The puzzle regarding the legality of combining car workshop businesses with vehicle inspection facilities has finally come to light. The Vietnam Department of Registration and Inspection stated that current regulations do not forbid a business entity from operating in both sectors simultaneously, as long as all legal requirements are met.
Based on Government Decree No. 89/2026, every investor is required to comply with national technical standards covering construction, land use, and fire prevention. However, the authorities place strong emphasis on the principle of independence. Inspection facilities and repair workshops must have separate legal entities, personnel management, and expertise from one another.
This operational separation is absolutely necessary to ensure objectivity and transparency in the vehicle testing process. Regulations strictly prohibit collusion practices that force vehicle owners to use repair services at affiliated units to pass inspections. Violations of this principle will lead to the revocation of the company's operational certification.
As an additional security measure, the new regulation taking effect on July 1, 2026, requires every inspection facility to conduct a thorough system trial run for at least one month. This phase aims to ensure all management software and connectivity flows run in sync before full operations commence.
Before starting the trial period, investors are required to submit a written request to the relevant authorities to obtain technical guidance on system installation. This policy is expected to improve the quality of inspection services while providing legal certainty for business actors in the automotive industry sector.
