Latest cases of land expropriation for national defense or security purpose in Vietnam

Latest cases of land expropriation for national defense or security purpose in Vietnam (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. Latest cases of land expropriation for national defense or security purpose in Vietnam

According to Article 61 of the Land Law 2013, the State may recover land for national defense or security purpose in the following cases:

- Land for military barracks or offices;

- Land for construction of military bases;

- Land for construction of national defense works, battle fields and special works of national defense or security;

- Land for military railway stations and ports;

- Land for industrial, scientific and technological, cultural or sports facilities that directly serve national defense or security purpose;

- Land for warehouses for the people’s armed forces;

- Land for shooting grounds, training grounds, and weapon testing and destroying sites;

- Land for training institutions and centers, hospitals and sanatoriums of the people’s armed forces;

- Land for construction of public-duty houses of the people’s armed forces;

- Land for detention and re-education institutions managed by the Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Public Security.

2. Cases of land expropriation due to violations of the land law in Vietnam

According to Clause 1, Article 64 of the Land Law 2013, cases of land expropriation due to violations of the land law include:

- Land is not used for the purposes for which land has been allocated, leased, or land use rights have been recognized by the State and the land users, after having been sanctioned administratively for using land for improper purposes, still continue committing the violation;

- Land users intentionally damage land;

- Land was allocated or leased to wrong subjects or ultra vires;

- Land that is ineligible for transfer or donation as prescribed in this Law is transfeưed or donated;

- Land that is allocated by the State for management is encroached or occupied;

- Land that is ineligible for transfer of land use rights as prescribed by this Law is encroached or occupied due to the irresponsibility of land users;

- Land users who fail to fulfill obligations to the State and have been administratively sanctioned for such violation but do not comply;

- Land for annual crops that is not used for 12 consecutive months; land for perennial plants that is not used for 18 consecutive months; land for afforestation that is not used for 24 consecutive months;

- Land that is allocated or leased for implementing investment projects is not used within 12 consecutive months, or the land use schedule is 24 months late compared with the schedule stated in the project documents since the hand-over in the field.

In case of not putting the land into use, the land use term may be extended 24 months and the investors shall pay a sum of money equivalent to the total land use levy or land rental for the delayed period. If the investors still fail to put the land into use when the extended time is over, the State shall recover the land without compensation for land and land-attached assets, except due to force majeure.

3. Competence to recover land in Vietnam

Competence to recover land according to Article 66 of the Land Law 2013 is as follows:

- Provincial-level People’s Committee may decide on land expropriation in the following cases:

+ Recovery of land from organizations, religious institutions, overseas Vietnamese, foreign organizations with diplomatic functions, and foreign-invested enterprises, excluding the case prescribed at Point b, Clause 2 of Article 66 of the Land Law 2013;

+ Recovery of agricultural land which is part of the public land funds of communes, wards or townships.

- District-level People’s Committees may decide on land expropriation in the following cases:

+ Recovery of land from households, individuals and communities;

+ Recovery of land from overseas Vietnamese who are allowed to own houses in Vietnam.

- In case both subjects prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of Article 66 of the Land Law 2013 exist in one expropriated area, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall decide on the land expropriation or authorize district-level People’s Committees to decide on the land expropriation.

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