Who is fined for vehicles overdue for registration?

Posted date: 19/05/2021

I am a driver working for Nhat Tin Company with the fixed route of Ha Noi – Da Nang. My vehicle is overdue for registration. However, because I took advantage of Tet Holidays, I and the car owner have not registered it.

Currently, due to the pandemic, I have not backed to work as a driver. However, I'm afraid of being fined by the police because the time for registration is expired. The car is currently given to me by the owner, so will the police fine me or the owner if the time for registration is expired? Thank you!

FDVN’s Opinion:

Thank you for concerning FDVN’s legal services. Regarding your consulting requests, after studying the relevant legal documents, FDVN Law Firm would like to give you the following advice:

According to Clause 2, Article 58 of Law on Road traffice 2008, when joining in traffice, the drivers of vehicles shall carry the following papers:

“a/ Vehicle registration paper;

b/ Driver license, for motor vehicle operators defined in Article 59 of this Law;

c/ Technical safety and environmental protection inspection certificate, for motor vehicles prescribed in Article 55 of this Law;

d/ Motor vehicle owner civil liability insurance certificate.”

Thus, when joining in traffic, the drivers shall carry the technical safety and environmental protection inspection certificate by the motor vehicle registration agency.

It is stipulated in Appendix VII promulgated together with Circular No. 70/2015/TT-BGTVT providing for inspection of technical safety and environmental protection for means of road transport that:

No.	Type of vehicle	Period (month)
No.	Type of vehicle	First period	Next periods
1. Motor vehicles having up to 09 seats not serving the transport business
	Vehicle age not exceeding 07 years	30	18
	Vehicle age exceeding 07 years but not exceeding 12 years		12
	Vehicle age exceeding 12 years		06
2. Motor vehicles having up to 09 seats serving the transport business; motor vehicles having more than 09 seats
2.1	Not modified (*)	18	06
2.2	Modified (*)	12	06
3. Trucks, dedicated vehicles, tractors, trailers, semi-trailers
3.1	Trucks, dedicated vehicles and tractors whose ages are not exceeding 07 years; trailer and semi-trailer whose ages are not exceeding 12 years	24	12
3.1	Trucks, dedicated vehicles and tractors whose ages are exceeding 07 years; trailers and semi-trailers whose ages are exceeding 12 years		06
3.2	Modified (*)	12	06
4. Motor vehicles having more than 09 seats whose age is at least 25 years; Truck and truck tractors whose ages are at least 20 years			03

Thus, the car must be periodically registered to be granted the registration certificate or registration stamp. In case of registration expiration, the car has not met the conditions to be in traffice and a fine shall be imposed.

According to Article 16, Decree No. 100/2019/NĐ-CP dated December 30, 2021, on administrative penalties for road traffic offenses and rail transport offenses:

“Article 16. Penalties imposed upon by operators of cars and car-like vehicles (including the trailers or semi-trailers being towed) violating regulations on the roadworthiness of vehicles

4. A fine ranging from VND 2,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed for:

c) Operating a vehicle with a certificate of technical and environmental safety or stamp of technical and environmental safety (if required) that has expired for less than 01 months (including those for trailers and semi-trailer);

5. A fine ranging from VND 4,000,000 to VND 6,000,000 shall be imposed for:

…

e) Operating a vehicle without a certificate of technical and environmental safety or stamp of technical and environmental safety (if required, except for temporarily registered vehicles) or with one that has expired for 01 months or more (including those for trailers and semi-trailer);

6. Apart from incurring fines, the violating operator shall also incur the following additional penalties:

a) The violation(s) specified in Points a and b Clause 3; Clause 4; Points a and e Clause 5 of this Article shall lead to suspension of driving license from 1 month to 3 months;

It is regulated in Article 30 of Decree No. 100/2019/NĐ-CP on administrative penalties for road traffic offenses and rail transport offenses that:

“Article 30. Penalties imposed upon vehicle owners

8. For owners of cars, tractors, heavy-duty vehicles, and car-like vehicles: A fine ranging from VND 4,000,000 to VND 6,000,000 shall be imposed upon an individual, from VND 8,000,000 to VND 12.000.000 upon an organization that commits any of the following violations:

b) Operating a motor vehicle or heavy-duty vehicle on public roads with a certificate of technical and environmental safety or stamp of technical and environmental safety (if required) that has expired for less than 01 months (including those for trailers and semi-trailer);

9. For owners of cars, tractors, heavy-duty vehicles, and car-like vehicles: A fine ranging from VND 6,000,000 to VND 8,000,000 shall be imposed upon an individual, from VND 12,000,000 to VND 16,000,000 upon an organization that commits any of the following violations:

c) Operating a motor vehicle or heavy-duty vehicle on public roads without a certificate of technical and environmental safety or stamp of technical and environmental safety (if required) or with one that has expired for 01 months or more (including those for trailers and semi-trailer);”

Hence, according to the above-cited regulations, when the traffic registration for cars is expired, both the vehicle owner and the driver will be fined. Therefore, car owners and drivers must ensure that the cars they manage, control, and operate must fully meet the conditions prescribed by law.

Above is FDVN’s legal opinion under your requests. We hope that it’s useful for you and we’re looking forward to hearing your feedback about our advice.

Lawyer Mai Quốc Việt – FDVN Law Firm

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