Joint Circular No. 14/2008/TTLT/BTC-BTNMT guides the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2007, which supplements regulations on issuing Land Use Right Certificates, land recovery, exercising land use rights, procedures and formalities for compensation, support, and resettlement when the State recovers land, and resolving complaints regarding land.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidance on Implementation of Certain Provisions of Government Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP

dated May 25, 2007, Supplementing Regulations on Issuance of Land Use Right Certificates, Recovery of Land, Exercise of Land Use Rights, Procedures for Compensation, Support, and Resettlement When the State Recovers Land, and Resolution of Land Disputes
recovery of land, exercise of land use rights, procedures for compensation, support, and resettlement when the State recovers land
and resolution of land complaints

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Based on the Land Law dated November 26, 2003;

Pursuant to Government Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2007, supplementing regulations on issuance of land use right certificates, recovery of land, exercise of land use rights, procedures for compensation, support, and resettlement when the State recovers land, and resolution of land disputes;

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment provide guidance on implementation ofcertain provisions ofGovernment Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2007, supplementing regulations on issuance of land use right certificates, recovery of land, exercise of land use rights, procedures for compensation, support, and resettlement when the State recovers land, and resolution of land disputes (referred to as Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP) as follows:

I. PROCEDURES FOR RECORDING DEBT FOR LAND USE FEES AS PROVIDED IN ARTICLE 5

1. Cases eligible for recording debt for land use fees:

Households and individuals who have not yet the ability to pay land use fees but wish to record debt may have their debt for land use fees recorded on the land use right certificate (referred to as Certificate) in the following cases:

1.1. Households and individuals whose land use purpose has been changed, who have been issued a Certificate and must pay land use fees as provided in Article 6 and Article 8 of Government Decree No. 198/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 3, 2004, on collection of land use fees (referred to as Decree No. 198/2004/NĐ-CP).

1.2. Households and individuals who have been allocated land for resettlement by the State.

2. Procedures for Recording Debt for Land Use Fees:

2.1. From July 2, 2007 (the date Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP took effect), households and individuals who have not yet the ability to pay land use fees as specified in Clause 1 of this Section, if they submit a request to record debt for land use fees along with the application for issuance of a Certificate or the application for change of land use purpose or the application for allocation of land for resettlement, shall be eligible to record debt for land use fees.

2.2. When issuing a Certificate or amending a Certificate, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment must record the content "debt for land use fees" on page 4 of the Certificate; sign and stamp to confirm the recorded content; notify in writing the tax authority of cases where debt for land use fees has been recorded.

In cases where households and individuals have submitted an application to record debt for land use fees and a complete and valid application for issuance of a Certificate or for change of land use purpose as stipulated in Clause 4 of Article 5 of Government Decree No. 17/2006/NĐ-CP dated January 27, 2006, on Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of Government Decrees Guiding the Implementation of the Land Law and Government Decree No. 187/2004/NĐ-CP on the Transformation of State-Owned Enterprises into Joint Stock Companies (referred to as Decree No. 17/2006/NĐ-CP) before July 2, 2007, but have not yet received a Certificate, they will still be eligible to receive a Certificate and have debt for land use fees recorded on the Certificate according to the provisions of Decree No. 17/2006/NĐ-CP and the guidance provided in Circular No. 70/2006/TT-BTC dated August 2, 2006, of the Ministry of Finance guiding amendments and supplements to Circular No. 117/2004/TT-BTC dated December 7, 2004, of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of Decree No. 198/2004/NĐ-CP (referred to as Circular No. 70/2006/TT-BTC).

II. DETERMINATION OF FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS FOR CASES WHERE RIGHTS TO USE LAND HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED BUT THE PROCEDURE FOR TRANSFERRING RIGHTS HAS NOT YET BEEN COMPLETED AS PROVIDED IN CLAUSE 1, ARTICLE 11

Households and individuals currently using land with origins from transfer, inheritance, or gift of land use rights or houses attached to residential land use rights prior to July 1, 2004, who have not yet received a Certificate and do not have any of the documents as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 50 of the Land Law but have documents regarding the transfer of land use rights signed by the transferring party (including cases without confirmation by competent state authorities on the transfer), if now they are granted a Certificate by competent state authorities, they will not need to go through the procedure for transferring land use rights but must pay land use fees as prescribed in Decree No. 198/2004/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP; and pay stamp duty as prescribed by law.

The land price for calculating land use fees and stamp duty is the land price issued by the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city (referred to as Provincial People's Committee) in accordance with the Government's regulations that are effective at the time of submission of a complete and valid application.

III.ISSUANCE OF CERTIFICATE IN CASES WHERE LAND WAS ALLOCATED WITHOUT AUTHORITY BEFORE JULY 1, 2004, BUT THE LAND USER HAS PAID MONEY TO USE THE LANDPROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 16

1. Proof of payment to the agency or organization as provided in Article 16 of Government Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP includes one of the following types:

1.1. Receipt (payment voucher, invoice) for payment to use land or compensation payment according to Decision No. 186/HĐBT dated May 31, 1990, of the Council of Ministers on compensation for agricultural land and forest land when converted to other purposes.

1.2. Receipt (payment voucher, invoice) for payment according to Circular No. 60/TC-TCT dated July 16, 1993, of the Ministry of Finance on supplementary guidance on reduction or exemption of agricultural land use taxes.

1.3. Receipt (payment voucher, invoice) for payment of land as stipulated by the People's Committee of the district, commune, or the agency or organization allocating land beyond their authority, which have been issued to households and individuals by those agencies or organizations.

2. In cases where land has been transferred beyond authority and fees for land use rights have been paid but the relevant documents are only kept by the organization that collected the money or another related organization, such organizations shall be responsible for providing the retained documents to enable the land user to complete the application for issuance of the Certificate of Land Use Right.

IV. PROCEDURES FOR SETTLING FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS REGARDING LAND IN CASES WHERE A JOINT-VENTURE ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION BECOMES AN ENTIRELY FOREIGN CAPITAL ECONOMIC ORGANIZATION AS PROVIDED FOR IN ARTICLE 23

When a joint venture between domestic investors and foreign investors becomes an entirely foreign capital economic organization, the area of land contributed to the joint venture must be converted to a form where the State leases the land, and the option to pay the lease fee either in one lump sum or annually can be chosen.

1. The handling of the value of land use rights contributed to the joint venture by the Vietnamese side shall be carried out as follows:

1.1. Pay to the state budget the portion of the state budget capital calculated based on the value of land use rights according to the term of capital transfer from the time of using the land use rights for contribution to the joint venture until the time of transferring the capital, with the area of contributed land and the lease price according to the Debt Acceptance Contract with the financial agency (for cases where the debt value of the capital contribution was accepted through land use rights according to Circular No. 70 TC/QLCS dated October 7, 1997 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the payment of land lease fees and joint venture contributions with the value of land use rights of domestic organizations under Decree No. 85/CP dated December 17, 1996 of the Government) or the Receipt (document) of Capital Transfer (for cases where capital transfer was made according to Article 28 of Decree No. 04/2000/NĐ-CP dated February 11, 2000 of the Government implementing the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Land Law 1998 and Circular No. 35/2001/TT-BTC dated May 25, 2001 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the payment of land lease fees and joint venture contributions with the value of land use rights of domestic organizations, households, and individuals) or the Investment License (for cases where the debt or capital transfer to the state has not yet been accepted or received).

1.2. Pay to the state budget the amount of state budget capital permitted to contribute to the joint venture as follows:

a) For Vietnamese enterprises that have not accepted the debt or received capital transfer and have not paid the usage fee to the state budget, they shall implement the payment of the usage fee as follows:

- From the date of using the land for contribution until December 31, 2000, the payment rate is 3% per year based on the value of land use rights used for capital contribution.

- From January 1, 2001 to January 1, 2002, the payment rate is 1.8% per year based on the value of land use rights used for capital contribution.

b) For enterprises (Vietnamese side) that have completed debt or capital transfer acceptance and have paid the usage fee to the state budget, they must pay the usage fee for the period not yet paid up to December 31, 2001.

1.3. After paying the state budget the portion of the state budget capital equivalent to the value of land use rights contributed to the joint venture according to Point 1.1 Clause 1 Section herein (for cases where the competent authority has decided to increase the state capital by the value of land use rights contributed to the joint venture), the Vietnamese enterprise may reduce its state capital at the enterprise.

1.4. For the value of land use rights contributed to the joint venture by the Vietnamese side originating from land allocated with land use fees, or land use rights transferred where the land use fees or transfer fees have not originated from the state budget, the Vietnamese enterprise does not need to pay the state budget the capital contribution equivalent to the value of land use rights transferred and the usage fee as stipulated in Points 1.1 and 1.2 Clause 1 Section herein.

2. An economic organization with 100% foreign capital that receives the transfer of the Vietnamese side's capital contribution equivalent to the value of land use rights must go through the procedures to lease the land and does not have to pay the land lease fee for the period during which the Vietnamese side transferred the capital contribution equivalent to the value of land use rights. Upon expiration of the period for receiving the transfer of the Vietnamese side's capital contribution equivalent to the value of land use rights, the economic organization with 100% foreign capital must pay the land lease fee according to the laws in effect at the time of payment.

3. The procedures for paying the state budget for the amounts that domestic investors must pay according to Points 1.1 and 1.2 Clause 1 Section herein shall be implemented according to Decree No. 85/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2007 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration.

4. After the parties complete the procedures for transferring land use rights and fulfill their financial obligations, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall issue a decision terminating the Land Lease Contract for domestic economic organizations; submit to the Provincial People's Committee for a decision allowing the economic organization with 100% foreign capital to lease land according to the laws on land.

V. TRANSFERRING INVESTMENT PROJECTS USING LAND AS PROVIDED FOR IN ARTICLE 24

1. Procedures and formalities for transferring investment projects using land:

1.1. In the case where domestic economic organizations have been assigned land with payment for land use rights, received transfer of land use rights, or leased land by the State before July 1, 2004, and have paid rent for the entire lease period or prepaid rent for several years, provided that the remaining lease term for which rent has been paid is at least five (5) years, and the amount paid for land use rights, the amount paid for the transfer of land use rights, and the rent paid do not originate from the state budget, after the investment project transfer contract has been notarized, the transferring party shall submit the investment project transfer contract and the Certificate of Land Use Right to the Land Registration Office under the Department of Natural Resources and Environment where the land is located to carry out the transfer of land use rights according to Article 127 of the Land Law and Article 148 of Decree No. 181/2004/NĐ-CP dated October 29, 2004 of the Government on the Implementation of the Land Law (referred to as Decree No. 181/2004/NĐ-CP). In cases involving the transfer of investment projects within economic zones or high-tech zones, the transfer contracts are not notarized but must be confirmed by the Management Board of the economic zone or high-tech zone.

After the parties involved in the project transfer complete their financial obligations as prescribed by law, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment is responsible for submitting to the People's Committee of the province for decisions to lease land, issue new Certificates of Land Use Rights for partial transfers of investment projects using land, or amend Certificates of Land Use Rights for full transfers of investment projects using land; the Department of Natural Resources and Environment will sign a land lease contract with the transferee of the investment project using land.

1.2. In the case where domestic economic organizations have been assigned land with payment for land use rights, received transfer of land use rights, or leased land by the State before July 1, 2004, and have paid rent for the entire lease period or prepaid rent for several years, provided that the remaining lease term for which rent has been paid is at least five (5) years, and the amount paid for land use rights, the amount paid for the transfer of land use rights, and the rent paid originate from the state budget or annual rent payments, or land assigned by the State without payment for land use rights used as capital contribution through land use rights, after the investment project transfer contract has been notarized, the transferring party shall submit the investment project transfer contract and the Certificate of Land Use Right to the Land Registration Office under the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to handle it as if selling assets attached to land according to Article 158 of Decree No. 181/2004/NĐ-CP. In cases involving the transfer of investment projects within economic zones or high-tech zones, the investment project transfer contracts are not notarized but must be confirmed by the Management Board of the economic zone or high-tech zone.

1.3. After the parties involved in the project transfer complete their financial obligations as prescribed by law, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment will submit to the People's Committee of the province for decisions to reclaim land from the transferring party and lease land to the transferee; terminate the land lease contract (for the transferring party who was leased land by the State); submit to the People's Committee of the province for issuance of Certificates of Land Use Rights to the transferee; sign a Land Lease Contract with the transferee.

2. The value of the investment project transfer contract includes the investment value and the value of land use rights in the case where the transferring party uses land as stipulated in Point 1.1 Clause 1 Section of this Article.

VI. PROCEDURES FOR TRANSFERRING LAND USE RIGHTS TO IMPLEMENT INVESTMENT PROJECTS AS PROVIDED FOR IN ARTICLE 28

1. The procedures for receiving the transfer of land use rights along with changing the purpose of land use, requiring permission to change the purpose of land use to implement investment projects by economic organizations, households, and individuals (referred to as investors) are carried out as follows:

1.1. Before receiving the transfer of land use rights along with changing the purpose of land use to implement investment projects, the investor must send a written request to the competent People's Committee for permission to change the purpose of land use to obtain approval for the investment proposal. Based on the land use plan, urban construction plan, or detailed construction plan for rural residential areas approved by the competent state authorities, the competent People's Committee is responsible for responding in writing to the investor regarding approval or disapproval of the investment proposal; in cases of disapproval, the reasons must be clearly stated.

1.2. If the competent People's Committee approves the investment proposal, the investor shall submit one (1) set of documents to the Land Registration Office under the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (if the transferring party is an economic organization); or to the Land Registration Office under the District Office of Natural Resources and Environment (if the transferring party is a household or individual), including:

a) The land use right transfer contract;

b) A request to change the purpose of land use (specifying the plot number, total area of land, and form of payment for land use rights or rent);

c) The approval for the investment proposal as stipulated in Point 1.1 Clause 1 of this Article;

d) The Certificate of Land Use Right or one of the types of documents concerning land use rights specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 5 of Article 50 of the Land Law (if available);

đ) The investment project as prescribed by laws on investment (for economic organizations).

1.3. The Land Registration Office shall carry out the transfer of land use rights as stipulated in Points a and b Clause 2 Article 148 of Decree No. 181/2004/NĐ-CP and transfer the documents to the competent authority for natural resources and environment to approve the change of land use purpose to implement the change of land use purpose according to Article 134 of Decree No. 181/2004/NĐ-CP before amending or issuing new Certificates of Land Use Rights; transfer the cadastral data of the land type after the change of land use purpose to the Department of Finance as the basis for calculating the payment for land use rights.

2. Investors must fulfill financial obligations related to the transfer of land use rights and the change of land use purpose as follows:

2.1. After completing the land valuation review for the land that the investor has paid to acquire the right to transfer the use of, the Department of Finance shall submit to the Provincial People's Committee for a decision on the price of the land that the investor has paid to acquire the right to transfer.

2.2. The payment of land use fees and land lease fees shall be carried out as follows:

a) In cases where the investor chooses the form of transferring land with payment of land use fees, they must pay the land use fee equal to the difference between the land use fee calculated according to the type of land after changing the purpose of land use and the amount received from transferring the right to use the land decided by the Provincial People's Committee as stipulated in Point 2.1 of this Clause but not exceeding the maximum compensation and support amount corresponding to the case when the State recovers the land.

b) In cases where the investor chooses the form of leasing land, the amount received from transferring the right to use the land decided by the Provincial People's Committee as stipulated in Point 2.1 of this Clause shall be deducted from the land lease fee payable according to Point b, Clause 2, Clause 3, and Clause 5, Article 28 of Decree No. 84/2007/ND-CP but not exceeding the maximum compensation and support amount corresponding to the case when the State recovers the land.

In cases where the investor hires consulting services to determine the price of the land received from transferring to deduct from the land lease fee payable according to Clause 5, Article 28 of Decree No. 84/2007/ND-CP, the land price to determine the rental rate must also be determined by the consulting service, reviewed by the Department of Finance, and submitted to the Provincial People's Committee for a decision.

VII. SUPPORT FOR INTERSPERSED AGRICULTURAL LAND IN URBAN AREAS AND GARDEN AND POND LAND ADJACENT TO RESIDENTIAL LAND IN URBAN AREAS AS PROVIDED IN ARTICLE 43

1. The area eligible for support as provided in Clause 1, Article 43 of Decree No. 84/2007/ND-CP includes the entire area of agricultural land; garden and pond land within the same plot with residential buildings but not recognized as residential land within the following areas:

a) Within the administrative boundaries of a ward;

b) Within the urban residential area limits of a town or rural residential area where the boundary of the residential area is shown on the detailed land use planning map of the commune or town approved by the competent state authority; in cases where the residential area of a town or rural residential area does not have a detailed residential area planning map or detailed land use planning map of the commune or town approved, the boundary is determined based on the outermost plot with a residential building in the residential area.

2. The area eligible for support as provided in Clause 3, Article 43 of Decree No. 84/2007/ND-CP for agricultural plots without residential buildings shall not exceed five (05) times the maximum allocation limit for residential land for each household or individual as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 83, and Clause 5, Article 84 of the Land Law.

3. For intermixed agricultural plots within urban residential areas and garden and pond land within the same plot with residential buildings in the residential area subject to recovery if the boundaries adjoin multiple plots with different prices, the land price for calculating compensation is the average price of adjacent residential plots; in cases where the adjacent plots are not residential land, the land price for calculating compensation is the price of the nearest residential plot or the average price of the nearest residential plots.

VIII. EXPENSES FOR PREPARING THE LAND ADMINISTRATIVE FILE FOR RECOVERED LAND AS PROVIDED IN CLAUSE 3, ARTICLE 50

1. Expenses for amending the land administrative map, extracting the land administrative map, conducting land surveying, and copying the land administrative file, implemented by the Natural Resources and Environment Agency or the Land Registration Office when the State recovers land for project implementation, shall be borne by the project investor and settled from the project investment capital.

2. In cases where the State recovers land according to the announced land use plan without an investment project, the expenses mentioned in Clause 1 of this Section shall be borne by the Land Development Fund and settled from the fund's operational budget; for localities without a Land Development Fund, the Natural Resources and Environment Agency or the Land Registration Office shall settle from the allocated budget of the unit.

IX. ESTABLISHING, REVIEWING, AND APPROVING THE OVERALL PLAN ON COMPENSATION, SUPPORT, AND RELOCATION AS PROVIDED IN ARTICLE 51 AND ESTABLISHING, REVIEWING, AND APPROVING THE PLAN ON COMPENSATION, SUPPORT, AND RELOCATION AS PROVIDED IN ARTICLE 56

1. The organization responsible for compensation and clearance shall establish the overall plan on compensation, support, and relocation and submit one (01) set of files to the Department of Finance in cases where the State recovers land involving two (02) districts, counties, towns, or cities under the province or more, and those plans on compensation, support, and relocation approved by the Provincial People's Committee; submit to the District Finance Office for plans approved by the District People's Committee.

2. The Finance Authority shall lead and coordinate with the Natural Resources and Environment Authority and relevant agencies at the same level to review the overall plan on compensation, support, and relocation and the plan on compensation, support, and relocation transferred by the organization responsible for compensation and clearance for submission to the same-level People's Committee for approval.

In necessary cases, the Chairman of the People's Committee with authority may approve the overall plan on compensation, support, and relocation and the plan on compensation, support, and relocation by establishing a Review Board chaired by the head of the Finance Authority.

3. The content of the review of the overall plan on compensation, support, and relocation includes the applied policies on compensation, support, and relocation; the resettlement plan and the budget estimate for implementing the plan.

The content of the review of the plan on compensation, support, and relocation includes the specific application of compensation, support, and relocation policies; the pricing of land and assets for compensation calculation; the support allowances; the resettlement plan and the funding source for paying compensation, support, and relocation specifically for the project.

4. The costs for preparing and reviewing the overall compensation, support, and resettlement plan and the compensation, support, and resettlement plan of the project shall be funded from the budget allocated for organizing and implementing compensation, support, and resettlement when the State expropriates land as stipulated in Article 48 of Decree No. 197/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 3, 2004 of the Government on compensation, support, and resettlement when the State expropriates land, Clause 6 of Article 4 of Decree No. 17/2006/NĐ-CP, and the guidance provided in Section VII of Circular No. 116/2004/TT-BTC dated December 7, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of Decree No. 197/2004/NĐ-CP, Section 4 of Circular No. 69/2006/TT-BTC dated August 2, 2006 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing Circular No. 116/2004/TT-BTC, and Circular No. 126/2007/TT-BTC dated October 30, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the preparation of budgets, use, and settlement of costs for organizing and implementing compensation, support, and resettlement for construction projects of transportation works in administrative units within difficult areas.

X. EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 67

Projects and components that have completed compensation, support, and resettlement before July 2, 2007 (the date Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP took effect) shall not apply or adjust according to the provisions of Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP.

For projects and components where the Compensation, Support, and Resettlement Plan has been approved but not yet implemented or not fully implemented for compensation, support, and resettlement before the effective date of Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP, if the land price is higher than the approved land price, only the adjustment of land prices as stipulated in Clause 4 of Article 58 of Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP shall be carried out; other provisions on compensation, support, and resettlement stipulated in Decree No. 84/2007/NĐ-CP shall not be applied.

XI. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Abolish the provisions guiding the implementation of Clause 6 and Clause 8 of Article 8, Articles 41, 42, 47, 49, and paragraph 2 of Clause 2 of Article 50 of Decree No. 197/2004/NĐ-CP in Circular No. 116/2004/TT-BTC and in Circular No. 69/2006/TT-BTC.

3. Provincial People's Committees and Municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government shall be responsible for implementing this Circular. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, they should promptly report to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Finance for coordination in resolving them./.