Will there be a fine if the account does not have enough money to pay through the ETC toll station according to the new regulations?

Insufficient funds in the account when arriving at the ETC station used to cause many drivers to be fined even though their vehicles had tags. However, the new regulations that will take effect from 2025 have made changes to this case.

Specifically, from January 1, 2025, Decree 168/2024/ND-CP (Decree 168) of the Government officially takes effect, replacing Decree 100/2019 (amending and supplementing Decree 123/2021) in regulating administrative sanctions for violations in the field of road traffic, and at the same time, applying a point deduction mechanism on the driving license.

Decree 168 has changes compared to Decree 100 regarding penalties for not having enough money in the account when going through ETC toll stations. Photo: Ngoc Thang

Regarding the non-stop toll collection method, many drivers are wondering whether they will be fined if their account balance is not enough when passing through the toll station. Previously, according to Decree 100/2019, vehicles with ETC tags but insufficient funds in their accounts when entering the non-stop toll lane will be fined 2 - 3 million VND.

However, according to Decree 168, the penalty for this violation has been abolished. Specifically, Clause 4, Article 6 of this Decree only penalizes drivers who have not attached an automatic toll collection tag (terminal tag) but still enter the toll lane reserved for ETC with a fine of 2 - 3 million VND. This means that if the vehicle has a toll collection tag but the account does not have enough money, the driver will not be administratively punished as before.

According to Clause 2, Article 11 of Decision No. 19/2020/QD-TTg, in case the ETC account is not enough to pay, the vehicle should move to the mixed toll lane for processing. However, in reality, most of the current expressways no longer have mixed lanes, leading to a situation where many drivers are confused when the system does not open the barrier due to insufficient funds in the account while the vehicles behind are waiting in line.

Will there be a fine for an account with insufficient funds to pay through the ETC toll station under the new regulations?

In this situation, depending on the conditions of each toll station, the driver can move to the inside lane or ask the staff for guidance on how to handle the situation to avoid causing congestion.

Even if not penalized, vehicle owners should proactively maintain a balance in their toll account before entering the highway or ETC toll station area. This is to ensure smooth traffic, avoid incidents and traffic jams at the station.

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Source: https://baonghean.vn/tai-khoan-khong-du-tien-qua-tram-thu-phi-etc-co-bi-phat-theo-quy-dinh-moi-10297403.html