Uber may have to cease its operation in Vietnam as it now fails to meet legal requirements set out by the local government and transport ministry.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Transport has ordered American ride-hailing app Uber to stop providing its service in the Southeast Asian country or cooperate with local vehicle owners and transport companies.

According to Nguyen Xuan Thuy, an official from the transport ministry, the agency is piloting a form of digital contract in passenger transport across the country, as part of its Decision No.24 on the application of information technology to the management of transport activities.

Such companies as Grab, V.car, Thanhcong.car, S.Car, and Vic.Car have met the requirements defined by competent agencies so far, Thuy continued.

Meanwhile, that the Netherlands-based Uber B.V. authorizing Uber Vietnam to participate in the pilot scheme is inappropriate, as Uber B.V might refuse to be responsible for potential complaints and disputes between Uber Vietnam and their customers.

The business fields registered by Uber Vietnam only include management consulting and market research, Thuy added.

In order to be eligible for the plan, the firm needs to sign up for the correct field of business it operates in and fill in the details about its transport contracts via the mobile application.

Accordingly, the content of the digital contracts must meet the requirements laid down in the government decree on the business conditions for automobile transportation, and the transport ministry’s circular on the management of passenger transport.

Uber Vietnam will also need to register its app at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the official added.

In a relevant development, Nguyen Tuan Sinh, president of the trade union at Mai Linh Group, one of Vietnam’s major transport companies, has urged competent agencies to review the operations of Uber, Grab, and similar services.

Such businesses have significantly increased their fares at rush hour and in peak seasons without any reactions from authorities, Sinh stated in his report.

Uber Vietnam has also publicly called for investment and recruited drivers without a legitimate permit from the authorities.