Four ministries of trade, transport, finance and public security have jointly agreed to introduce criteria on secondhand passenger automobiles of less than 16 seats imported into Vietnam from May 1, 2006.
Under the Joint Circular 03, secondhand cars must be operated in foreign countries, registered for traffic for at least six months in other countries and have run at least 10,000 km. In addition, imported used autos must not exceed five years old, dating back from the importing date.
According to the joint circular, the manufacturing date is defined by frame series numbers, technical specification books, special software, registration papers or registration cancellation papers in other countries.
For special cases, a special appraisal committee will decide to allow or disallow the import of certain automobiles if their quality is doubted. The police force will become involved if customs authorities find suspects in frame series number changes.
The four ministries also completely banned the importation of right-hand drive automobiles and secondhand ambulances. No import is allowed for dismantled automobiles, restructured cars, function-changed cars and automobiles with forged series numbers.
Secondhand cars are only permitted to enter Vietnam via four international gates of Cai Lan, Haiphong, Danang and Ho Chi Minh City.
According to the recently ratified taxation policy on used cars, a car will incur a combined import tax rate that averagely exceeds 600 per cent of its import price, disappointing all potential car buyers who have delayed purchasing decisions in expectation of low-priced cars.
The permit for the entry of used cars into Vietnam had reduced the domestic auto production volume by 40 per cent to nearly 7,100 units in the first three months of this year, according to the General Statistics Office.
Young People, Pioneer
Vietnamese
