Summary of regulations on land allocation in Vietnam

1. Bases for land allocation, land lease and change of land use purpose in Vietnam

Bases for land allocation, land lease and change of land use purpose are stipulated in Article 52 of the Land Law 2013. bases for land allocation, land lease and change of land use purpose include:

- The annual district-level land use plans which have been approved by competent state agencies.

- Land use demands as indicated in investment project documents or in applications for land allocation, land lease or change of land use purpose.

2. Allocation or lease of land which is currently used by a person to another

The State’s decision on allocation or lease of land which is already being used by a person to another may be made only after

- A competent state agency decides on land expropriation in accordance with the Land Law 2013

- And the compensation, support and resettlement have been completed in accordance with law in case ground clearance is required.

Details are specified in: Article 53 of the Land Law 2013

3. Land allocation without land use levy in Vietnam

According to Article 54 of the Land Law 2013, the State shall allocate land without land use levy in the following cases:

- Households and individuals directly engaged in agriculture, forestry, aquaculture or salt production to whom agricultural land is allocated within the quotas prescribed in Article 129 of the Land Law 2013

- Persons who use land for protection forests, special-use forests or production forests which are natural forests, for office construction, for national defense or security purpose, for non­commercial public use, for cemeteries and graveyards which fall outside the cases prescribed in Clause 4, Article 55 of the Land Law 2013;

- Public non-business organizations that are not self-financed and use land for office construction.

- Organizations that use land for construction of resettlement houses under the State’s projects.

- Communities using agricultural land; religious institutions using non-agricultural land as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 159 of the Land Law 2013.

4. Land allocation with land use levy in Vietnam

Specifically, Article 55 of the the Land Law 2013 stipulates that the State shall allocate land and collect land use levy in the following cases:

- Households and individuals that are allocated residential land;

- Economic organizations that are allocated land to implement investment projects on construction of houses for sale or a combination of sale and lease;

- Overseas Vietnamese and foreign-invested enterprises that are allocated land to implement investment projects for the construction of houses for sale or for a combination of sale and lease;

- Economic organizations that are allocated land to implement investment projects on infrastructure of cemeteries and graveyards for transfer of land use rights together with the infrastructure.

Summary of regulations on land allocation in Vietnam (Internet image)

- The State shall allocate land and collect land use levy in the following cases:

+ Households and individuals that are allocated residential land;

+ Economic organizations that are allocated land to implement investment projects on construction of houses for sale or a combination of sale and lease;

+ Overseas Vietnamese and foreign-invested enterprises that are allocated land to implement investment projects for the construction of houses for sale or for a combination of sale and lease;

Clause 5, Article 20, Decree 45/2014/ND-CP provides detailed instructions for this clause. Overseas Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals that are leased land by the State with full one-off rental payment or participate in auctions organized by the State for land of projects on construction of houses for sale or for combined sale and lease, have made full one-off payment of land rental equal to payable land use levy as in the case of land allocation with land use levy, for residential land, or based on the auction-winning land price as prescribed in the Land Law 2013, and wish to shift to land allocation with land use levy under the Land Law 2013, need not pay land use levy.

• Economic organizations that are allocated land to implement investment projects on infrastructure of cemeteries and graveyards for transfer of land use rights together with the infrastructure.

Hai Tien

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