The Ever-Changing HCMC Land Price Index: A Necessary Revision

Today (August 20) in Ho Chi Minh City, a conference is expected to be held to consult with delegates of the municipal People’s Council on land price adjustments.

Approved but needs supplementation

A day later, a conference of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee is expected to be held to approve the necessity and method of adjusting the land price table according to Decision 02/2020 of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, as proposed by the Party Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee.

These moves come after the Party Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee recently concluded on the necessity and method of adjusting the land price table according to Decision 02/2020. In addition to the proposed seven-step process for adjusting the land price table and implementation procedure by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the conclusion also suggested several other tasks that need to be carried out.

The Party Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee proposed to the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee to approve the organization of a discussion session or workshop to directly consult with the delegates of the municipal People’s Council on the decision to adjust Decision 02/2020.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is assigned to complete the draft proposal of the Party Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee to the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee. The draft needs to be supplemented with a clear statement of necessity, legal basis, and impact of the adjustment, analyzing advantages and disadvantages in conjunction with practical issues, and proposing appropriate options based on local realities.

Awaiting guidance from the Prime Minister

It is known that in the implementation of the Land Law 2024, the most prominent issue in Ho Chi Minh City is the difficulties in handling administrative procedures related to financial obligations during the transition period from August 1 to the time of land price adjustment.

Previously, from the end of July 2024, in many outer districts such as Cu Chi, Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh, and Thu Duc City, reporters noticed that people rushed to submit dossiers for change of land use purpose and land use right recognition to apply the land price table according to Decision 02/2020. However, when transferred to the tax agency for tax and land use levy calculation, the process was stalled due to awaiting guidance from the competent authority.

The director of a branch of the Land Registration Office in a district acknowledged that the local tax agency had stopped collecting financial obligations from the people, so from August 1 to now, the branch has not had any cases of change of land use purpose to update in the certificate of land use right.

“The branch is in charge of the second phase, which is to update the certificate after the people have paid. If the tax agency does not process the payment, there will be no dossier” – he said, adding that there are hundreds of cases in the district facing this situation.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department explained that the people’s dossiers for change of land use purpose were stalled because the tax agency was awaiting the latest land price guidance from the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee. If the tax agency calculates the land use levy based on the old land price, it will be criticized by higher authorities for not complying with the 2024 Land Law. The city’s tax industry has also reported and is awaiting notification from the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee on the land use levy calculation before the procedures for change of land use purpose can be unblocked.

Regarding this content, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has recently proposed to the Prime Minister for guidance on financial obligations related to land for dossiers after the 2024 Land Law takes effect until the adjusted land price table is issued according to Clause 1, Article 257 of the Law.