Decree No. 79/2019/ND-CP amends Article 16 of Decree No. 45/2014/ND-CP dated May 15, 2014 of the Government on land use fee collection.

DECREE

AMENDING ARTICLE 16 OF THE GOVERNMENTAL DECREE NO. 45/2014/NĐ-CP OF MAY 15, 2014 ON THE COLLECTION OF LAND USE FEES

Pursuant to the Law on the Organization of the Government dated September 16, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Land dated November 29, 2013;

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance;

The Government promulgates this Decree to amend Article 16 of the Governmental Decree No. 45/2014/NĐ-CP dated May 15, 2014 on the collection of land use fees.

Article 1. Amend

1. Households and individuals (including: persons with meritorious service to the revolution; poor households; households and individuals from ethnic minority groups; households and individuals with permanent residence registration at communes recognized as economically and socially disadvantaged areas or extremely disadvantaged areas) shall be allowed to record debts for land use fees when being allocated resettlement land upon land expropriation by the State according to the laws on land.

The identification of persons with meritorious service to the revolution shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on persons with meritorious service.

The identification of poor households; households and individuals from ethnic minority groups or households and individuals with permanent residence registration at communes recognized as economically and socially disadvantaged areas or extremely disadvantaged areas shall be conducted in accordance with the regulations of the Government, the Prime Minister, or competent state agencies.

2. The amount of land use fee debt recorded for households and individuals as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article shall be determined by the difference between the land use fee that must be paid when households and individuals are allocated resettlement land minus the value of compensation and support for land when the State expropriates land.

3. Households and individuals as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article (hereinafter referred to as households and individuals) shall gradually repay the debt within five years from the date of the decision on allocation of resettlement land by the competent state agency and shall not have to pay late payment fees during this five-year period.

In case households and individuals have not fully repaid the land use fee debt recorded on the Land Use Right Certificate, House Ownership Certificate, and Certificates of Other Assets Attached to Land (hereinafter referred to as the Certificate) within five years from the date of the decision on allocation of resettlement land by the competent state agency, then households and individuals must pay the remaining land use fee and late payment fees calculated based on the remaining debt according to the provisions of the tax management laws from the end of the five-year period for recording debt to the date of repayment.

4. The procedures for recording land use fee debt for households and individuals shall be carried out as follows:

a) Households and individuals submit the Application for Recording Land Use Fee Debt and documents proving their eligibility for recording land use fee debt together with the application for issuance of the Certificate in accordance with the law (which includes: Decision on Allocation of Resettlement Land and Compensation, Support, and Resettlement Plan approved by the competent state agency) at the Land Registration Office or environmental resource management agency (hereinafter referred to as the Office).

b) The Office reviews and checks the files of households and individuals and prepares the Information Transfer Form to send to the tax authority and related agencies as prescribed, including information on the compensation and support for land received by households and individuals; simultaneously, the Office issues a Notice of Appointment to households and individuals in accordance with the regulations.

c) Based on the Information Transfer Form sent by the Office, the tax authority determines and issues the Notification in accordance with the regulations to be sent to households and individuals, the Office, and related agencies (if necessary) within two working days from the date of issuing the Notification. The Notification must include the following contents:

- Total land use fee that households and individuals must pay.

- Amount of land use fee that cannot be recorded as debt (which is the compensation and support for land received by households and individuals).

- Amount of land use fee that can be recorded as debt equals the total land use fee that households and individuals must pay minus the amount of land use fee that cannot be recorded as debt (which is the compensation and support for land received by households and individuals).

- Deadline for households and individuals to pay the fee, including:

+ Deadline for paying the land use fee that cannot be recorded as debt (as prescribed in the Governmental Decree No. 45/2014/NĐ-CP dated May 15, 2014).

+ Deadline for paying the land use fee that can be recorded as debt (within five years from the date of the decision on allocation of resettlement land by the competent state agency).

d) Based on the Notification issued by the tax authority, households and individuals pay the land use fee that cannot be recorded as debt (which is the compensation and support for land received by households and individuals) at the Treasury or units authorized by the Treasury to collect (hereinafter referred to as the Treasury) within the prescribed deadline and submit the receipt provided by the Treasury to the Office to obtain the Certificate.

đ) The Treasury is responsible for collecting the land use fee according to the Notification of the tax authority and providing receipts to households and individuals; simultaneously, it transfers information about the collected amount from households and individuals to related agencies as prescribed.

e) Based on the receipts submitted by households and individuals, the Office issues the Certificate to households and individuals in accordance with the regulations; the Certificate shall include information on the recorded land use fee and the payment deadline (within five years from the date of the decision on allocation of resettlement land by the competent state agency).

5. Procedures for settling and canceling land use fee debt for households and individuals who have recorded debt as stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article.

a) Based on the Notification issued by the tax authority, households and individuals gradually pay the remaining land use fee debt at the Treasury within five years from the date of the decision on allocation of resettlement land by the competent state agency, ensuring full settlement of the remaining land use fee debt by the end of the five-year period. In case the Notification issued by the tax authority is lost or misplaced within the five-year period, households and individuals shall go to the tax authority to obtain a replacement Notification.

b) If more than five years have passed since the date of the decision to allocate resettlement land but the household or individual has not yet paid the full outstanding land use fee, they must go to the tax authority to be re-determined the amount of the outstanding land use fee, late payment interest calculated on the outstanding amount (from the expiration date of the five-year period from the date of the land allocation decision by the competent state agency to the date the household or individual goes to the tax authority for re-determination) and receive the Tax Authority's Notification on the same working day. The Notification of the Tax Authority must include: the outstanding land use fee, late payment interest; the deadline for paying the money into the State Treasury is thirty days from the date recorded on the Notification.

If the deadline stated in the Notification of the Tax Authority is exceeded and the household or individual has not fully paid, they must re-determine the outstanding land use fee and late payment interest according to the above provisions.

c) After completing the payment of the outstanding land use fee as stipulated in points a and b of this clause, the household or individual must submit the application file including: the Certificate of Title (original), proof of payment of the land use fee (original) at the Office to be cleared of the outstanding land use fee recorded on the Certificate of Title. In case the proof is lost, the household or individual must go to the State Treasury to obtain confirmation of the land use fee already paid.

The Office is responsible for reviewing and cross-checking the files submitted by the household or individual to clear the outstanding land use fee recorded on the Certificate of Title and return the Certificate of Title to the household or individual on the same working day.

6. Households and individuals who have been recorded with an outstanding land use fee must pay off the outstanding land use fee and any late payment interest (if applicable) before transferring, giving as a gift, mortgaging, guaranteeing, or contributing capital with the right to use land. For cases where the right to use land is inherited according to the law but the outstanding land use fee has not been fully repaid, the heir is responsible for continuing to repay the outstanding land use fee according to the regulations.

Article 2. Transitional Provisions

1. Households and individuals who have been recorded with an outstanding land use fee on the Certificate of Title according to the laws in force during different periods and have not settled the outstanding land use fee before the effective date of this Decree shall proceed as follows:

a) For households and individuals who were recorded with an outstanding land use fee before March 1, 2016, they continue to pay off the outstanding land use fee according to the policy and land price at the time of issuance of the Certificate of Title (or according to the amount recorded on the Certificate of Title determined in accordance with the relevant legal provisions) until February 28, 2021. This provision does not apply to the amount of the land use fee that has already been paid into the State budget.

From March 1, 2021 onwards, households and individuals must pay off the outstanding land use fee according to the policy and land price at the time of repayment.

b) For households and individuals who were recorded with an outstanding land use fee from March 1, 2016 to the date before the effective date of this Decree, they continue to pay off the outstanding land use fee according to the amount recorded on the Certificate of Title determined in accordance with Decree No. 45/2014/NĐ-CP within five years from the date of recording the outstanding land use fee.

If the five-year period from the date of recording the outstanding land use fee is exceeded, households and individuals must pay off the remaining amount according to the policy and land price at the time of repayment.

2. There will be no reduction of 2% per year on the land use fee payable for households and individuals who settle their debt ahead of schedule (five years) from the effective date of this Decree.

3. The procedures for settling and clearing the outstanding land use fee for cases stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article shall be implemented in accordance with Clause 5 of Article 1 of this Decree.

4. For households and individuals who were recorded with an outstanding land use fee before the effective date of this Decree but recorded it in gold, property, or other methods not in compliance with the legal provisions at the time of recording, the People's Committee of the province or centrally administered city shall direct the competent agencies to re-determine the debt amount in accordance with the legal provisions in force at each period and implement the settlement and clearance of the outstanding land use fee according to Clause 1 and Clause 3 of this Article.

5. No recording of outstanding land use fees shall be made for households and individuals who have been issued a Certificate of Title or received a Notification from the tax authority regarding the land use fee before the effective date of this Decree but submit a request for recording the outstanding land use fee from the effective date of this Decree onward; except for households and individuals specified in Clause 1 of Article 1 of this Decree.

Article 3. Effectiveness

1. This Decree takes effect from December 10, 2019.

2. Abolish Article 16 of Decree No. 45/2014/NĐ-CP dated May 15, 2014, concerning the collection of land use fees.

Article 4. Responsibilities for Implementation

1. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairmen of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally administered cities, and land users are responsible for implementing this Decree.

2. The People's Committees of provinces and centrally administered cities are responsible for directing the competent agencies of their localities to promptly implement and complete the notification to those still owing land use fees about the recording, settlement, and clearance of outstanding land use fees in accordance with this Decree./.