Ho Chi Minh City collects nearly VND8,000 billion in seaport infrastructure fees

On the afternoon of December 3, the Office of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee said that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has just reported to the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council the results of collecting fees for using works, infrastructure and public utility services in the seaport gate area from April 1, 2022 to October 31, 2025, at the same time clearly stating many difficulties and problems and proposing a series of adjustment solutions in the coming time.

From the revenue from seaport infrastructure fees, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee proposed that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council prioritize capital for reinvestment in seaport connection infrastructure - Photo: QUOC HUNG

Total revenue reached about 7,961 billion VND, contributing important resources for investment in transport infrastructure connecting seaports. Specifically, in 2022, revenue was 1,862.45 billion VND, reaching 94.6%; in 2023, revenue was 2,036.22 billion VND, reaching 101.8%; in 2024, revenue was 2,151.24 billion VND, reaching 102.43%; in 2025 (from January 1 to October 31, 2025), revenue was 1,911.16 billion VND, reaching 88.89%. The remaining fee debt after 3 years is about 108.5 billion VND.

According to the HCMC People's Committee, the results of collecting seaport infrastructure fees generally met and exceeded the annual estimate, creating a sustainable resource for investment in transport infrastructure connecting seaports. However, the fee debt ratio still exists and is being reviewed by units to recover. Due to difficulties in contacting cargo owners, the HCMC People's Committee has temporarily assigned CFS warehouse and bonded warehouse enterprises to support the collection and payment of fees. The HCMC People's Committee recommends adding this group of subjects to the Resolution to ensure a legal basis.

In addition, the fee for temporarily imported and re-exported goods does not distinguish between commercial goods and goods not for commercial purposes according to the Customs Law. Containerized LCL goods and goods weighing less than 1,000 kg account for a large proportion of declarations but the amount collected is very small (0.008% - 0.016%). The city proposes to exempt this group of goods to reduce the burden of procedures.

Regarding businesses reflecting on "overlapping fees" in the Phu Huu - SP - ITC area because the only route to the two ports must pass through many BOT stations, businesses must pay many types of road fees and seaport infrastructure fees. Many petitions have been sent to the Government and the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to propose exemptions or buybacks of BOT. The Department of Construction believes that the businesses' petitions are well-founded, but there is currently no legal regulation on buying back BOT. Instead, the Department proposes to reduce seaport infrastructure fees corresponding to the costs of going through the two Phu Huu BOT stations.

There are still many difficulties in collecting fees due to the lack of sanctions for non-payment of fees. The interface, fee collection system, and customs data sharing are still interrupted. More than 2,900 enterprises owe fees of less than VND10,000; nearly 2,000 enterprises owe fees but are no longer in operation. About 62,966 declarations paid fees incorrectly due to incorrect information.

In order to overcome the above difficulties, Ho Chi Minh City proposed that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council issue a Resolution to replace all previous toll collection resolutions, in accordance with the administrative scope after the merger of Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau. The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee proposed to set the toll collection cost deduction rate at 1.5% of the total revenue; expand the form of cashless payment outside the 24/7 system of Customs; prioritize investment capital allocation for key routes in the Cat Lai port area such as Ring Road 2, Nguyen Duy Trinh, My Thuy, An Phu; review and complete the toll collection process, technical solutions for data processing and overcome the toll debt situation.

According to Resolution 10/2020 of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council, all revenue from seaport infrastructure fees after deducting collected costs will be paid to the budget and used to invest in traffic works connecting seaports. The Department of Construction has proposed 27 priority projects, of which 17/24 projects have been and are being allocated investment capital with a total medium-term capital plan of more than VND 23,980 billion. Two new projects include raising the clearance of Binh Trieu 1 and Binh Phuoc 1 bridges.

The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee affirmed that the collection of seaport infrastructure fees has brought important resources for the development of transport connecting seaports. However, to create more favorable conditions for businesses and to be consistent with reality, the City proposed that the People's Council issue new policies, synchronously adjusting the collection levels, collection subjects and the cost recovery rate.

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