Regarding the additional fee that land users must pay for the period when land-use fees have not yet been calculated, under the Land Law, the fee would be set at 5.4 percent per year. 

Voters in Kien Giang province (now An Giang) proposed revising this regulation, suggesting that the 5.4 percent annual additional fee should not apply in cases of delayed land price determination.

Alternatively, if the fee is still imposed, the time for determining land prices (performed by state agencies) must be excluded, and should only be calculated after the 90-day period as prescribed in Decree 10/2023, or 180 days as prescribed in the 2024 Land Law, from the time the land valuation process begins.

Voters argued that after land is allocated or leased by the state, the responsibility for determining the land price and related procedures for collecting land-use and lease fees lies with state agencies. 

Including this period in the time for which the 5.4 percent annual additional fee is applied is unreasonable, as delays in land pricing are due to state agencies, not the fault of land users.

Realtors also opposed the additional 5.4 percent fee. They still have to pay that fee to become eligible for opening their products for sale.

Nguyen Quoc Hiep, president of GP.Invest and chair of the Vietnam Construction Contractors Association, told VietNamNet that in addition to an VND500 billion in land use fees, his company paid VND27 billion in additional fees for a project in Phu Tho. 

However, he noted that the amount was relatively small compared to other enterprises that faced higher additional fees for land allocated since 2014, spanning over a decade. 

“This is unreasonable. The delay in paying land-use fees is not the enterprises’ fault, yet they bear the burden,” Hiep said.

MOF’s response

MOF cited Point d, Clause 2, Article 257 of the Land Law 2024 as saying that land users must pay additional fees in cases where there is a decision on land allocation, land lease, change of land-use purpose, change of land lease form (from annual payment to one-time payment), extension or adjustment of land use term, or adjustment of detailed planning, implemented before the effective date of the Law but when the land price has not been determined.

The decision whether to impose the additional fee for delays in land-use fee determination before August 1, 2024 is under the NA’s authority. 

Upon receiving concerns and proposals from organizations, enterprises, and localities, MOF sent a document to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE, the agency responsible for drafting the Land Law) to address these issues within its authority or submit them to competent authorities for consideration.

MAE is currently reviewing and proposing amendments to Resolution 18/2022 and the Land Law 2024. 

Regarding the proposal to exclude the time that state agencies need to determine land prices from the period subject to the additional fee, MOF is collecting opinions from ministries, industries, and enterprises to report to competent authorities for consideration during the amendment of Decree 103/2024 on land-use and lease fees.

Regulation amendments urged

Le Hoang Chau, Chair of the HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA), emphasized that amending Articles 50 and 51 of Decree 103 and Point d, Clause 2, Article 257 of the Land Law 2024 is critical to alleviate difficulties for enterprises, reduce input costs, and unlock housing supply. 

Chau argued that enterprises should not be charged for late payments if delays in determining land-use or lease fees are due to state agencies. Enterprises are only at fault if they fail to pay on time after receiving notifications from tax authorities.

Chau noted that the Land Law 2024 only mandates the Government to regulate the additional fee for the period when land-use fees are not calculated, but Decree 103 expands this obligation by requiring land users to pay the additional fee from the time of land allocation or leasing decisions. This effectively broadens the financial obligation beyond the Law’s provisions.

Chau said that the Government has full authority to amend Articles 50 and 51 of Decree 103/2024 to ensure state budget collection for additional fees. He argued that there is no legal basis for requiring additional land use fees for the period before August 1, 2024, when the land price was not determined. 

Nguyen Le