According to the financial statements for Q3 2024, the majority of taxes and state payments were land use fees, amounting to over VND 5,103 billion, while this amount was less than VND 34 billion at the beginning of the year. In addition, other taxes also soared from over VND 51 billion to VND 1,613 billion.
Explaining the sudden increase in land use fees, NVL stated that as of the date of the Q3 2024 financial statements, the company had obligations related to land rent and land use fees due to differences in land valuation timing for the 30.1-ha land plot in the Lakeview City project, An Phu ward, Thu Duc City (Lakeview City project).
Accordingly, the People’s Committee issued Decision 4777 on 29/12/2020, approving the land price scheme for the 30.1-ha Lakeview City land plot to help the Group fulfill its financial obligations, with the land valuation timing set at April 2017. This was when the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City issued Decision 1812 on 18/04/2017, approving the use of this land plot by the 21st Century International Development JSC – a subsidiary of NVL. In Notifications 268 and 269 of the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department dated 08/01/2021, the total land rent and land use fees that the 21st Century Company had to pay was nearly VND 5,176 billion.
NVL stated that, according to Document No. 1122 dated February 20, 2008, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City had agreed in principle to swap the Binh Khanh land plot and the Nam Rach Chiec land plot (both in the present-day Thu Duc City). Therefore, the Group’s Board of Directors believes there is sufficient basis to determine the land valuation timing for land rent and land use fee payments as the date of the land swap decision in 2008.
NVL sent a complaint on February 19, 2021, to the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department, requesting the cancellation of Decision 4777 and Notifications 268 and 269. On September 08, 2023, the Tax Department issued Decision 2601 to terminate the validity of the decision to enforce the administrative decision on tax management by suspending the use of invoices for the 21st Century Company. However, on May 23, 2024, the Tax Department issued Decision 1003 on enforcing the suspension of invoice use for the 21st Century Company to execute Notification 71567 dated April 11, 2024, of the Thu Duc District Tax Office, with an amount of over VND 6,707 billion.
On August 27, 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment issued Document No. 8587, stating that the Department is coordinating with branches and departments to determine the actual land handover timing according to the 2008 land swap timing for the 30.2-ha project in Binh Khanh Ward, District 2 (now Thu Duc City) as a basis for re-determining the land swap price according to the opinion of the Government Inspectorate in Report No. 332 in December 2020.
On September 11, 2024, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City issued Document No. 5336 to the Tax Department, requesting that, within its authority, the Tax Department continue to temporarily suspend the application of enforcement measures of administrative decisions on tax management regarding land use fees and land rent for the 30.1-ha land plot in the Nam Rach Chiec Residential Area, An Phu Ward, until the end of December 2024, pending the results of the competent authority’s resolution on land use fees and land rent in accordance with regulations.
On September 17, NVL received Decision 1662 from the Tax Department on terminating the validity of Decision 1003 of the Tax Department. However, the Company has not yet received a conclusion on the obligations regarding land rent and land use fees for the Lakeview City project from the competent authorities.
 Lakeview City Project
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Lakeview City is located at 537 Nguyen Duy Trinh, An Phu Ward, Thu Duc City, in the Nam Rach Chiec Residential Area. With products including shophouses, terraced houses, and twin villas, the project is designed similarly to Aqua City (in Dong Nai), with a 1.2-km frontage along the Gong Ong To River. The other side borders the Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway. The project offers 960 units and has been handed over in several phases from Q1/2017 up to now.
21st Century International Development JSC has a charter capital of VND 2,534.5 billion, of which NVL owns 98.97%. In the period of 2017-2023, the 21st Century Company achieved a total revenue of VND 4,495 billion from the Lakeview City project.
 Source: Author’s compilation
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The Protest Gathering at the Phu Huu BOT Station: Proposal to Expand the Scope of Fee Exemption
According to the investor, the expansion of the exemption policy at the Phu Huu BOT toll station in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City, will result in a revenue reduction of less than 5%. This minor impact on the station’s revenue stream is expected to have a negligible effect on the overall repayment plan.
“Prior to 2022, businesses paid approximately VND 100 billion in land use fees for a 10-hectare project, but this has now surged to VND 350 billion, and even up to VND 500 billion.”
Mr. Pham Duc Toan, CEO of EZ Property – a prominent real estate investment and development company, expresses his concern about certain localities’ land valuation methods. He believes that some areas base their land prices on data from real estate transactions that occurred during a heated market, resulting in significantly higher taxes for businesses.
The Rise and Rise of Thu Duc: How the Former Real Estate Giant is Now a Hot Market with New Condo Prices Soaring Above $100 Million per Square Meter
Although the housing supply in the East of Ho Chi Minh City remains higher than in other areas, there are significantly fewer projects compared to previous years. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find apartments priced at VND 50-60 million per square meter in this area.
