Giap Bat Bus Terminal. Road maintenance fees were reduced by 30 percent for passenger transportation vehicles and 10 percent for trucks and tractors till the end of this year. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Transportation firms have welcomed the Ministry ofFinance’s recent move to reduce road maintenance fees by up to 30 percentto aid businesses hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Finance early this week issued a circular to cut roadmaintenance fees for passenger transportation vehicles by 30 percent and10 percent for trucks, tractors and other special vehicles.
The reductions apply from August 10 to the end of this year. From January 1,2021, road maintenance fees will return to the levels before August 10.
According to Khuc Huu Thanh Hai, director of Dat Cang Transportation, Tradingand Services Joint Stock Company, cutting road maintenance fees would be asignificant aid to transportation companies amid the pandemic.
With around 400 five-seat cars and 70 47-seat buses, Hai said his company couldsave a considerable sum from the fees reduction.
Hai, however, said he had expected bigger reductions because the transportationsector had been heavily affected by the pandemic.
Bui Danh Lien, deputy chairman of the Hanoi Transport Association, said theCOVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the transport industry were severe with a numberof transport sectors frozen while companies still have to pay to maintainoperations.
The Government’s support was essential in the time of the pandemic, which wouldhelp transportation companies overcome difficulties and recover, he said.
In May, the Ministry of Transport asked the Ministry of Financeto exempt and reduce road maintenance fees for transport vehicles andfirms affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ministry pointed out that thousands of firms, co-operatives and householdbusinesses in the transportation sector were falling into difficulties due tothe pandemic with more than 310,000 vehicles operating in moderation andhundreds of thousands of workers facing falling incomes.
When nationwide social distancing was in place to cope with thevirus, the passenger transportation saw a 75 percent drop in revenue, thetransport ministry said./.
VNA
