The Ministry of Transport has recommended that the government should reduce taxes and fees for transport operators struggling due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

A bus in Hanoi with only two passengers, January 2021.
Photo by VnExpress/Anh Duy.

It wants the 30 percent cut in road maintenance fee, in place until June 30, to continue through 2021, scrap added-value tax, offer a 50 percent rebate on income tax, and allow operators’ vehicles free entry into airports and railroad stations to pick up passengers.

For air transport operators, it has proposed a 50 percent cut in airport charges like landing and taking off fees.

The passenger transport industry reported a 29.6 percent decline in 2020 due to the pandemic, according to the General Statistics Office. The aviation sector was the hardest hit, with the number of passengers plummeting by 43 percent to 66 million and cargo transport by 15 percent to 1.3 million tons.