Vietnam’s Ministry of Construction has asked transport regulators and local authorities to review operators that raised fares and kept them at those levels as fuel prices declined. The Government Electronic Newspaper reports that the ministry’s November 6 notice follows several fuel-price adjustments. It calls for inspectors to compare the fare an operator declares, the price it displays and the amount it actually charges.
Who has been asked to act
The notice went to agencies responsible for roads, railways, aviation, maritime transport and inland waterways, as well as provincial and municipal construction departments. They are to check fare declarations, price displays and sales at the displayed price. The ministry singled out businesses that had increased fares in earlier periods and kept them in place as fuel costs eased.
Violations found during the checks are to be dealt with under existing rules. The report did not identify operators, specify changes for particular routes or announce any penalties.
How the checks follow October instructions
The November 6 notice cites the prime minister’s Dispatch 70 and the Government Office’s Notice 528, both dated October 15. Notice 528 calls for the construction ministry to coordinate transport fare inspections and require businesses to lower fares in line with falling fuel costs. It also directs authorities to deal with delayed adjustments and unreasonable increases tied to fuel-price changes.
Notice 528 assigns localities where consumer prices have risen faster than the national average to analyse which categories are driving those increases. In transport, the November 6 notice translates the earlier instruction into checks on individual operators and action on any violations found.