Decree 158/2024/ND-CP, effective from January 1, 2025, outlines regulations for road transport operations, including taxi services. It introduces multiple methods for calculating trip fares, such as using taximeters, or software that directly connects passengers through electronic means for booking, cancellation, and fare calculation (referred to as fare calculation software).
For trips using taximeters, Decree 158 mandates that vehicles must be equipped with metered devices that are calibrated and sealed by authorized measurement verification authorities. These devices must also be connected to a fixed printing device for issuing receipts or payment slips, placed in a location easily visible to passengers. At the end of the journey, drivers are required to provide passengers with electronic invoices generated by the taximeter.
Regarding fare calculation software, taxi vehicles must have devices that directly connect passengers to book or cancel trips. The trip fare is calculated based on the distance determined by digital maps. The software must comply with legal provisions for electronic transactions and display the name or logo of the transport business unit on the passenger interface. Additionally, it should provide passengers with essential information before the trip commences.
Trip fares are agreed upon between passengers and transport business units based on the cost schedule displayed in the taxi or through the unit’s fare calculation software.
Notably, the decree also allows for trip fares to be agreed upon with the transport business unit. It states that “trip fares are agreed upon between passengers and transport business units based on the cost schedule displayed in the taxi or through the unit’s fare calculation software.”
Upon trip completion, transport business units using fare calculation software must send electronic invoices to passengers via the software and transmit invoice information to tax authorities as required. These business units are also responsible for notifying the Department of Transportation, which granted their transport business license, and the tax authorities (where they declare and pay taxes) about the fare calculation method employed in their taxis.
