VietNamNet Bridge – With the Ministry of Public Security having set a deadline of December 31 to complete all legal formalities for transfer of ownership of motorbikes or three-wheeled bikes, the capital city’s traffic police has reported a sudden surge in registration requests, requiring it to mobilise additional resources to deal with the rush.

A Ha Dong district’s police officer is checking an old motorbike before it is granted new ownership. Crowds have surged for motor ownership transfer in the past several days as December 31 deadline approaches, according to Ha Noi Traffic Police. – Photo doisongphapluat.com

The ministry last year issued Decree 15 stating that individuals or organisations which have bought or are in possession of motorbikes, three-wheeled or electric bikes but have not completed the formalities to effect a change of ownership in the records, must finish the paperwork for transferring vehicle ownership by the end of this month.

Police officer Ngo Anh Tuan from the Dong Da District’s traffic police on Monday said the unit had to mobilise more staff since it was receiving about 130 dossiers every day from people seeking to update their vehicle ownership information.

From early mornings, a traffic police’s registration centre in the district’s Thai Ha Street, witnessed people queuing up, waiting for their turn to complete their vehicle ownership transfer procedure. As people sat inside the waiting room, parked outside were hundreds of old motorbikes which were to undergo police checks.

Meanwhile, police in Hoan Kiem District said, in recent days, they were receiving 10 to 20 times more applications than usual for transfer of motor ownership. Previously, they used to receive only about five dossiers but now the number had increased to 50. That forced the district police to mobilise more staff.

Lieutenant Colonel Dao Van Xuyen said transferring fee for vehicles of which original ownership papers were not to be found and new ones had to be obtained, was between VND500,000 (US$22) and about VND4 million (US$176), depending on the value of the vehicle.

However, procedure in such cases was certainly simple and convenient, according to Xuyen.

Earlier, municipal People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung said Ha Noi police would be given smart devices to check whether motorbike drivers had correctly transferred their vehicle ownership. This technology will be applied with effect from January 1, 2017, Chung said.

Accordingly, instead of checking the paperwork reflecting vehicle ownership, police would only need to access a database of motorbike registrations to check vehicle ownership transfer details.

Decree 46 issued by the Ministry of Public Security, stated that from next year, individual motorbike owners will incur a fine of VND100,000-200,000 ($4.5-9) if they fail to transfer vehicle ownership.  

However, clarifying the controversial regulation, Major General Tran The Quan, deputy head of the Department of Legal Affairs under the ministry, told local media that police officers were not allowed to stop motorbikes to check vehicle ownership. They were authorised to check ownership only when the vehicles are ordered to stop for having violated traffic rules.

Source: VNS