Can I resell a beautiful license plate I won at auction?

I would like to ask if I can resell a beautiful license plate that I won at auction? Will I be fined if I win an auction for a beautiful license plate but don't pay the full amount? - Reader Tran Quy

Trúng đấu giá biển số xe đẹp có được bán lại không?

Can I resell a car license plate that I won at auction? (Source: TVPL)

What are the regulations regarding license plates being auctioned off?

According to Article 2 of Resolution 73/2022/QH15, the regulations for auctioning car license plates are as follows:

(i) The license plates offered for auction are white license plates with black letters and numbers, except for license plates issued to vehicles of military enterprises engaged in economic activities , vehicles of projects, joint ventures with foreign economic organizations, vehicles of foreign organizations and enterprises, diplomatic missions, consular missions, representative offices of international organizations, and foreigners working in foreign and international organizations operating in Vietnam.

(ii) The selection of license plates for automobiles to be auctioned is regulated as follows:

- The Ministry of Public Security and the asset auction organization are responsible for publicly disclosing the license plates of automobiles specified in clause (i) that are not yet registered and are expected to be newly issued on the national electronic portal for asset auctions, the Ministry of Public Security's electronic portal, the website of the Traffic Police Department, and the online website of the asset auction organization;

- Organizations and individuals may choose license plates from provinces and centrally-governed cities to register for the auction.

- License plates that are not selected for auction, or license plates that are not successfully auctioned, are immediately transferred to the vehicle registration and management system for registration according to regulations.

(iii) During the implementation of Resolution 73/2022/QH15, the Ministry of Public Security shall select an asset auction organization from among those with an online auction website, ensuring network security and safety when connecting with the vehicle registration and management system, to organize the auction of automobile license plates.

If I win an auction for a desirable license plate, can I resell it?

Based on Clause 2, Article 6 of Resolution 73/2022/QH15, the obligations of the person who wins the auction for car license plates include:

- Pay the full winning bid amount within 15 days from the date of the auction results approval document; the winning bid amount does not include registration fees or license plate fees for the automobile;

- Complete the vehicle registration procedures to affix the license plates awarded at auction within 12 months from the date of issuance of the document confirming the winning license plates;

In the event of force majeure or objective obstacles, this period may be extended, but not by more than 6 months.

After the specified deadline, if the person who won the auction for a car license plate does not complete the vehicle registration procedures to affix the winning license plate, the winning license plate will be transferred to the vehicle registration and management system, and the winning bidder will not be refunded the auction price paid.

- License plates of auctioned automobiles may not be transferred, exchanged, gifted, or bequeathed, except in the case of transferring, exchanging, gifting, or bequeathing the automobile itself bearing the auctioned license plate.

Therefore, according to the above regulations, the owner of a vehicle that wins an auction for a desirable license plate is not allowed to transfer, exchange, give away, or bequeath the license plate itself; they can only transfer, exchange, give away, or bequeath the vehicle bearing the winning license plate.

If I win an auction for a desirable license plate but don't pay the full amount, will I be fined?

Article 19 of Decree 39/2023/ND-CP stipulates the cases for canceling auction results as follows:

- Auction results are cancelled in the cases stipulated in the Law on Auction of Assets 2016.

- A successful bidder who fails to acknowledge the auction record will be deemed to have declined to enter into the contract for the sale of the auctioned property.

- The notification of auction results and the confirmation document for the winning license plate will be canceled in the following cases:

+ The winning bidder fails to pay the full winning bid amount within 15 days of the auction results announcement;

+ The winning bidder fails to register the license plate for the auctioned vehicle within 12 months from the date of receiving the document confirming the winning license plate;

In the event of force majeure or objective obstacles, this period may be extended, but not by more than 6 months.

+ The winning bidder violated the rules regarding the integrity of their auction registration documents.

- License plates that are won at auction will be put up for re-auction; the deposit and the winning bid amount paid by the winning bidder will not be refunded and will be deposited into the state budget in the cases stipulated above.

Therefore, if the person who wins the auction for a desirable license plate fails to pay the full amount as stipulated above, the auction will be canceled, and the deposit paid by the winning bidder will not be refunded and will be deposited into the state budget.

Accordingly, currently, there are no regulations stipulating that those who win the license plate auction but fail to pay the full amount will be penalized. Therefore, in the case where the winner of the license plate auction fails to pay the full winning bid amount within the specified time limit, they will only forfeit the deposit and the winning bid amount already paid.

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