Proposal to sharply reduce additional fees
The key content in the comments of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA) is the proposal to amend Clause 2, Article 50 and Clause 9, Article 51 of Decree 103/2024/ND-CP.
HoREA proposes to reduce the collection of land use fees and additional land rents from 5.4%/year to only 0.5%/year, calculated on the land use fee payable.
According to Mr. Le Hoang Chau - Chairman of HoREA, the rate of 5.4%/year is too high, "processive", not in accordance with current legal regulations and puts additional financial pressure on businesses and people.
Mr. Chau gave specific examples: A project that has been allocated land since 1995, if calculated at 5.4%/year for 30 years, the additional amount to be paid is up to 162 billion VND - higher than the original land use fee. Meanwhile, if 0.5%/year is applied, this amount will be only 15 billion VND.
HoREA also pointed out that these additional cases are mostly related to the old regulations in the Land Laws of 1993, 2003 and 2013, when there were no regulations on this financial obligation. Therefore, the application of hoi to is not in accordance with the principles of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents 2025.
Proposal to adjust land use fee calculation prices for people
Regarding the land use fee of households and individuals when changing land use purposes or applying for a "red book", HoREA proposes to amend Clause 1, Article 5 of the Decree.
The Association proposes to apply a calculation of 20% of the land price for the land area within the limit and 30% for the area exceeding the limit. This level is lower than the proposed 30%-50% option.
According to HoREA, the current land use fee calculation mechanism has caused many people to be unable to legalize real estate due to high costs. In some cases, they have to pay from 1.7 to 4.5 billion VND, leading to withdrawing the documents or accepting to use the land without a certificate.
Proposal to reduce the rate of land rental units to suit reality
In addition, HoREA also proposed to reduce the annual land rental price percentage from the current 0.25% - 3% to 0.25% - 1.5%. This adjustment level is to create conditions for localities to issue fees in accordance with the reality and financial capacity of enterprises, especially in the context of the newly adjusted land price list having increased from 2 to nearly 40 times in Ho Chi Minh City.
Mr. Chau said that the increase in land rental prices has shocked many businesses. There was a case of warehouse rental in Ho Chi Minh City, which had its rental cost increased to more than 20 billion VND/year, affecting logistics activities, causing increased cost of goods and reducing the competitiveness of the economy.
Regarding the responsibility for the delay in determining financial obligations, HoREA emphasized that businesses are not at fault if the state agency has not notified them of the amount to be paid. The only case where a business is considered a violator is when it has been notified but does not submit within the deadline. Therefore, blaming businesses in cases that last for many years is not feasible.
In the long term, HoREA recommends amending Point d, Clause 2, Article 257 of the 2024 Land Law to abolish the regulation that the Government is allowed to request additional payment of an amount not previously calculated. This is to ensure consistency in the legal system, avoiding overlap and unreasonable prosecution.
HoREA highly appreciated the Ministry of Finance's listening to and accepting opinions from the business community and associations, and called on drafting agencies to continue reviewing and adjusting to make land policies increasingly reasonable, transparent and reduce the burden on people and businesses.
