The Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Ho Chi Minh City has just submitted a draft decision of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to adjust the land lease decision (Decision No. 5918 dated December 4, 2014) of Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens Company Limited.
According to the draft, Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens Company Limited will be assigned to manage and use 164,702 m2 for public purposes (manure and maintenance of trees, conservation of rare plants and animals, and responsibility for education and scientific research functions...).
For public land area (with business purposes such as: parking lot for tourists, beverage stall, food area, playground, office...) of 5,875 m2, Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens Company Limited will lease it for annual payment.
Currently, the draft decision submission of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment is being consulted by relevant departments and branches.
Saigon Zoo is a 100% state-owned company under the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee. In 2010, this unit changed to LLC. In December 2014, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee issued Decision No. 5918 to the Zoo and Botanical Gardens to lease 158,117 m2 of land for public purposes, for a term of 50 years, with annual rental payments.
Regarding the first stable 5-year cyclical land rental price from December 4, 2014 to December 3, 2019, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has not determined and has not proposed for the Department of Finance to appraise and submit to the Ho Chi Minh City Land Valuation Council for consideration and submission to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee for decision.
Therefore, District 1 Tax Department has not issued a notice of land rent collection for the 5-year period of payment to the state budget according to regulations, due to insufficient basis to determine land rental unit prices. From 2021 onwards, District 1 Tax Department will issue a decision to collect land use fees at a unit price of more than VND 1,000,000/m2.
The total amount of land rent that the Zoo and Botanical Gardens must pay annually is 163 billion VND. As of October 2024, the land rent owed by the Zoo and Botanical Gardens is VND 864 billion, of which the overdue amount to be enforced for tax debt enforcement is more than VND 787 billion.
According to the 2024 Land Law, land used for public purposes includes land for entertainment, recreation, and community activities. According to Decree 102 of 2024, guiding the Land Law, land for construction of works or without works but is mainly identified as for public entertainment activities, including parks, flower gardens, beaches and areas for other public entertainment.
Accordingly, the Land Law also stipulates that land for construction of public works with business purposes is subject to land lease.
The land management agency has signed a land lease contract with Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens, the leased area is the entire campus of nearly 16 hectares of land, the type of land is land for construction of public works with business. However, in reality, land used for business by the Zoo and Botanical Gardens accounts for a very small proportion of the entire land.
Therefore, there have been many opinions that if the entire area is considered public land for business, it will be disadvantageous for this enterprise. In addition, Ho Chi Minh City needs to have a special mechanism to resolve the debt of VND800 billion in land rent under a valid contract.
