VETC and ePass suspend ETC account maintenance fees

Electronic toll collection (ETC) providers VETC and ePass have temporarily suspended plans to collect monthly account and e-wallet maintenance fees following public backlash. The proposed fees included 6,600 VND per month for individuals and 66,000 VND for businesses.

Legal experts note that while regulations allow for operational costs between service providers and BOT units, this does not grant companies the automatic right to charge customers directly without prior contractual agreement. Lawyers emphasize that any new fees must be transparent, clearly communicated, and based on services explicitly agreed upon in the initial contract.

To address the underlying issue, experts have proposed allowing drivers to pay toll fees directly from their bank accounts. This would eliminate the need for intermediate e-wallets, which currently require users to maintain large balances that earn no interest for the consumer. There are calls for state authorities to review the operational models and infrastructure costs of ETC providers to ensure consumer rights and payment freedom.