Under a new circular of the Ministry of Public Security, as of April 15 traffic police in Hanoi will apply fines for owners of vehicles who have failed to carry out procedures for an ownership change.

The regulation was announced by Colonel Dao Vinh Thang, head of the Hanoi Traffic Police Department. Under Circular 11 that guides the implementation of Decree 71 that took effect on November 10, 2012, the fine is VND1 million (US$48) for motorbike owners and VND8 million for car owners. Specifically, such a fine will be given to those who possess a vehicle that could have been sold, transferred or presented to them while procedures for change of ownership have yet to be completed. In talking with Tuoi Tre, Colonel Thang said the Circular will take effect on April 15 and Hanoi traffic police will begin enforcing it the same day.

However, under the circular, traffic police are not allowed stop a vehicle to determine if an ownership transfer has been conducted for that vehicle. They can only impose the fine when a violation is detected after a driver has already been stopped for violating traffic rules. Previously, the Ministry of Transport has proposed that the regulation on such penalties be revoked since it is unfeasible.

Several lawyers have also said such penalties are groundless.

For example, lawyer Nguyen Thi Minh Huyen, from the Ho Chi Minh Bar Association, said that neither the Road Traffic Law nor the Civil Code has an article that requires the owner of a vehicle to go through an ownership change when they sell or present the vehicle to another person. “Carrying out procedures for an ownership change is not an obligation but a right of the owner of a property.”

In an interview with Tuoi Tre, lawyer Tran Thi Mien said this rule has been strongly opposed by many people who argued that police has no right to apply such a penalty because there is no laws that require the owner of a vehicle to make ownership transfer. The lawyer said that such a penalty is groundless since it is not based on any laws, including the Road Traffic Law. "Article 58 of the Law regulates conditions for drivers of vehicles to join in traffic, but these conditions do not include vehicle ownership transfer."