The Elusive Billion-Dollar Quest: A Tale of Land, Anxiety, and Hasty Administrative Endeavors in Vietnam’s Bustling Metropolis

Amidst news of impending land price adjustments in Ho Chi Minh City, residents are rushing to complete their land-related procedures. The anticipated price surge will impact those seeking land use certification and purpose alteration, prompting a flurry of activity as people aim to finalize their land affairs.

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Land Pricing: What’s the Cost for Applications Submitted After August 1st?

The draft decision on adjusting land prices for 2020, prepared by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in Ho Chi Minh City, has caught the special attention of its citizens.

According to the Department, land prices after the adjustment are expected to increase by 3 to 7 times compared to the current rates, effective from August 1st. However, the Department is still finalizing the process of collecting opinions before submitting it to the City’s People’s Committee for consideration.

With the news of a sudden hike in land prices, people in Ho Chi Minh City rushed to sort out their land procedures. On August 6th, at the office for receiving and returning land-related results in Thu Duc City, VietnamNet reporters observed dozens of people waiting in line to submit their applications, even towards the end of the morning working hours.

Crowds of people at the land-related results office in Thu Duc City on August 6th. Photo: Ngoc Thanh

Ms. T.T.C., a resident of Tang Nhon Phu B Ward in Thu Duc City, shared that she was there to request a certificate for her long-built house on a 100m2 land lot on Street 10 in the same ward. According to the current land prices and a price adjustment coefficient of 2.5, Ms. C. would have to pay VND 600 million in land use fees to obtain the certificate.

However, with the expected price adjustment, the value of her land lot surges from VND 2.4 million/m2 to VND 43 million/m2. This means that Ms. C.’s land use fee would skyrocket to VND 3.75 billion.

“Knowing that Ho Chi Minh City is about to adjust land prices, I had to take a day off work to sort out the paperwork. In the past, I hesitated to get the certificate, thinking that since I’m not selling the house, there’s no rush. If I’m not charged based on the current land prices, I don’t know what to do with the nearly VND 4 billion fee,” Ms. C. shared.

Officials working at full capacity at the application booths. Photo: Ngoc Thanh

At the office for receiving and returning results of Binh Chanh District in the early afternoon, many people were also waiting to submit their land-related applications.

Mr. N.V.H., a resident of Binh Hung Ward, held a stack of documents in his hand and shared that his family owns 400m2 of agricultural land in an existing residential area on the frontage of Nguyen Van Linh Street. Four years ago, Mr. H. intended to request a change in the land use purpose but didn’t have enough money. Now, with the news of the price increase, he hurried to get the procedure done.

Based on the current land prices, Mr. H. would have to pay VND 1.32 billion in land use fees within the quota and VND 3.3 billion outside the quota, totaling more than VND 4.6 billion. However, with the adjusted prices, his land use fee would soar to VND 24.7 billion.

“If I had known that the land use fee would be so much higher, I would have done the paperwork earlier. Now, I don’t know if the authorities will process my application based on the current land prices,” Mr. H. said anxiously.

At a recent press conference regarding the draft decision on land price adjustment, Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City, stated that the authorities would apply land prices at the time of receiving complete and valid dossiers from citizens.

Land Registration Office Works Through Lunch Break

Regarding the procedure for handling dossiers of households and individuals applying for land-use certificates or changing land-use purposes, after the branch of the Land Registration Office receives complete and valid dossiers, they will forward them to the tax agency. Within 5 working days, the tax agency will issue a notice for land-use fee payment…

Currently, the Tax Departments in Ho Chi Minh City are only calculating land-use fees for dossiers received before July 31st. For applications submitted after August 1st, when the 2024 Land Law took effect, the tax agency is still awaiting further guidance.

According to an official from the Tax Department of Thu Duc City, the 2024 Land Law has abolished the land price framework and price adjustment coefficient, meaning that the land-use fee is solely based on the land price table. Therefore, the Tax Department cannot calculate the land-use fee based on the 2020 land prices.

Meanwhile, Decree 103, which stipulates land-use and land-lease fees according to the new Land Law, took effect on August 1st, but the adjusted price table has not yet been issued. Hence, the Tax Departments are awaiting specific guidance from the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department,” the official said.

Mr. Trinh Le Khanh, Deputy Director of the Land Registration Office branch in Cu Chi District, observed a surge in applications before August 1st. Many applicants were concerned about a potential increase in land-use fees with the new land prices.

“On average, we receive about 5,000 dossiers per month. Although we haven’t officially counted, the number of dossiers has recently increased dramatically. To handle this volume, our officers have to work overtime and even through lunch breaks,” Mr. Khanh said.

Commenting on the land price adjustment, Mr. Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association, pointed out that the most disadvantaged group is households with land in “planned” areas. For many years, these households have not been allowed to subdivide or change the land-use purpose and have been paying low land-use fees. If the planning is lifted, they will be disadvantaged again as they will have to pay much higher land-use fees.

“At present, it is not really necessary to adjust land prices. Ho Chi Minh City should continue to apply the 2020 land prices and the price adjustment coefficient from August 1st to the end of this year to give people enough time to complete the procedures and prepare financially,” Mr. Chau recommended.

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