Joint Circular No. 07/2011/TTLT-BNNPTNT-BTNMT guiding certain contents regarding the transfer of forests, leasing of forests together with the transfer of land, leasing of forestry land.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines on certain aspects of forest land allocation and leasing linked to land allocation and leasing for forestry purposes

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Based on the Land Law dated November 26, 2003;

The Government issues this Decree on mechanisms and policies to encourage forest protection, encirclement and regeneration of forests, afforestation, development of non-timber forest products, and increased income in connection with policies to quickly reduce poverty, sustainably and to support ethnic minority groups during the period 2015-2020.

WHEREAS, Decree No. 181/2004/NĐ-CP dated October 29, 2004 of the Government on the implementation of the Land Law;

Pursuant to Decree No. 23/2006/NĐ-CP dated March 3, 2006 of the Government on the implementation of the Law on Forest Protection and Development;

Pursuant to Decree No. 88/2009/NĐ-CP dated October 19, 2009 of the Government on issuing certificates of land use rights, ownership of houses and other assets attached to land;

Pursuant to Decree No. 01/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2008 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Decree No. 75/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 10, 2009 of the Government amending Article 3 of Decree No. 01/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2008 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

Pursuant to Decree No. 25/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 4, 2008 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Decree No. 19/2010/NĐ-CP dated March 5, 2010 of the Government amending and supplementing Points c, d, g, h, and i Clause 5 Article 2 of Decree No. 25/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 4, 2008 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment hereby issue guidelines on certain aspects of forest land allocation and leasing linked to land allocation and leasing for forestry purposes as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

1. This Circular guides certain aspects of cooperation between the natural resources and environment authorities and the forest protection authorities under the agriculture and rural development authorities (hereinafter referred to as the forest protection authorities) when performing the following tasks:

a) Initial allocation and leasing of forests linked to land allocation and leasing for forestry purposes;

b) Completing the documentation for forest allocation and leasing in cases where land has been allocated or leased for forestry purposes with existing forests or where the right to use such land has been recognized and certificates of land use rights have been issued but the forest allocation and leasing documentation has not yet been established;

c) Completing the cadastral documentation in cases where forests have been allocated or leased but land has not yet been allocated or leased for forestry purposes or certificates of land use rights have not yet been issued.

2. In cases where land without forests is allocated or leased for forestry purposes or where the right to use land with self-planted forests using non-state budget funds is recognized, the allocation and leasing of land and issuance of certificates of land use rights shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on land.

Article 2. Applicability

State agencies; organizations; households, individuals within the country; village communities; overseas Vietnamese; foreign organizations and individuals; and other relevant entities involved in the management and use of forestry land; management, ownership, or use of forests in accordance with the laws on land and the laws on forest protection and development.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

1. Forestry planning land is land that already has forests or does not have forests but has been approved by competent state authorities for forestry development purposes, determined according to forest compartments, forest sections, and forest lots. For scattered production forests and protective forests, it can be determined down to individual forestry plots.

2. Forestry land is land currently having natural forests or planted forests meeting the standards set by the laws on forest protection and development; land being fenced off for forest regeneration; newly planted land that has not yet become forests; land being planted with forests or allocated or leased for planting forests and vacant areas within special-use forests or protected vacant areas in other types of forests as stipulated by the laws on forest protection and development.

Article 4. General Provisions

1. Maps used for forest allocation and leasing and land allocation and leasing for forestry purposes shall be based on the VN-2000 coordinate system with basic scales of 1/10,000 or 1/5,000.

Where localities have land administration maps, these maps must be used for forest allocation and leasing and land allocation and leasing for forestry purposes.

Where localities do not have land administration maps, the largest scale topographic maps available (including those at scales larger than 1/5,000 or 1/25,000) shall be used for forest allocation and leasing and land allocation and leasing for forestry purposes. If the existing maps are not in the VN-2000 coordinate system, they must be converted to this system before use.

2. Certificates of land use rights, cadastral records, and other related documents concerning forestry land of land management authorities and forestry land users must record information about forests as specified in Article 10, Chapter III of this Circular. Information about forests recorded on certificates of land use rights is compiled from forest allocation and leasing documents provided or reviewed and confirmed by competent forest protection authorities.

3. For forestry land that has been allocated, leased, or recognized as having the right to use land and allocated or leased forests in accordance with state regulations prior to the effectiveness of this Circular, forest allocation and leasing documents, land allocation and leasing documents, cadastral records, and certificates of land use rights retain their legal validity and do not need to be re-established according to this Circular. When the person allocated or leased forests and land or recognized as having the right to use forestry land requests a new certificate of land use rights, it will be issued in accordance with this Circular.

Chapter II

ALLOCATION AND LEASING OF FORESTS LINKED TO ALLOCATION AND LEASING OF FORESTRY LAND AND ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATES

OF LAND USE RIGHTS

Article 5. Procedures for transferring forests, leasing forests together with transferring land, leasing land for forestry purposes, and issuing Certificates of Conformity

1. The sequence and procedures for transferring forests, leasing forests, and preparing documents for transferring forests and leasing forests shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Government Decree No. 23/2006/NĐ-CP dated March 3, 2006 on the implementation of the Law on Protection and Development of Forests, Circular No. 38/2007/TT-BNN dated April 25, 2007 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development guiding the sequence and procedures for transferring forests, leasing forests, and reclaiming forests for organizations, households, individuals, and village communities (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 38/2007/TT-BNN), and the provisions of Articles 6, 7, and 11 of this Circular.

The sequence and procedures for transferring land, leasing land, issuing Certificates of Conformity, and preparing cadastral documents for forestry land shall be implemented in accordance with the laws on land and the provisions of Articles 6 and 8 of this Circular; specifically, the model documents used in the procedures for transferring land, leasing land for forestry purposes shall be replaced by the model documents used in the procedures for transferring forests, leasing forests together with transferring land, leasing land for forestry purposes as stipulated in Article 11 of this Circular.

2. The place receiving applications and the time limit for handling the procedures for transferring forests, leasing forests together with transferring land, leasing land, and issuing Certificates of Conformity for forestry land shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on land.

3. The time limit for circulating documents for transferring forests, leasing forests together with transferring land, leasing land for forestry purposes between the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Forest Protection Department during the process of implementing the procedures for transferring forests, leasing forests together with transferring land, leasing land for forestry purposes, and issuing Certificates of Conformity shall be specified by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city.

Article 6. Coordination between the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Forest Protection Department in transferring forests, leasing forests together with transferring land, leasing land or issuing Certificates of Conformity for the first time for forestry land with forests

1. After receiving the application documents for transferring forests, leasing forests together with transferring land, leasing land for forestry purposes or the application documents for issuing Certificates of Conformity, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall be responsible for examining the documents regarding the conditions for transferring land, leasing land, and issuing Certificates of Conformity in accordance with the laws on land; at the same time, it shall send one set of these application documents to the Forest Protection Department at the same level for examination regarding the conditions for transferring forests, leasing forests.

2. After receiving the documents transferred by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Forest Protection Department shall be responsible for reviewing and providing comments in writing on the transfer of forests and leasing forests, and sending them to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

3. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall collect the documents for transferring forests, leasing forests together with transferring land, leasing land for forestry purposes or the documents for issuing Certificates of Conformity, and prepare the procedures to submit to the competent People's Committee for decisions on transferring forests, leasing forests, transferring land, leasing land for forestry purposes, and issuing Certificates of Conformity; update and amend cadastral documents or cadastral databases.

4. The competent People's Committee shall issue decisions on transferring forests, leasing forests together with transferring land, leasing land for forestry purposes, and issuing Certificates of Conformity based on the recommendations of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Article 7. Coordination between the Natural Resources and Environment Authority and the Forest Protection Authority in completing forest transfer and lease documents for cases where land has been allocated, leased, or recognized with forestry land use rights but forest transfer and lease documents have not yet been established.

Clause 1. The Natural Resources and Environment Authority shall be responsible for providing information in the land registry records concerning areas of forestry land that have been allocated, leased, or recognized with land use rights to enable the Forest Protection Authority to complete forest transfer and lease documents.

Clause 2. The Forest Protection Authority shall be responsible for organizing the review of information about forests, including the purpose of forest use, forest area, origin, location, boundaries on land registry records and on-site.

In cases where information about forests on-site matches the land registry records, the Forest Protection Authority shall establish forest transfer and lease documents in accordance with Clause 2, Article 11, Chapter III of this Circular and send them to the Natural Resources and Environment Authority to supplement information in the Certificate and land registry records or the land registry database.

In cases where information about forests on-site does not match the land registry records, depending on the degree of discrepancy, the Forest Protection Authority shall notify the Natural Resources and Environment Authority to carry out necessary procedures under land laws to correct land registry records, land registry databases, correct or revoke and reissue Certificates; simultaneously, the Forest Protection Authority shall proceed to establish forest transfer and lease documents in accordance with Clause 2, Article 11 of this Circular and resubmit these documents to the Natural Resources and Environment Authority.

Article 8. Coordination between the Natural Resources and Environment Authority and the Forest Protection Authority in completing documents for cases where forests have been transferred or leased but land has not yet been allocated or leased or forestry land use rights have not yet been recognized.

Clause 1. The Forest Protection Authority shall be responsible for providing information in forest transfer and lease documents to the same-level Natural Resources and Environment Authority to complete land allocation and lease documents and issue Certificates.

Clause 2. For Forest Management Boards:

Point a. Based on the decision of the competent state authority regarding the establishment of special-use forests and protective forests and the detailed planning of special-use forests and protective forests approved by the competent authority, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall take the lead and coordinate with the Forest Protection Agency to examine the application for allocating forestry land, prepare procedures to submit to the Provincial People's Committee for decisions on allocating forestry land and issuing Certificates.

During the examination process and procedures for allocating forestry land, actual changes and current land use situations at the time of examination must be considered and supplemented to present specific decisions to the competent authority.

Point b. The Provincial People's Committee shall decide on allocating forestry land and issuing Certificates to Forest Management Boards.

Clause 3. For domestic organizations, foreign organizations and individuals, overseas Vietnamese currently using forestry land: The Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall be responsible for checking the application for allocating land and leasing land and issuing Certificates regarding the current management and use of forestry land by the organization (based on the report of the current land use status of the organization); compare with forest transfer and lease documents, detailed land use planning documents of the organization which have been reviewed by the competent authority in accordance with land laws; direct the Land Registration Office to transfer land registry information and data to the Tax Authority to determine financial obligations according to the law; prepare procedures to submit to the Provincial People's Committee for decisions on allocating forestry land or leasing forestry land and issuing Certificates for areas of land currently being used in accordance with forest transfer and lease documents and detailed land use plans that have been approved.

Clause 4. For households, individuals, and communities currently using forestry land: The District Natural Resources and Environment Office shall direct the Land Registration Office to check the application for issuing Certificates regarding the current land use status and compare with forest transfer and lease documents; prepare procedures to submit to the District People's Committee for issuing Certificates for areas of land currently being used.

Clause 5. In cases where information about forestry land on-site does not match forest transfer and lease documents, depending on the degree of discrepancy, the Natural Resources and Environment Authority shall notify the Forest Protection Authority to carry out procedures to correct forest transfer and lease documents or to prepare procedures for reallocating or relending forests according to current regulations.

Chapter III

CERTIFICATE AND FOREST TRANSFER AND LEASE DOCUMENTS

Article 9. Certificate

Clause 1. The Certificate and the content written on the Certificate shall comply with Circular No. 17/2009/TT-BTNMT dated October 21, 2009, of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on Certificates of Land Use Rights, Ownership of Houses, and Other Assets Attached to Land (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 17/2009/TT-BTNMT) and the provisions of this Circular.

Clause 2. The Natural Resources and Environment Authority shall be responsible for sending one (01) copy of the Certificate to the same-level Forest Protection Authority.

Article 10. Information Display on the Certificate of Ownership

Information about production forests, which are planted forests, shall be recorded according to the provisions of Circular 17/2009/TT-BTNMT; additionally, some information about the land plot at point "1. Land Plot:" and information about non-production forests, which are planted forests, recorded at point "6. Remarks:" Section II of the Certificate of Ownership shall be recorded as follows:

1. At point "1. Land Plot:", record the address and area of the land plot as follows:

a) Address: Record the lot number, section number, sub-district number before recording the name of the administrative unit where the land plot is located.

b) Area: Shall be recorded in square meters (m2) for forest owners with an area less than 10 hectares, and in hectares (ha) rounded to two decimal places for forest owners with an area of 10 hectares or more. Example: 10.34 ha.

In the cadastral files and cadastral database, however, the area of forestry land shall still be uniformly displayed in square meters (m2).

2. At point "6. Remarks:":

a) For domestic organizations and foreign organizations, individuals, overseas Vietnamese managing and using non-production forests that are planted forests, record: "Ownership of the forest is not certified. Details of the forest information according to the forest allocation and lease documents number... are kept at the provincial Forest Protection Department."

b) For households, individuals, village community managing and using non-production forests that are planted forests, record: "Ownership of the forest is not certified. Details of the forest information according to the forest allocation and lease documents number... are kept at the district Forest Protection Department."

Article 11. Forest Allocation and Lease Documents and Land Allocation and Lease Documents for Forestry Purposes

1. In cases where forest allocation and lease are linked to land allocation and lease for forestry purposes, the documents shall be prepared according to the model issued along with this Circular, including:

a) Application for land allocation and forest allocation or lease of land and forest for households, individuals, village communities (according to Model No. 01/GĐGR); or Application for land allocation and forest allocation or lease of land and forest for domestic organizations (according to Model No. 02/GĐGR); or Application for lease of land and forest for overseas Vietnamese, foreign organizations, and foreign individuals (according to Model No. 03/GĐGR);

b) Decision on land allocation and forest allocation for households, individuals, village communities (according to Model No. 04/GĐGR) or Decision on lease of land and forest for households, individuals (according to Model No. 05/GĐGR); or Decision on land allocation and forest allocation for domestic organizations (according to Model No. 06/GĐGR); or Decision on lease of land and forest for domestic organizations, foreign organizations, foreign individuals, and overseas Vietnamese (according to Model No. 07/GĐGR);

c) Contract for lease of land and forest in cases of leasing land and forest (according to Model No. 08/GĐGR);

d) Table of information about the forest attached to the allocated or leased forestry land plot (according to Model No. 09/GĐGR);

đ) Table tracking changes in land and forest after allocation (according to Model No. 10/GĐGR);

e) On-site handover record of land and forest;

2. In cases where forest allocation and lease documents are completed after land allocation, lease of land, or recognition of forestry land use rights with forests, the documents shall be prepared according to the model prescribed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Circular No. 38/2007/TT-BNN.

3. The forest allocation and lease documents and land allocation and lease documents for forestry purposes stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article shall be stored at the Office of Land Registration (as part of the cadastral file) and the Forest Protection Agency under the People's Committee with authority to allocate forests and lease forests.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 12. Responsibilities for Implementation

To take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries and sectors to urge, inspect, supervise, and resolve issues arising during the implementation of this Decree.

a) Direct, inspect, urge, and guide localities in implementing forest allocation and lease linked to land allocation and lease for forestry purposes in accordance with the law;

b) Guide and compile statistics and inventory of forest management and use nationwide to ensure consistency with the statistics of forestry land area conducted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

c) Provide information about forests and the situation of forest allocation and lease nationwide to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

d) Direct information dissemination and propaganda work related to forest allocation and lease linked to land allocation and lease for forestry purposes;

đ) Organize and direct the construction, update, and storage of databases, information systems, and data on forest allocation and lease; forest allocation and lease documents linked to land allocation and lease for forestry purposes; provide information from the database to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

2. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

a) Direct, inspect, urge, and guide localities in implementing land allocation and lease for forestry purposes linked to forest allocation and lease in accordance with the law;

b) Guide and compile statistics and inventory of land management and use for forestry purposes nationwide to ensure consistency with the statistics of forest area conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

c) Provide information about forestry land and the situation of land allocation, lease, and recognition of forestry land use rights to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

d) Organize and direct the construction, update, and storage of cadastral files and cadastral databases, Certificates of Ownership consistent with forest allocation and lease documents; provide information from the database to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

3. Provincial People's Committees

a) Direct the preparation, approval, and implementation of comprehensive plans for forest allocation and lease linked to land allocation and lease for forestry purposes within the territory; organize the implementation of forest and forestry land recovery throughout the province in accordance with the laws on land and laws on forest protection and development;

b) Direct the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, District People's Committees, Commune People's Committees, Ward People's Committees, and Town People's Committees (hereinafter referred to as Commune People's Committees) to coordinate in implementing forest allocation and lease linked to land allocation and lease for forestry purposes simultaneously in accordance with the guidance of this Circular;

c) Direct relevant agencies at all levels to coordinate in inspecting and resolving disputes and violations of land laws by organizations currently managing and using forestry land.

d) Decide on the transfer of forests, unified forest leasing, tied to the transfer of land, forestry land leasing, and issuance of Certificates according to the authority;

đ) Direct competent agencies and lower-level People's Committees to complete files and decide on the transfer of forests, leasing of forests for plots that have been transferred, leased, or recognized with land use rights; decide on the transfer of land, leasing of land, and issuance of Certificates for plots that have been transferred forests or leased forests;

e) Direct the Natural Resources and Environment agencies to provide information in cadastral files, cadastral maps, and related documents concerning forestry land to local Forest Protection agencies to serve the work of transferring forests and leasing forests;

4. District People's Committee

a) Direct the establishment of comprehensive plans for transferring forests and leasing forests within the district to be submitted to the provincial People's Committee for approval and implementation; approve comprehensive forest transfer plans of village People's Committees;

b) Direct the unified implementation of forest transfers, leasing, and recovery of forests together with land transfers, leasing, and recovery of forestry land in accordance with laws on land and laws on forest protection and development;

c) Decide on the unified transfer and leasing of forests, tied to the transfer of forestry land and leasing, and issuance of Certificates according to the authority;

d) Direct competent agencies to complete files and decide on the transfer of forests, leasing of forests for plots that have been transferred, leased, or recognized with land use rights; decide on the transfer of land, leasing of land, and issuance of Certificates for plots that have been transferred forests or leased forests;

5. The People's Committee at the commune level

a) Publicly announce and provide full information about the work of transferring forests, leasing forests, and transferring, leasing forestry land, rights and obligations of land users and forest owners in the area;

b) Review and grasp the situation of forest management and use by households, individuals, and village communities in the commune; coordinate with higher-level specialized agencies in reviewing and grasping the situation of forest management and use by domestic organizations, foreign organizations and individuals, and overseas Vietnamese residing abroad in the commune;

c) Organize the receipt and processing of applications for Certificate issuance and forest transfer files as prescribed; organize the handover of forests or reclaiming forests on-site;

d) Implement the updating of information systems, databases managing forest and forestry land files in the commune;

6. Forest Protection Agencies at all levels

a) Advise authorities with jurisdiction to organize the implementation of forest transfer and leasing work tied to land transfer and leasing;

b) Carry out forest transfer and leasing work tied to land transfer and leasing; manage forest transfer and leasing files locally;

c) Organize the dissemination and publicity work regarding forest transfer and leasing tied to land transfer and leasing;

d) Coordinate with the same-level Natural Resources and Environment agencies to provide and exchange necessary information for forest transfer and leasing and land transfer and leasing work; ensure that forest information in forest transfer and leasing files is consistent with cadastral files and Certificates;

đ) Inspect and supervise the management, protection, and use of forests by forest owners after they have been transferred, leased forests, and issued Certificates;

e) Organize the construction, updating, and storage of databases and information systems on forest transfer and leasing; compile reports as prescribed;

g) Coordinate with the Natural Resources and Environment agencies to assist the same-level People's Committees in inspecting, auditing, and resolving violations and disputes in the use of forestry land by land users in accordance with the law;

7. Natural Resources and Environment Agencies at all levels

a) Advise authorities with jurisdiction to organize the implementation of forestry land transfer and leasing work tied to forest transfer and leasing;

b) Carry out forestry land transfer and leasing work tied to forest transfer and leasing; manage cadastral files locally;

c) Organize the dissemination and publicity work regarding forest transfer and leasing tied to land transfer and leasing;

d) Inspect and supervise the management, protection, and use of forestry land by forestry land users after they have been transferred, leased land, and issued Certificates;

đ) Organize the construction, updating, and storage of databases and information systems on land transfer and leasing, issuance of Certificates; compile reports as prescribed;

e) Coordinate with the same-level Forest Protection agencies to provide and exchange information on forestry land transfer and leasing tied to forest transfer and leasing; ensure that forest information in cadastral files and Certificates is consistent with forest transfer and leasing files;

g) Coordinate with the Forest Protection agencies to assist the same-level People's Committees in inspecting, auditing, and resolving violations and disputes in the management, protection, and use of forests by forest owners in accordance with the law;

Article 13. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from March 25, 2011.

2. In the course of implementation, if there are difficulties, localities and agencies, organizations, and individuals shall promptly report and reflect to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for joint consideration and resolution./.