On the Government Portal, citizens wondered:
Ms. V.T.G's family (Dien Bien) has a self-reclaimed land plot, which was granted a Certificate for the purpose of rice land, the Certificate is valid until 2000. In 2015, the family voluntarily lowered the ground to dig a pond to raise fish (without the intervention of local authorities).
By 2023, Ms. G's family did not release fish but returned to cultivating rice (without restoring the ground). Ms. G asked, at the present time, what type of land is that land plot identified as?
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment answers this question as follows:
Regarding the determination of land type of land plots, according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 11 of the 2013 Land Law and the provisions of Point a, Clause 1, Article 10 of the 2024 Land Law, the determination of land type for land plots that have been granted a Certificate of Land Use Rights is based on the issued Certificate.
According to the information she provided, the land plot has been granted a Certificate of Land Use Rights with the purpose of using it as rice land. Therefore, up to the present time, the above-mentioned land plot is identified as rice land according to the issued Certificate of Land Use Rights.
The family's self-degradation of the ground, digging ponds to raise fish from 2015 without permission from competent state agencies to change the purpose (stipulated in point a, clause 1, Article 57 of the 2013 Land Law and point a, clause 1, Article 121 of the 2024 Land Law) is not ensuring the principles of land use specified in Article 5 of the 2024 Land Law.
Regarding the current state of land use and the responsibility for restoring the state of land, according to the provisions of point a, clause 1, Article 121 of the 2024 Land Law, the conversion of rice land to aquaculture land is a case of changing land use purposes that must be permitted by a competent state agency.
According to the provisions of Article 182 of the 2024 Land Law and the detailed provisions of Decree No. 112/2024/ND-CP dated September 11, 2024 of the Government detailing rice land, rice land users are allowed to convert the crop and livestock structure on rice land but must ensure that they do not lose the necessary conditions to grow rice again, do not deform the ground, do not cause pollution and degradation of rice land, and must register with the commune-level People's Committee where the land is located.
The fact that the family has returned to rice cultivation since 2023 is consistent with the land use purpose stated in the Certificate of Land Use Rights. However, because the ground has not been restored, the current status of the land plot does not ensure the necessary conditions for rice land; the family is responsible for restoring the original state of the land according to the provisions of law.
Regarding the land use term, according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 126 of the 2013 Land Law, the term for land allocation and recognition of agricultural land use rights for households and individuals directly engaged in agricultural production according to the provisions of Clause 1, Clause 2, Point b, Clause 3, Clause 4 and Clause 5 of Article 129 of this Law is 50 years. When the term expires, households and individuals directly engaged in agricultural production, if they have a need, can continue to use the land according to the term specified in this clause. In this case, households and individuals must carry out procedures to extend the land use term according to the provisions of Article 74 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP dated May 15, 2014 of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Land Law (which has expired).
Up to now, according to the provisions of point a, clause 1, Article 172 of the 2024 Land Law, the term for land allocation and recognition of agricultural land use rights for individuals directly engaged in agricultural production using annual crop land (including rice land) within the limits specified in Article 176 of the 2024 Land Law is 50 years; when the land use term expires, they are allowed to continue using land according to the term specified in this point without having to carry out extension procedures.
Because the content you provided is incomplete information about the cadastral records and the specific current status of the land plot, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment requests you to contact the commune-level People's Committee where the land is located to inspect the current status of land use, guide the restoration of the ground and resolve it according to the authority prescribed by law. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment informs you to know and study the implementation.
