Ms. Le Thu (Hanoi) works for a joint-stock company with 100% Vietnamese capital. In the near future, her company plans to provide postal services. Accordingly, the company plans to hire services from transport providers to transport and deliver parcels as requested by customers.

For the transport service providers, the company will hire the following groups: Companies, transportation cooperatives (transportation businesses); Individuals with their own trucks who will use their own trucks to provide transport services (truck drivers); Individuals with their own motorcycles who will use their motorcycles to provide transport services (motorcycle drivers).

The parcels sent by Ms. Thu's company are regular goods, letters, and do not include prohibited or hazardous substances as regulated by law. The service fees charged by the company to customers are divided into two categories: One is a comprehensive service fee that includes warehouse operation, logistics, and delivery/transportation services; the other is a specific service fee for the delivery/item calculated based on distance, weight, and delivery point.

Ms. Thu is seeking clarification from the relevant authorities on the following questions:

If her company has been granted a license for postal service business and hires a transportation business to provide transport services, is her company required to obtain a business license for the transportation of goods by car? In reality, her company does not directly operate vehicles or employ drivers, as it does not own or manage a fleet of vehicles. When there is a request to send parcels or goods from customers, the company will send a request to the transportation business to coordinate driver delivery. Moreover, her company does not determine transportation fares because the transportation fares are paid to the service providers according to their price quotes. The company only collects delivery fees (postal fees) from customers. Ms. Thu believes that her company should not be considered as conducting car transportation business and therefore should not be required to obtain a business license for this type of operation.

In the service provider contract, her company binds the transportation business to ensure that they have all the necessary licenses to provide the service and does not require the transportation business to provide licenses for inspection. If the transportation business does not have a business license for the transportation of goods as committed in the contract, does her company have to apply for a business license for the transportation of goods?

If Ms. Thu's company uses the services of truck drivers and motorcycle drivers to carry out parcel delivery, is her company required to obtain a business license for the transportation of goods by car?

On this matter, the Vietnam Road Administration, Ministry of Transport, responds as follows:

Article 3, Clause 2 of Decree No. 10/2020/ND-CP of the Government on business and business conditions stipulates:

"2. Doing business in car transportation involves performing at least one of the main stages of transportation activities (directly operating vehicles, driving, or determining transportation fares) for the purpose of transporting passengers or goods by road for profit."

Based on this, it is suggested that Ms. Lê Thu's company research the regulations to determine the nature of the transportation business.

Article 64, Clause 2 of the 2008 Road Traffic Law regulates road transport activities as follows:

"2. Road transport business includes passenger transport and goods transport."

In addition, at point a, Clause 1 of Article 67 of the 2008 Road Traffic Law, it is stipulated:

"1. Enterprises, cooperatives, and individual businesses engaged in car transportation must meet the following conditions:

a) Register car transportation business in accordance with the law."

Based on this, it is recommended that Ms. Thu's company study the regulations to choose a suitable transportation business entity that meets the requirements of relevant laws.