperatives (including cooperatives of different forms specified in the Model Statute of Communications and Transport Cooperatives issued together with Decree No. 45/CP of April 29, 1997), the Law on Private Enterprises and the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam are allowed to operate in certain areas or throughout the country as permitted by the competent agencies.

- Contractual cars owned by individuals operating under Decree No. 66/HDBT of the Council of Ministers (now the Government) shall operate according to Circular No. 19-TT/PC-VT of January 20, 1995 of the Ministry of Communications and Transport.

- The scope of activities of contractual cars on overseas trips shall comply with the Communications and Transport Ministry’s Circular guiding the implementation of the Protocol on the execution of land road transport agreements between Vietnam and the relevant countries.

- Contractual cars shall only be allowed to carry contractual passengers on the contractual routes. Contractual cars running in the form of charter contractual routes are strictly forbidden to run without any specific itineraries.

Article 9.- Licensing contractual cars

9.1. Conditions for being licensed

- Contractual cars must be managed by transport units and licensed by the competent State management agency(ies) for public transportation of passengers.

- They must meet the prescribed conditions and comply with the provisions of Articles 7 and 8 above.

9.2. The dossier of application for the license, the license’s validity duration and the licensing bodies shall comply with the regulations issued together with Decision No.1748/QD-GTVT of July 12, 1997 and Decision No.2076/1998/QD-BGTVT of August 18, 1998 of the Minister of Communications and Transport (which are amended and supplemented by Decision No.3292/1998/QD-BGTVT of December 10, 1998).

Where the cars belong to joint ventures, the joint venture contracts (the notarized copies thereof or the copies plus the originals for comparison are required).

The issuance of international transport permits for contractual cars on overseas trips shall comply with the separate guiding Circular of the Ministry of Communications and Transport.

The application for contractual car passenger transport permit shall comply with the set form.

Chapter III

INSPECTION AND HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS

Article 10.- Inspection

State agencies with inspection and control competence shall be entitled to conduct inspection and handle violations by contractual cars in accordance with the current provisions of law.

Article 11.- All violations of the Regulation on contractual cars shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of law.

Contractual cars violating this Regulation shall, apart from being administratively sanctioned according to law, depending on the seriousness of their violations, have their violations recorded on the spot, which shall be then addressed to the transport permit-issuing agency for suspending the issuance of permits thereto for 6 months or 1 year; cases of recidivism shall be subject not only to administrative sanctions and record-making but also to the withdrawal of transport permits and suspension of the permit issuance thereto for 2 years.

Article 12.- The competence for and forms of administrative sanctions shall comply with the provisions of the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations, Decree No.80/CP of December 5, 1996 of the Government stipulating the "organization and operation of communications and transport inspectorate"; Decree No.49/CP of July 26, 1996 of the Government stipulating administrative sanctions against violations of traffic order and safety on land roads and in urban areas (which is amended and supplemented by Decree No.78/1998/ND-CP of September 26, 1998) and the relevant provisions.

Chapter IV

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 13.- The head of the Vietnam Road Administration shall have to guide and coordinate with the provincial/municipal Communications and Transport (Public Works) Services in organizing and inspecting the implementation of this Regulation.

Article 14.- In the course of implementation, if any problems arise or if it is necessary to amend or supplement any clauses of this Regulation, the provincial/municipal Communications and Transport (Public Works) Services should report them to the Vietnam Road Administration so that the latter may make a sum-up and further report thereon to the Ministry of Communications and Transport for study and solution.

For the Minister of Communications and Transport

Vice Minister