Car owners are excited because their cars don't need to be "restored to factory condition" to be inspected.

These are the new points that people welcome in Circular 43/2023/TT-BGTVT (Circular 43) of the Ministry of Transport (MOT) just issued. Accordingly, car inspection has been "untied" when there are 9 cases where vehicle parts are allowed to be changed. These changes were once considered "forbidden areas" and were refused inspection according to Circular 85/2014/TT-BGTVT.

Car owners "breathe a sigh of relief", car tuning business people are overjoyed

Although it will be applied from after the Lunar New Year 2024, this information has made many car users more confident when changing and installing car accessories from this time.

Mr. Dinh Thanh Minh (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi) said that the lights on his 2009 Honda Civic are very dark and unsafe to drive at night. Although he wants to invest in a different set of Bi-Led lights, he still doesn't dare to replace them because he's afraid of trouble because he thinks the inspection is due in March.

"If I change the lights, I have to go to the car repair shop to rent the original lights when I go to the vehicle inspection, which is very time-consuming. But luckily the new regulation came out at the right time, making me bold enough to change the lights. This Tet, I can go back to my hometown and go out in the dark with confidence," said Mr. Minh.

Mr. Pham Thanh Luan (Ba Dinh, Hanoi) also said that the new regulation of the Ministry of Transport is reasonable because it meets the wishes of car users like him, because if the accessories are installed correctly, they will not affect the vehicle's performance or safety.

"Parts like the grille, spoiler, side steps, etc. only make the car look more beautiful and comfortable, but do not affect its operation. If anyone can afford to change the light bulbs to brighter new technology, it will be even safer," Mr. Luan shared.

Car users are happy, but car accessory installation businesses are even happier, because 2023 was a difficult time for this industry due to decreased demand. Therefore, information about more open regulations for car renovation is like "rain after drought".

Mr. Trieu Bon, owner of a workshop specializing in upgrading lights and sound for cars in Nam Tu Liem district (Hanoi), said: "In 2023, due to the tightening of vehicle inspection, general modifications and replacing lights and attaching accessories to cars are very limited, the number of customers is only about 30-40% compared to previous years."

Upon receiving the "good news" right at the peak of Tet, Mr. Bon's store boldly imported light bulbs, light clusters as well as many quality accessories and toys to "get ahead" of the curve and serve customers.

"With relaxed regulations and a gradually recovering economy, the business situation in 2024 for the car care and accessories industry will certainly be very bright," said Mr. Bon.

With a broader perspective, Mr. Pham Thanh Le - Administrator of Otofun Forum said that the newly issued Circular 43 has a more open approach to technical safety inspection and environmental protection, specifically, anything that does not affect safety should be allowed. At the same time, the newly revised regulations basically respond to the legitimate proposals of the driving community over the past year.

However, Mr. Le still believes that this Circular still has some unclear points that make car owners wonder, for example, the regulation allows the installation of separate fog lights, but where to install them, what intensity... are issues that need to be clarified to avoid future disputes between car owners and the inspection unit.

In addition, according to Mr. Thanh Le, although the content of Circular 43 is open, these innovations are among the points that will be handled according to Decree 100/2019/ND-CP on administrative sanctions in the field of road and railway traffic.

"Circular 43 allows for the installation of separate fog lights, but Clause 3, Article 16 of Decree 100/2019 stipulates: A fine of VND 800,000 to VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of driving a vehicle with additional lights installed in the front, rear, on the roof, under the chassis, on one or both sides of the vehicle. At the same time, the driver will also have his/her driving license revoked for 1-3 months. So do these two provisions conflict with each other?", Mr. Pham Thanh Le asked.

A representative of the Vietnam Register said that Circular 43 has overcome some previous shortcomings. Changes related only to the interior and comfort, not related to safety, are not considered motor vehicle modifications.

However, people modifying cars, especially parts such as headlights, fog lights, grilles, adding external accessories... cannot be done arbitrarily but must ensure compliance with certain technical standards, the ultimate goal is still to ensure safety.

"In the coming days, the Vietnam Register will also provide specific instructions to registration centers nationwide and the public to clarify the changes in Circular 43, so that it can be effectively applied from February 15," said a representative of the Vietnam Register.

Circular 43 has added to Article 4a of Circular 85 a number of cases where motor vehicles have changes but are not considered renovations, including:

- Change the passenger compartment door (not including changing the door position and size);

- Changing some cargo container structures such as: sealing or changing the structure of the cargo container door; replacing flat sheet metal with corrugated sheet metal or vice versa; adding sheet metal to the roof frame of a covered vehicle without increasing the height of the cargo container; adding or removing a dust cover for the cargo container of a dump truck;

- Install, replace or remove the cover for the cargo compartment and luggage of a Pickup truck without changing the size of the cargo bed and the overall size of the vehicle;

- Install additional separate fog lights;

- Replace the front light cluster with a cluster that has been certified or declared to comply with National Technical Regulation QCVN 35:2017/BGTVT without having to modify the vehicle's structure to ensure installation;

- Replace the bulb in the front light cluster with another type of bulb with equivalent power consumption without having to intervene or change the structure of the light cluster;

- Changing the details and body parts is optional for the vehicle manufacturer but does not change the exterior dimensions of the vehicle, except for the cases specified in Article 6 of Circular 85/2014/TT-BGTVT. Installation is carried out according to the recommendations of the vehicle manufacturer or the legally authorized representative of the vehicle manufacturer;

- Change the design of some details of the car body such as: front grille, spoiler;

- Install additional windshield on the truck cabin roof, steps, exhaust pipe decoration, decorative belt to protect headlights and signal lights without changing the exterior size of the vehicle.