Mr. P.N. T in Hanoi reflected that in 2000, he bought a house that had 3 previous owners. The land had enough land tax payment receipts from before October 15, 1993 to 2025. The owner was a land reform official, was allocated land to build houses, then lent land to the vegetable cooperative, and then was returned full use rights in 1987.
The land plot has a copy of the cooperative paper confirming the return of land, with a map of houses, kitchens and area in 1987; a handwritten copy of the purchase and sale paper in 1988, with the Ward People's Committee stamp confirming from the original; handwritten transfer papers original in 1994, 1998 and 2000. The land plot has an area of 118 m2 in inner Hanoi, used stably for long-term living.
According to the land registration results of Mr. T's house in 2017, the old owner built the house before 1993. Mr. T asked, based on the 2024 Land Law, is it true that his house is granted a red book according to Clause 7, Article 137 and is exempt from land use fees?
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment answers this question as follows:
The content of his reflection is a specific case under the jurisdiction of the locality. The Ministry states a number of principles as follows:
The issuance of certificates of land use rights and ownership of assets attached to land for the first time to households and individuals using land with land use rights documents has been stipulated in Article 137 of the Land Law.
The order and procedures for registering land and assets attached to land for the first time and issuing certificates of land use rights and ownership of assets attached to land for the first time for individuals and households currently using land are specified in Section II, Section V, Content C, Part V, Appendix I issued together with Decree No. 151/2025/ND-CP dated June 12, 2025 of the Government stipulating the authority of local authorities at 2 levels, parts of rights, and decentralization in the field of land.
Regarding land use fee exemption, Article 9 of Decree No. 103/2024/ND-CP dated July 30, 2024 of the Government on land use fees and land rent stipulates the calculation of land use fees when issuing Certificates for cases of households and individuals using land with land use rights documents specified in Clauses 4, 5, 6 and 7 Article 137 of the Land Law:
Households and individuals subject to the case of being granted Certificates according to the provisions of Clause 4, Article 137 of the Land Law that have not paid land use fees, the land use fee is calculated as follows:
In case the competent state agency has issued a notice of land use fee payment but the land user has not paid, they must now pay the land use fee according to the notified amount; and must also pay late payment interest for land use fees according to the provisions of law on tax management corresponding to each period.
In case the competent state agency has not issued a notice of land use fee payment as prescribed, then the land use fee payable and the additional payment are now calculated according to the principles specified in Clause 2, Article 257 of the Land Law and the provisions in Clause 2, Article 50 of this Decree; in which, the time of calculation of land use fees is determined according to the time recorded on the land use right paper as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 137 of the Land Law. In case the time on the land use right paper is before January 1, 2005, the land use fee is calculated according to the land price of 2005 in the Land Price List.
In case the land use fee and the additional amount to be paid specified in this point exceed the land use fee calculated according to the policy and land price at the time of submitting a valid dossier to apply for a certificate according to the provisions of law, it shall be calculated according to the land price and policy at the time of submitting a valid dossier.
Households and individuals subject to the case of being granted Certificates according to the provisions of Clause 5, Article 137 of the Land Law must fulfill obligations on taxes, fees, and charges (if any) according to the provisions of the law on taxes, fees, and charges. Specifically, for cases where the person whose name is recorded on land use right papers according to the provisions of Clause 4, Article 137 of the Land Law has not paid land use fees, in addition to the obligations on taxes, fees, and charges, households and individuals requesting Certificate issuance must also pay land use fees calculated according to the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article.
Households and individuals subject to the case of being granted certificates according to the provisions of Clause 6, Article 137 of the Land Law that in judgments, decisions of the Court, decisions or rulings of Vietnamese commercial arbitration, decisions on judgment enforcement of judgment enforcement agencies, decisions on resolving disputes, complaints, and denunciations about land of competent state agencies have contents resolving land use fees, then they shall implement according to that document.
In case the above documents do not have content resolving land use fees, depending on the origin, documents, and time of land use, the calculation of land use fees, taxes, fees, and charges (if any) shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 6, Article 137 of the Land Law and the corresponding provisions in Clauses 1, 2 and 4, Article 9, Articles 10, 11, 12 and 13 of this Decree.
Households and individuals subject to the case of being granted certificates according to the provisions of Clause 7, Article 137 of the Land Law, the land use fee is calculated as follows:
In case households and individuals are granted Certificates according to the provisions of Clauses 1, 2 and 3, Article 137 of the Land Law without having to pay land use fees, when granted Certificates, they must fulfill tax, fee, and charge obligations in accordance with the law on taxes, fees, and related laws.
In case households and individuals are granted Certificates according to the provisions of Clauses 4 and 5, Article 137 of the Land Law, but the transferor has not paid land use fees, in addition to having to fulfill obligations on taxes, fees, and charges according to the provisions of law on lease, fees, and charges and related laws, households and individuals requesting Certificate issuance must also pay land use fees calculated according to the provisions of Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.
Therefore, to have a basis to determine whether they are eligible for land use fee exemption or not, it must be based on the origin of land use when considering issuing land use right certificates according to the provisions of Article 137 of the Land Law.
