Ha Noi, HCM City, Hai Phong, Da Nang and Can Tho will be the first 5 cities in the country to sell plate numbers at an auction.

Nice plate numbers will be auctioned following a proposal of the Ministry of Public Security to contribute more for the State budget. — Photo viettimes.vn

The Traffic Police Department, under the Ministry of Public Security, said that this is a pilot programme for which the ministry has got approval.

Learning from the experience of other countries that have implemented similar programmes, the ministry will choose interesting/attractive licence plate numbers, which are believed to bring luck or fortune to owners, and put them up for auction.

Other number plates will be chosen at random, as usual.

The scheme hopes to limit the giving and receiving of bribes for the issuance of plate numbers, and to increase the State’s income.

The auction will be organised at public places in different cities. People participating in the auction must pay a deposit in advance; the money will be regulated by the provincial and municipal people’s committees.

The proposal of auctioning plate numbers was submitted years ago, in 1993, but until now the plan has never been implemented.

While discussing the draft amended Law on Management and Use of State Property at the National Assembly meeting on May 29, Nguyen Van Canh, a member from Binh Dinh, said that not just interesting number plates, but all number plates are public property.

If the proposal is implemented, the State could earn 5 trillion VND (US$222.2 million) a year, Canh said.

(Source: VNS)