Law on Non-Agricultural Land Tax No. 48/2010/QH12

LAW

LAND USE TAX FOR NON-AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES

BASED ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM IN 1992 AS AMENDED AND COMPLEMENTED BY RESOLUTION NO. 51/2001/QH10;
The National Assembly enacts the Law on Land Use Tax for Non-Agricultural Purposes,

Chapter 1.
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Law provides for taxable objects, non-taxable objects; taxpayers; tax base; registration, declaration, calculation, and payment of taxes; reduction and exemption of land use tax for non-agricultural purposes.

Article 2. Taxable Objects

1. Residential land in rural areas, residential land in urban areas.

2. Non-agricultural production and business land including: industrial zone construction land; land for construction of production and business facilities; mineral extraction and processing land; construction material production and ceramic manufacturing land.

3. Non-agricultural land specified in Article 3 of this Law used for business purposes.

1. For imported goods exempt from special consumption tax as specified in Point a, Clause 2, Article 3 of the Special Consumption Tax Law, including:

Non-agricultural land not used for business purposes includes:

1. Land used for public purposes including: transportation land, irrigation land; land for cultural, health, education and training, sports and physical culture facilities serving public interests; land with historical and cultural relics, scenic spots; other public facility construction land as prescribed by the Government;

2. Land used by religious organizations;

3. Cemetery land;

4. River, stream, canal, creek, and specialized water surface land;

5. Land with communal houses, temples, shrines, hermitages, ancestral halls, family shrines;

6. Land for government agency headquarters construction, public service project construction, land used for national defense and security purposes;

7. Other non-agricultural land as prescribed by law.

Article 4. Taxpayers

Taxpayers are organizations, households, and individuals having rights to use land falling under taxable objects as stipulated in Article 2 of this Law.

In cases where organizations, households, and individuals have not been issued a Certificate of Land Use Right, House Ownership, and Other Property Rights Attached to Land (hereinafter referred to collectively as the Certificate), the person currently using the land is the taxpayer.

Taxpayers in certain specific cases are defined as follows:

a) In cases where the State leases land for investment projects, the lessee of residential land is the taxpayer;

b) In cases where the land user leases land according to a contract, the taxpayer is determined based on the agreement in the contract. If there is no agreement regarding the taxpayer in the contract, the land user is the taxpayer;

c) In cases where land has been issued a Certificate but is currently in dispute, before the dispute is resolved, the person currently using the land is the taxpayer. Payment of tax shall not be grounds for resolving disputes over land use rights;

d) In cases where multiple persons jointly have rights to use one plot of land, the taxpayer is the lawful representative of those jointly using the plot of land;

đ) In cases where the land user contributes land use rights as capital to form a new legal entity that has land use rights falling under taxable objects as stipulated in Article 2 of this Law, the new legal entity is the taxpayer.

Chapter II
TAX BASE, REGISTRATION, DECLARATION, CALCULATION, AND PAYMENT OF TAXES

Article 5. Tax Base

The tax base consists of the taxable value and tax rate.

Article 6. Taxable Value

1. The taxable value of land is determined by multiplying the area of taxable land by the price of 1 square meter of land.² land.

2. The area of taxable land is defined as follows:

a) The area of taxable land is the actual land area being used.

In cases where multiple plots of residential land are used, the area of taxable land is the total area of all taxable plots.

In cases where the State allocates land or leases land for industrial zone construction, the area of taxable land does not include the area of infrastructure structures used in common.

b) For multi-story residential buildings with multiple households or apartment buildings including cases where they are used both for residence and business, the taxable land area is determined by multiplying the allocation factor by the area of each organization, household, or individual's building.

The allocation factor is determined by dividing the land area for multi-story residential buildings with multiple households or apartment buildings by the total area of buildings used by organizations, households, or individuals.

In cases where multi-story residential buildings with multiple households or apartment buildings have basements, 50% of the basement area used by organizations, households, or individuals is added to their building area to calculate the allocation factor.

c) For underground construction projects, the allocation factor is applied by dividing half the land area for construction by the total area of constructions used by organizations, households, or individuals.

3. The price of 1 square meter of land is the land price according to its purpose as prescribed by the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city and is stabilized every five years from the date this Law takes effect.² land price for intended use purposes as prescribed by the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city and stabilized for a five-year cycle, commencing from the date this Law comes into effect.

Article 7. Tax Rate

1. The tax rate for residential land, including cases used for business purposes, shall be applied according to the progressive tax rate table as follows:

2. The quota for residential land used as the basis for calculating taxes is the new residential land allocation quota as prescribed by the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city, from the date this Law comes into effect.

In cases where residential land has been allocated with a quota before the effective date of this Law, it shall be applied as follows:

a) Where the residential land quota prescribed before the effective date of this Law is lower than the new residential land allocation quota, the new residential land allocation quota shall be applied as the basis for calculating taxes;

b) Where the residential land quota prescribed before the effective date of this Law is higher than the new residential land allocation quota, the old residential land quota shall be applied as the basis for calculating taxes.

3. Residential land for multi-story buildings with multiple households, apartment buildings, and underground construction projects shall apply a tax rate of 0.03%.

4. Non-agricultural production and business land shall apply a tax rate of 0.03%.

5. Non-agricultural land specified in Article 3 of this Law used for business purposes shall apply a tax rate of 0.03%.

6. Land used for purposes other than those intended, or unused land as prescribed shall apply a tax rate of 0.15%. In cases where land for phased investment projects registered by investors and approved by competent state agencies is not considered unused land and shall apply a tax rate of 0.03%.

7. Encroached land shall apply a tax rate of 0.2% without applying the quota. Payment of taxes shall not serve as grounds for recognizing the taxpayer's lawful right to use encroached land.

Article 8. Registration, Declaration, Calculation, and Payment of Taxes

1. Taxpayers shall register, declare, calculate, and pay taxes in accordance with the laws on tax administration.

2. Taxpayers shall register, declare, calculate, and pay taxes at the district, county, town, or provincial city tax office where they have the right to use land.

In remote areas with difficult travel conditions, taxpayers may register, declare, calculate, and pay taxes at the People's Committee of the commune. The tax authority shall facilitate taxpayers in fulfilling their obligations.

3. In cases where taxpayers have rights to use multiple plots of residential land, the taxable area is the total area of the taxable residential land plots within the province or centrally-administered city. The registration, declaration, calculation, and payment of taxes shall be regulated as follows:

a) Taxpayers shall register, declare, calculate, and pay taxes at the district, county, town, or provincial city tax office where they have the right to use land;

b) Taxpayers may choose the residential land quota in one district, county, town, or provincial city where they have the right to use land. In cases where one or more plots of residential land exceed the quota, taxpayers may choose one place with a plot of residential land exceeding the quota to determine the excess area of the plots.

The tax value shall be applied according to the land price of each district, county, town, or provincial city where the plot of land is located.

Taxpayers shall prepare a consolidated declaration form as prescribed to determine the total area of the plots of residential land they have the right to use and the amount of tax already paid, and submit it to the tax office where they have chosen to determine the residential land quota to pay the difference between the tax amount required under this Law and the tax already paid.

Chapter III
EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION, REDUCTION OF TAXATION

Article 9. Exemption from Tax

1. Land for investment projects in special fields encouraged for investment; investment projects in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions; investment projects in encouraged fields in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions; land used by enterprises employing more than 50% of workers who are war invalids or disabled veterans.

2. Land for socialized facilities in the fields of education, vocational training, healthcare, culture, sports, and environment.

3. Land for building benevolent houses, solidarity houses, facilities for nurturing elderly people living alone, persons with disabilities, and orphaned children; facilities for treating social diseases.

4. Residential land within the prescribed limit in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions.

5. Residential land within the prescribed limit of individuals who were engaged in revolutionary activities before August 19, 1945; first-class and second-class war invalids; individuals receiving policies equivalent to first-class and second-class war invalids; first-class disabled veterans; national heroes; mothers of Vietnam's heroic soldiers; fathers, mothers, and fosterers of martyrs when they were young; wives and husbands of martyrs; children of martyrs receiving monthly allowances; individuals engaged in revolutionary activities affected by Agent Orange; individuals affected by Agent Orange with difficult family circumstances.

6. Residential land within the prescribed limit of households classified as poor according to government regulations.

7. Households and individuals whose residential land was compulsorily reclaimed in the year pursuant to planning and plans approved by competent state authorities shall be exempt from tax on the reclaimed land and new residential land in that year.

8. Land with garden houses recognized by competent state authorities as historical and cultural relics.

9. Taxpayers encountering insurmountable difficulties due to force majeure events if the value of land and house damage exceeds 50% of the taxable value.

Article 10. Reduction of Tax

A reduction of 50% of the tax payable shall apply to the following cases:

1. Land for investment projects in encouraged fields of investment; investment projects in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions; land used by enterprises employing between 20% and 50% of workers who are war invalids or disabled veterans;

2. Residential land within the prescribed limit in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions;

3. Residential land within the prescribed limit of third-class and fourth-class war invalids; individuals receiving policies equivalent to third-class and fourth-class war invalids; second-class and third-class disabled veterans; children of martyrs not receiving monthly allowances;

4. Taxpayers encountering insurmountable difficulties due to force majeure events if the value of land and house damage is between 20% and 50% of the taxable value.

Article 11. Principles of Exemption and Reduction of Tax

1. If a taxpayer is eligible for both exemption and reduction of tax on the same plot of land, the exemption shall apply; if a taxpayer qualifies for two or more reductions as stipulated in Article 10 of this Law, the exemption shall apply.

2. A taxpayer paying residential land tax may only choose to be exempted or reduced at one location, except for the cases specified in Clause 9 of Article 9 and Clause 4 of Article 10 of this Law.

3. If a taxpayer has multiple investment projects eligible for exemption or reduction of tax, such exemptions and reductions shall be applied separately for each project.

4. Exemptions and reductions of tax shall directly apply only to taxpayers and shall be calculated based on the amount of tax payable as prescribed by this Law.

Chapter IV
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 12. Effective Date

1. This Law takes effect from January 1, 2012.

2. The following legal normative documents shall cease to be effective from the date this Law comes into effect:

a) The Land and Housing Tax Ordinance 1992;

b) The Ordinance Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Land and Housing Tax Ordinance 1994.

Article 13. Detailed provisions and guidance on implementation

The Government shall provide detailed provisions and guidance on the necessary contents of this Law to meet the requirements of state management.

This Law was passed by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the twelfth session, seventh meeting, on June 17, 2010./.