Pending Instructions
Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department has issued an urgent document to the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City regarding the handling of land-related documents from August 1st. This is the second time the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department has reported on this issue.
Accordingly, to timely resolve land-related financial obligations and ensure compliance with legal regulations, the Tax Department has identified inconsistencies and challenges in applying Decision 02/2020/QD-UBND regarding land prices as per the Land Law 2024, which came into effect on August 1st, along with the Government’s Decree No. 103/2024/ND-CP dated July 30th, detailing land use and rental regulations.
People completing procedures for financial obligations related to land at the Thu Duc City branch of the Ho Chi Minh City Land Registration Office.
The Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department shared that from August 1st to 27th, the tax authority received a total of 8,808 dossiers. Of these, 346 were for land use charges for recognized land-use rights, 277 for land use charges for changed land-use purposes, 5,448 for personal income tax from real estate transfers, and 2,737 for cases with no financial obligations (personal income tax from real estate transfers, registration fees, etc.).
Therefore, the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department proposed that the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City promptly issue a decision to adjust the land price framework and provide guidance on applying legal documents (land price framework, land price adjustment coefficient, percentage for land rent calculation, etc.) to enable the tax authority to promptly determine land-related financial obligations for dossiers arising from August 1st.
Furthermore, to prevent backlogs and complaints and to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the people, the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department will report to the General Department of Taxation regarding the resolution of cases with no financial obligations when people apply for land-use certificates.
Previously, at the “Land Law 2024: Rights and Obligations of the People – Responsibilities of the Government” program on August 18th, Mr. Nguyen Toan Thang, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment, affirmed that according to the Land Law 2024, if the province decides to adjust land prices, the costs will be calculated according to the adjusted land price framework. However, as Ho Chi Minh City has not issued an adjusted land price framework, the departments and branches have reported to the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to submit to the Prime Minister for specific guidance.
“This does not cause a backlog of people’s land dossiers. The receiving agencies must resolve the issue. As for the collection of money, there is content that the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City needs to report to the Prime Minister,” said Mr. Thang.
Mr. Bui Xuan Cuong, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, said that the People’s Committee would report to the People’s Council to listen to their opinions before submitting them to the City Party Committee. The adjusted land price framework of Ho Chi Minh City must comply with the Land Law 2024 and the city’s practical situation.
“The issue is the application of which land price framework for financial obligations after August 1st. This is a problem not only for Ho Chi Minh City but also for other localities. Next week, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City will sign a document to report and request guidance from the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Finance to resolve this issue,” said Mr. Cuong.
Stopping tax calculation is wrong
In late July, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment issued a draft land price framework to adjust Decision No. 02/2020-QD-UBND of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City.
According to this draft land price framework, one district and four districts had land prices increased by more than 30 times in some land-use positions, with a remarkable increase of up to 51 times in Hoc Mon district.
Specifically, land prices in District 1 increased by 5 times; District 3 by 4-9 times; District 4 by 11 times; Districts 5 and 7 by 6 times; District 6 by 5-11 times; District 8 by 4-18 times; District 10 by 5-6 times; District 11 by 4-9 times; District 12 by 3-33 times; Binh Thanh District by 5-13 times; Go Vap District by 7-11 times; Phu Nhuan District by 7-8 times; Tan Binh District by 7-12 times; Tan Phu District by 7-17 times; Binh Tan District by 9-17 times; Thu Duc City by 6-35 times; Hoc Mon district by 5-51 times; Cu Chi district by 9-31 times; Binh Chanh district by 2-36 times; Nha Be district by 7-23 times and Can Gio district by 8-23 times.
It is wrong for the tax sector to stop calculating taxes for people because the law does not have retroactive effect.
With the news of a sudden increase in land prices, people in Ho Chi Minh City rushed to complete land-related procedures. However, currently, the tax departments in Ho Chi Minh City only calculate land use charges for dossiers received before July 31st. For dossiers after August 1st, when the Land Law 2024 took effect, the tax authority is still waiting for guidance.
According to Ms. Ung Thi Xuan Huong, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh City Lawyers Association, there should be time for people to refute, and each district and county should organize a rebuttal of land prices in their area to be more realistic.
Currently, there are cases of changing the purpose of land use related to financial obligations when transferred to the tax authority from August 1st, which are notified to wait for guidance. Ms. Huong affirmed that it is entirely wrong to stop resolving people’s dossiers at this time. She suggested that the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment should research and advise the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to direct the resolution of people’s dossiers.
“It is wrong for the tax sector to stop calculating taxes for people because the law does not have retroactive effect. At present, the new land price framework has not been issued, and the old land price framework is still in effect, so taxes must be calculated for people according to the old land price framework,” said Ms. Huong.
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