Mr. Tran Thien Minh's company (HCMC) operates in the field of automobile services, specializing in distributing automobiles to automobile manufacturers and importers in Vietnam. He found that many contents in Decree No. 116/2017/ND-CP regulating the conditions for production, assembly, import and business of automobile warranty and maintenance services are no longer suitable, causing businesses to waste a lot of time and money. One of them is the conditions for business of warranty and maintenance services.

Currently, people are free to do business in industries that are not prohibited by law; business of automobile warranty and maintenance services is a very normal activity when the demand for automobiles is increasing. Many automobile maintenance and repair garages have been established and operate without a certificate.

Meanwhile, businesses distributing to manufacturing plants have to go through many procedures and costs, and must also prove that "The factory is built on land legally owned by the enterprise". This is a clause that creates a bottleneck.

Mr. Minh said that if automobile distributors for manufacturers provide warranty and maintenance services, they only need to meet Vietnam Standard 121:2024/BGTVT National standards on motor vehicle warranty and maintenance facilities along with the commitment of the manufacturer/factory to support, which is enough basis for operation.

Manufacturers/factories are responsible for ensuring that their authorized distributors comply with the standards because no manufacturer wants to lose their reputation and name if the facility does not operate with quality standards.

Manufacturers/factories are responsible for checking, ensuring standards, compliance of authorized distributors and reporting to the Ministry of Construction periodically.

Therefore, Mr. Minh proposed to abolish the issuance of certificates for automobile warranty and maintenance facilities to reduce administrative procedures and free up business resources.

The Ministry of Construction responded to this issue as follows:

Vehicle quality is one of the three main factors affecting traffic safety (infrastructure - vehicles - people). Proper vehicle maintenance is a proactive technical measure to maintain the technical condition and quality of cars, so car maintenance needs to be controlled, especially the warranty and maintenance facilities of car manufacturers, assemblers and importers.

Buyers of goods in general and car buyers in particular have the right to request manufacturers and importers to carry out product warranties; This right has also been clearly stipulated in the Law on Consumer Protection 2010 and the Law on Product and Goods Quality 2007.

The Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety also stipulates that organizations and individuals importing, manufacturing, assembling are responsible for warranty, maintenance of imported motor vehicles, production, assembly and recall of products and goods according to the Government's regulations and also assigns the Minister of Transport (now the Ministry of Construction) to promulgate national technical regulations on motor vehicle warranty and maintenance facilities.

In the absence of regulations, organizations manufacturing, assembling, and importing automobiles will not fully perform their product warranty obligations according to regulations, causing buyers and users of automobiles to have no place to perform warranty and maintenance to maintain the technical condition of the vehicle to ensure technical safety and environmental protection according to regulations.

Therefore, it is necessary to continue to regulate the business conditions of automobile warranty and maintenance facilities of manufacturers and importers to ensure the rights of consumers. At the same time, automobiles that are regularly maintained in accordance with regulations and ensure quality will also contribute to ensuring and improving safety when participating in traffic, reducing traffic accidents, reducing the risk of vehicle fires and explosions, reducing fuel consumption, emissions that pollute the environment and increasing the durability and lifespan of vehicles. Through the implementation of the certification of warranty and maintenance facilities according to the provisions of Decree No. 116/2017/ND-CP dated October 17, 2017 regulating the conditions for production, assembly, import and business of automobile warranty and maintenance services, the Vietnam Register has encountered many cases where warranty facilities borrow equipment and facilities from other units to apply for a certificate of warranty and maintenance facility or where the factory is built in areas that are not in accordance with the provisions of law, so it is not possible to provide documents proving that "The factory is built on land legally owned by the enterprise".

In addition, the Ministry of Construction would like to acknowledge your recommendation to review and consider amending Decree No. 116/2017/ND-CP to create more favorable conditions for enterprises operating in the field of automobile warranty and maintenance for automobile manufacturing, assembly and import units.

Through this, the Ministry of Construction also proposes to improve the quality of vehicles, improve the safety of vehicles when participating in traffic, reduce traffic accidents, reduce the risk of vehicle fires and explosions, reduce fuel consumption, emissions causing environmental pollution and increase the durability and lifespan of vehicles, vehicle owners when needing to maintain or repair their vehicles should bring them to authorized and announced warranty and maintenance facilities of the manufacturer or importer for warranty, maintenance and repair according to technical requirements, and replace genuine spare parts to maintain the technical condition of the vehicle according to the manufacturer's design, ensure safety and improve the quality of the vehicle during use.