What is land invasion and appropriation in Vietnam? What is the penalty for land invasion and appropriation according to the law?
What is land invasion and appropriation in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 3 of Decree No. 91/2019/ND-CP stipulating as follows:
Term interpretation
1. “Land invasion” refers to displacement of markers or boundary of a plot by a land user to expand his/her land area without permission of a land regulatory authority or legal user of that invaded stretch of land.
Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree No. 91/2019/ND-CP (amended by Clause 1, Article 1 of Decree No. 04/2022/ND-CP) as follows:
Term interpretation
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2. “Land appropriation” refers to one of following cases:
a) Deliberately use land without permission of land regulatory authorities; or
b) Deliberately use land legally owned by other organizations or individuals without permission thereof; or
c) Use land allocated or leased by the Government whose use period has expired without being extended by the Government and with decision on expropriation that has been declared and implemented but the land user fails to comply (except for cases in which households or individuals directly conducting agricultural activities use agricultural land); or
d) Use land on the spot without completing procedures of land allocation or lease as per the law.
Thus, it can be understood that “land invasion” refers to displacement of markers or boundary of a plot by a land user to expand his/her land area without permission of a land regulatory authority or legal user of that invaded stretch of land.
Land appropriation is the practice of a land user performing acts such as deliberately using land legally owned by other organizations or individuals without permission thereof.
What is land invasion and appropriation in Vietnam? What is the penalty for land invasion and appropriation according to the law?
What is the penalty for land invasion and appropriation according to the law?
Pursuant to Article 14 of Decree No. 91/2019/ND-CP (amended by Clause 1, Article 1 of Decree No. 04/2022/ND-CP) stipulating administrative penalties for land invasion and appropriation as follows:
Land invasion and appropriation
1. Invasion or appropriation of unused land in rural areas shall be sanctioned as follows:
a) A fine ranging from VND 2,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is less than 0.05 hectare;
b) A fine ranging from VND 3,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is from 0.05 hectare to less than 0.1 hectare;
c) A fine ranging from VND 5,000,000 to VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;
d) A fine ranging from VND 15,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;
dd) A fine ranging from VND 30,000,000 to VND 70,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is 01 hectare or more;
2. Invasion or appropriation of agricultural land other than paddy land, land for reserve forests, protection forests or production forests in rural areas shall be sanctioned as follows:
a) A fine ranging from VND 3,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is less than 0.05 hectare;
b) A fine ranging from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is from 0.05 hectare to less than 0.1 hectare;
c) A fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;
d) A fine ranging from VND 30,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;
dd) A fine ranging from VND 50,000,000 to VND 120,000,000 shall be imposed if invaded or appropriated land area is 01 hectare or more;
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7. Rectification measures:
a) Enforced restoration of land to its original conditions before the violations with respect to cases specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article and enforced return of invaded and appropriated land; except cases specified in Points b and c of this Clause;
b) Enforced land registration as per the law in case of eligible to be recognized for land use rights and in case the land user violates the law but he/she can temporarily use the land until the Government expropriate the land according to Article 22 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP;
c) Enforced continued adoption of procedures to allocate and lease land as per the law in case of using land before completing procedures to allocate and lease land;
d) Enforced submission of illegal revenues generated by committing the violations specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article; the illegal revenues shall be determined according to Clause 2 Article 7 of this Decree.
Thus, depending on the type of land to be invaded and appropriated on and the area of land to be encroached upon, to determine the level of administrative sanction for the act of encroaching on land according to the above provisions.
In addition to being fined, organizations and individuals that commit acts of encroachment on land are also required to take rectification measures.
Note: The level of administrative fine as prescribed above applies only to violators, in case organizations violate, the administrative fine will be 2 times higher than that of individuals.
What are the regulations on criminal prosecution for land invasion and appropriation?
Pursuant to Article 228 of the 2015 Criminal Code of Vietnam stipulating as follows:
Offences against regulations on land use
1. Any person who appropriates land, transfers land use right or uses land against regulations of law on management and use of land despite the fact that he/she has incurred an administrative penalty or has an unspent conviction for the same offence shall be liable to a fine of from VND 50,000,000 to VND 500,000,000 or face a penalty of up to 03 years' community sentence or 06 - 36 months' imprisonment.
2. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a fine of from VND 500,000,000 to VND 2,000,000,000 or a penalty of 02 - 07 years' imprisonment:
a) The offence is committed by an organized group;
b) The offence has been committed more than once;
c) Dangerous recidivism.
3. The offender might also be liable to a fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 50,000,000.
Thus, if they have been administratively sanctioned for the act of land invasion and appropriation but still continue to perform such act, they may be examined for penal liability according to the above provisions if satisfying the constituency of the criminal.
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