Real Estate

Is There a 50% Land Use Fee Reduction? Residents Still Await an Answer After Four Months.

As an ethnic Nung person residing in an area that is not classified as economically or socially disadvantaged, there remains uncertainty about eligibility for a 50% reduction in land use fees upon conversion, even after submitting the necessary documents over four months ago.

Administrator

25 August, 2025

On March 24, Mr. H.V.L., a resident of Loc Binh town, Loc Binh district, Lang Son province (now Loc Binh commune, Lang Son province) submitted a land-use purpose change application and was given an expected result date of April 22.

On March 31, the former Loc Binh People’s Committee issued a decision approving the land-use purpose change.

However, by the expected result date, Mr. L. was informed that his application was still being processed by the Inter-district Tax Team No. II (under Area VI Tax Office). When inquiring with the tax authority, Mr. L. was told that they were reviewing documents to determine if he was eligible for a tax reduction. As of June 17, he had not received any notification.

“I am an ethnic Nung person living in an area that is not considered economically or socially disadvantaged. Do I qualify for a 50% tax reduction according to Clause 1, Article 19 of Decree 103/2024?” Mr. L. asked the Ministry of Finance, awaiting their response.

In response to this case, the Ministry of Finance shared that on March 13, the Lang Son Provincial Tax Department (now Lang Son Tax Department) had reported and requested guidance.

On March 17, the Tax Department (Ministry of Finance) provided a response (based on the opinion of the Asset Management Department) regarding the land-use charge policy: “A 50% reduction in land-use charges shall be applied when the competent state agency assigns land, changes the land-use purpose, or recognizes land-use rights for poor individuals or households of ethnic minorities in other areas (not in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions, border, or island areas).”

After waiting for over four months, the citizen still hasn’t received clarity on the applicability of the 50% land-use charge reduction. Illustrative image

Following this guidance, the tax authority received multiple requests to apply the 50% land-use charge reduction for poor individuals or households of ethnic minorities in areas other than those with special difficulties, borders, or islands.

Immediately upon receiving Mr. L.’s application, the Inter-district Tax Team No. II (now known as Tax Base 2 of the province) discussed with him the necessity of having an official guiding document from Area VI Tax Office, as they only had guiding documents from the former Lang Son Provincial Tax Department before the merger.

To ensure a solid legal basis, an official and unified document from Area VI Tax Office regarding the 50% land-use charge reduction for ethnic minority households under the 2024 Land Law was required for the Inter-district Tax Team No. II to resolve Mr. L.’s application.

Due to the unclear criteria for determining the eligible areas for the 50% land-use charge reduction for poor individuals or ethnic minority households in the remaining areas, the Inter-district Tax Team No. II reported and advised the Loc Binh People’s Committee (before the local two-level administrative reorganization) to request guidance on determining the eligible areas according to the 2024 Land Law from the Lang Son Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

After a meeting on June 2, 2025, the Lang Son Provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment concluded that the reduction should be applied to households of ethnic minorities in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions. However, there has been no written notification of this meeting’s conclusion.

Subsequently, the Inter-district Tax Team No. II reported to Area VI Tax Office for further instructions and guidance on applying the aforementioned reduction rate.

On July 16, 2025, Lang Son Tax Department (established from Area VI Tax Office following the separation of administrative units at the provincial level) sent a document to the upper-level tax authority, requesting guidance on determining the eligible areas for land-use charge reduction.

The document presented two perspectives for considering the 50% land-use charge reduction for households of ethnic minorities and requested clear instructions on whether to follow perspective 1 or perspective 2.

According to perspective 2, which is the option favored by the Lang Son Tax Department, the reduction should only be applied when the poor, households, or individuals of ethnic minorities belong to areas with difficult socio-economic conditions; otherwise, no reduction should be granted.

On the same day, the Lang Son Tax Department also sent a document to the former Lang Son Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, requesting an early announcement of the conclusions of the June 2 meeting regarding guidance on determining eligible areas for land-use charge reduction under the 2024 Land Law.

To ensure compliance with regulations in exempting or reducing land-use charges for households or individuals of ethnic minorities, Lang Son Tax Base 2 will continue to consider a 50% reduction in land-use charges for Mr. L.’s household once specific guidance is received from the upper-level tax authority.

Nguyen Le

– 13:55 25/08/2025