The Office of the Government on April 3 issued a decision that providesguidelines for the operations of Uber, the app-based taxi service, inVietnam.

The decision stipulates that Uber will sign contractsonly with transport service companies that fully satisfy all conditionsand criteria outlined in national standards.

The company will besubject to regular and random inspections by concerned Governmentagencies. In cases violations are found, Uber will be held accountableand penalised under Vietnamese law.

The Government Office andthe Ministry of Transport have urged other ministries and agencies toestablish a legal framework for Uber's operations, ensuring conformitywith national law and fair competition requirements.

The officehas ordered the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to quickly processand respond to a request from the HCM City Taxi Association totemporarily shut down Uber's operations in Vietnam.

The decision was based on a report submitted by the Ministry of Transport on Uber's operations.

Uber was licensed by the HCM City People's Committee on August 30, 2014.

It'soperations initially caused much concern among transport officials asthe company had not registered to provide taxi services and failed tomeet tax regulations.

Local transport companies repeatedly voicedtheir concerns, saying the app-based taxi service had a cost benefitover local taxi firms that disadvantaged the latter.-VNA