Abolishing the Provision on Collecting Additional Land Fees in the Draft Amendment to the 2024 Land Law

The draft law amending and supplementing several articles of the 2024 Land Law has removed the provision on collecting additional land fees for periods where land use fees or land rental fees have not yet been calculated.

If the proposal is approved, numerous businesses will be relieved of the burden of paying hundreds or even thousands of billions of VND in additional land fees. – Photo: Ngoc Hien

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has prepared a draft law amending and supplementing certain articles of the 2024 Land Law, and is currently seeking feedback from several agencies before finalizing the draft to be submitted to the National Assembly at its 10th session.

Notably, the draft has revised Article 257 to remove the provision on collecting additional land fees.

Specifically, Point d, Clause 2, Article 257 currently stipulates: The Government shall regulate the application of land valuation methods and the amount of additional payment that land users must make for periods when land use fees or land rental fees have not yet been calculated, in the cases specified in Points a, b, and c of this Clause.

Meanwhile, the draft law has been revised to: The Government shall regulate the application of land valuation methods for the cases specified in Points a, b, and c of this Clause.

This means the requirement to collect additional land fees for periods when land use fees or land rental fees have not yet been calculated has been removed.

This issue has been repeatedly reported by Tuổi Trẻ through the series “Unreasonable Additional Land Fees,” which has garnered significant public feedback.

Speaking to Tuổi Trẻ Online on the morning of July 29, leaders of several real estate companies said that removing the requirement to pay additional land fees is reasonable, as delays in calculating land use fees are not the fault of businesses. Therefore, eliminating this provision will ease their financial burden, directly affect pricing structures, and help reduce housing prices.

Some companies could even avoid bankruptcy, as for many, the additional payment of 5.4% per year amounts to hundreds or thousands of billions of VND.

Experts have assessed that the drafting agencies have listened to professional feedback from the public and continued to adjust the law when practical implementation revealed obstacles directly affecting citizens and businesses.

Previously, the Ministry of Finance proposed reducing the rate of additional land use fees from 5.4% to 3.6% per year in its draft amendment to Decree 103.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the regulation requiring land users to pay additional fees in transitional cases is set out in the Land Law, while Decree 103 merely provides detailed guidance on the applicable rate. Therefore, in response to suggestions that the fee should be abolished, the Ministry of Finance sent an official dispatch to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (the agency in charge of drafting the Land Law), requesting that it handle the proposal within its authority or submit it to a competent body for consideration and resolution.

Source: Ngoc Hien – Tuoi Tre