New regulations of Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP on recording debts of land use fees

I. Legal Documents

- Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP regulating land use fees and land lease fees;

- Decree 79/2019/NĐ-CP amending Article 16 of Decree No. 45/2014/NĐ-CP dated May 15, 2014, of the Government stipulating the collection of land use fees;

- Other relevant legal documents.

II. Analysis of New Regulations in Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP on Recording Land Use Fee Debts

Recording land use fee debts is an administrative procedure that allows individuals or entities allocated land or using land to temporarily defer full payment of the land use fees as determined by the State. This amount will be recorded in the books of the competent state agency, and the land user will have the obligation to pay within a certain period or in a certain form. Facilitating debt recording for people will help them stabilize their lives, thereby contributing to the socio-economic development of the locality. This is especially helpful for households and individuals facing financial difficulties or those who have just been resettled, where the compensation amount is less than the land use fee payable upon allocation of resettlement land. Recording land use fee debts will help them reduce the financial burden in the initial stage.

Land users must carry out the debt recording procedure in accordance with the law when they need to record land use fee debts, specifically in Article 22 of Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP – the latest document of the Government on land use fees and land lease fees, effective from August 1, 2024.

1. Regarding the Eligible Entities for Recording Land Use Fee Debts

According to Clause 1, Article 22 of Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP, the entities eligible for recording land use fee debts, in addition to the contents on the amount of land use fees eligible for debt recording and the debt recording period, are specified in the Decree on compensation, support, and resettlement upon State land acquisition and the Decree on granting certificates.

Specifically, Decree 101/2024/NĐ-CP on granting land use right certificates stipulates in Point a, Clause 11, Article 18 as follows:

"a) Entities eligible for recording land use fee debts when being granted the first Land Use Right Certificate and house ownership certificate attached to land are individuals and households using land who need to record debts, and inheritors in accordance with the law who need to record debts are allowed to continue recording debts;"

In addition, Decree 88/2024/NĐ-CP on compensation, support, and resettlement upon State land acquisition stipulates the entities eligible for recording land use fee debts in Clause 1, Article 26, specifically as follows:

"1. Entities eligible for recording land use fee debts specified in Clause 3, Article 111 of the Land Law are those who are allocated resettlement land where the compensation money for land is less than the land use fee payable when being allocated resettlement land, if they need to record land use fee debts and commit to hand over the ground on schedule."

Meanwhile, the old regulation in Decree 79/2019/NĐ-CP only stipulated that the entities eligible for recording land use fee debts were households and individuals belonging to the group of people with meritorious services to the revolution, poor households; households and individuals who are ethnic minorities; households and individuals with permanent residence in communes recognized as socio-economic difficult areas, socio-economic extremely difficult areas, and the condition for debt recording was that they must fall into the case of being allocated resettlement land when the State recovers land in accordance with the law on land.

Thus, it can be seen that the new regulation has been expanded and more comprehensive for the group of entities eligible for recording land use fee debts, specifically including:

- Individuals and households using land who need to record debts when being granted the first Land Use Right Certificate and house ownership certificate attached to land;

- Inheritors in accordance with the law who need to record debts;

- Those who are allocated resettlement land where the compensation money for land is less than the land use fee payable when being allocated resettlement land, if they need to record land use fee debts.

2. Regarding the Order and Procedures for Recording Land Use Fee Debts for Households and Individuals

2.1. Cases of Recording Land Use Fee Debts

Clause 2, Article 22 of Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP stipulates two cases of recording land use fee debts.

Case 1 – Point a: Cases of recording land use fee debts for resettled individuals as specified in Clause 3, Article 111 of the Land Law.

According to this clause and Clause 3, Article 111 of the 2024 Land Law, resettled individuals are allowed to record debts for land financial obligations if they meet the conditions specified by the Government and need to record land use fee debts. The documents to be submitted include:

- Application for recording land use fee debts;

- Documents proving eligibility for recording land use fee debts;

- Application for a Certificate of Land Use Rights in accordance with the law (including: Resettlement Land Allocation Decision and Compensation, Support, and Resettlement Plan approved by a competent state agency).

The above documents can be submitted at:

- Land Registration Office; or

- Land Management Agency; or

- Interconnected One-Stop Shop.

In which, the new regulation has changed the agencies receiving and processing dossiers compared to the old regulation, including replacing "the Department of Natural Resources and Environment" with "the land management agency" and adding "the inter-connected one-stop-shop", increasing the number of agencies where households and individuals recording land use fee debts can carry out the debt recording procedure, creating more favorable conditions for these subjects.

Case 2 – Point b: Cases of recording land use fee debts not specified in Point a of this clause.

According to this clause, land users carry out the order and procedures for debt recording (if any) as prescribed in the Decree on granting certificates. However, Point c, Clause 11, Article 18 of Decree 101/2024/NĐ-CP stipulates that the order and procedures for recording debts for households and individuals eligible for recording land use fee debts specified in this clause shall be carried out in accordance with the law on collection of land use fees and land lease fees, i.e. Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP. This leads to difficulties in understanding and interpreting the regulations on land use fee debt recording procedures for the subjects specified in this point because the two clauses under two different Decrees refer to each other, while both do not specifically stipulate the documents to be prepared in the dossier or the place to submit the dossier as in Point a, Clause 2, Article 22 above. These are contents that need to be supplemented in detail in the future to avoid causing confusion for people belonging to the group of subjects specified in this point.

2.2. Dossier Processing Process of Competent State Agencies

Pursuant to Point c, Clause 2, Article 22 of Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP, after receiving the dossier of the debt recorder specified in Points a and b of this Clause, the Land Registration Office or the land management agency or the inter-connected one-stop-shop shall review and check the dossier and make a Information Transfer Slip to be sent to the tax agency and relevant agencies as prescribed; in which, the Information Transfer Slip must include the contents on the debt-recorded entity, the land use term eligible for debt recording as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article; and issue an Appointment Letter to the debt recorder as prescribed.

This point has two points to note.

First, the content of the Information Transfer Slip has changed. In the old clause in Decree 79/2019/NĐ-CP, specifically Point b, Clause 4, Article 1, the content required to be included in the Information Transfer Slip only included the amount of compensation for land and support for land that the household or individual received, and no other information was required. Meanwhile, the new regulation has amended and supplemented this content into "the debt-recorded entity" and "the land use term eligible for debt recording as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article", increasing the detail and specificity for the mandatory content of the Information Transfer Slip, creating more favorable conditions for the dossier processing process of competent state agencies as prescribed.

Second, the term of debt-recorded land use has not been clearly defined. According to Clause 1, Article 22, the content "term of recording land use fee debts" is implemented in accordance with Decree 88/2024/NĐ-CP on compensation, support, and resettlement upon State land acquisition, and Decree 101/2024/NĐ-CP on granting land use right certificates. However, the clauses on recording land use fee debts of these two documents do not specifically stipulate the debt recording term. In particular, Clause 5, Article 26 of Decree 88/2024/NĐ-CP even refers back to Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP: "5. Regarding the order and procedures for recording, paying, and deleting land use fee debts for households and individuals eligible for recording land use fee debts specified in Clause 1 of this Article, they shall be implemented in accordance with the law on collection of land use fees and land lease fees." Therefore, it is proposed to supplement specific regulations on the term of recording land use fee debts in Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP, in which one of the two ways of writing "term of recording land use fee debts" or "term of debt-recorded land use" should be selected for consistency in wording, to avoid confusion.

According to Point d, Clause 2, Article 22, based on the Information Transfer Slip transferred by the Land Registration Office or the land management agency or the inter-connected one-stop-shop, the tax agency shall calculate and issue a Notice as prescribed to be sent to the household, individual, the State management agency on land and relevant agencies (if necessary) within no more than five working days from the date of issuance of the notice. The time limit for calculating the amount of land use fees eligible for debt recording has been increased by three days compared to the old regulation, creating conditions for the tax agency to carry out the calculation more accurately. The Notice must include the following contents:

- Total amount of land use fees that the household or individual must pay;

- Amount of land use fees not eligible for debt recording (if any): is the amount of compensation for land, support for land that the household or individual receives;

- Amount of land use fees eligible for debt recording: equals (=) the total amount of land use fees that the household or individual must pay minus (-) the amount of land use fees not eligible for debt recording (if any);

- Time limit for the household or individual to pay money; including:  

+ Time limit for paying the amount of land use fees not eligible for debt recording (if any) according to the time limit prescribed by the law on tax administration: Clause 3, Article 18 of Decree 126/2020/NĐ-CP detailing a number of articles of the 2019 Law on Tax Administration stipulates the time limit for paying land use fees as follows:

"a) At the latest 30 days from the date of issuance of the land use fee payment notice, the land user must pay 50% of the land use fee according to the notice.

b) At the latest 90 days from the date of issuance of the land use fee payment notice, the land user must pay 50% of the remaining land use fee according to the notice.

c) At the latest 30 days from the date of issuance of the Land Use Fee Payment Notice, the land user must pay 100% of the land use fee according to the notice in case of re-determining the amount of land use fee payable exceeding the time limit of 05 years from the date of the decision on allocation of resettlement land that the household or individual has not fully paid the remaining debt of land use fee."

The new regulation on this time limit replaces the old regulation of Decree 79/2019/NĐ-CP, which refers to the time limit specified in Decree 45/2014/NĐ-CP as follows:

"a) Within 30 days from the date of signing the Notice of the tax agency, the land user must pay 50% of the land use fee according to the Notice.

b) Within the next 60 days, the land user must pay 50% of the remaining land use fee according to the Notice."

Thus, the new regulation allows land users to pay the entire amount of land use fees due within 90 days from the date of issuance of the Notice, if possible, instead of dividing it into two installments as in the old regulation. At the same time, the new regulation supplements the payment deadline for cases where the determined amount of land use fees payable under the notice has exceeded five years from the date of the decision on allocation of resettlement land that the household or individual has not fully paid the remaining land use fee debt.

The deadline for paying the recorded land use fee under the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article: As mentioned, Clause 1 of Article 22 does not have clear provisions on the deadline for recording land use fee debts. Therefore, it is proposed to supplement more specific regulations on the deadline for paying this amount.

The next new point lies in the agencies responsible for collecting land use fees according to the Tax Agency's Notice and providing receipts to households and individuals. According to Point dd, Clause 4, Article 1 of Decree 79/2019/NĐ-CP, these agencies include the State Treasury or units authorized by the State Treasury to collect, while Point e, Clause 2, Article 22 of Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP stipulates that these agencies include state budget revenue collection agencies in accordance with the law on tax administration.

Clause 1, Article 55 of the 2015 State Budget Law stipulates the following regarding state budget revenue collection agencies and the State Treasury:

"1. State budget revenue collection agencies are financial agencies, tax agencies, customs agencies and other agencies authorized or entrusted by competent state agencies to organize the performance of state budget revenue collection tasks.

2. Only state budget revenue collection agencies are allowed to organize state budget collection.

... 4. The State Treasury is allowed to open accounts at the State Bank of Vietnam and commercial banks to concentrate state budget revenues; fully and promptly account for revenues into the budget, regulate revenues for budgets at all levels in accordance with regulations."

Thus, the State Treasury is not a competent state budget revenue collection agency. Therefore, the amendment of regulations on agencies responsible for collecting land use fees helps people pay money correctly at places with the authority to collect state budget revenues in accordance with the law. In addition, when these agencies collect land use fees according to the Tax Agency's Notice and provide receipts to households and individuals, they must simultaneously transfer information on the collected amounts from households and individuals to relevant agencies as prescribed.

3. Regarding the Order and Procedures for Payment and Debt Cancellation of Land Use Fees for Households and Individuals Eligible for Debt Recording

3.1. Order and Procedures for Payment of Land Use Fees for Households and Individuals Eligible for Debt Recording

Point a, Clause 3, Article 22 of Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP stipulates:

"a) Based on the debt recording term as prescribed in the Decree on compensation, support, and resettlement upon State land acquisition, the Decree on granting certificates, households and individuals shall pay off the land use fee debt by making a one-time payment of the remaining land use fees into the state budget in accordance with the law on tax administration."

As mentioned, the debt recording term in the regulations on recording land use fee debts in Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP, Decree 88/2024/NĐ-CP, and Decree 101/2024/NĐ-CP are not specified. Meanwhile, Clause 5, Article 1 of Decree 79/2019/NĐ-CP clearly stipulates the deadline for paying land use fee debts, although it only applies to the group of resettled individuals:

"a) Based on the Notice of the tax agency, households and individuals shall gradually pay the remaining land use fees at the treasury within 05 years from the date of the resettlement land allocation decision of the competent state agency; ensuring that by the end of the 05-year period, the entire remaining land use fee debt is paid off. In case the Notice of the tax agency is lost or misplaced within the 05-year period, the household or individual shall go to the tax agency to be re-issued the Notice."

At the same time, the old clause also includes cases of late payment for households and individuals allocated resettlement land:

"b) After the expiry of 05 years from the date of the resettlement land allocation decision, if the remaining land use fee debt has not been fully paid, the household or individual shall go to the tax agency to re-determine the remaining land use fee debt, the late payment fee calculated on the remaining debt (determined from the time of expiry of 05 years from the date of the resettlement land allocation decision of the competent state agency to the time the household or individual goes to the tax agency to re-determine) and receive the Notice of the tax agency on the same working day. The Notice of the tax agency must include: The remaining land use fee debt, the late payment fee; the deadline for payment to the treasury is 30 days from the date written on the Notice. If the household or individual has not paid in full by the deadline stated on the Tax Agency's Notice, the remaining land use fee debt and late payment fee must be re-determined as prescribed above."

In addition, the new regulation clearly states the responsibilities of relevant agencies, including:

- The state budget revenue collection agency in accordance with the law on tax administration is responsible for collecting the remaining land use fees according to the debt recorded on the Certificate or the Tax Agency's Notice and providing receipts to households and individuals; and simultaneously transferring information on the collected amounts from households and individuals to relevant agencies as prescribed.

- The tax agency shall issue a Notice on confirming the fulfillment of financial obligations on collection of land use fees according to Form No. 03 in Appendix I issued together with this Decree.

3.2. Order and Procedures for Debt Cancellation of Land Use Fees for Households and Individuals Eligible for Debt Recording

The new regulations on the order and procedures for debt cancellation of land use fees for households and individuals eligible for debt recording in Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP have only a few changes compared to the old regulations.

First, supplementing the documents to be submitted for the land use fee debt cancellation procedure, specifically the Notice on confirming the fulfillment of financial obligations on collection of land use fees (original copy), in addition to the Certificate (original copy) and land use fee payment receipts (original copy) that were already available in the old regulations.

Second, in case of loss or misplacement of receipts, the household or individual shall go to the state budget revenue collection agency in accordance with the law on tax administration to be certified the amount of land use fees paid, not the state treasury as prescribed in the old regulations.

Third, changing the time limit for the Land Registration Office or the land management agency or the inter-connected one-stop-shop to review and compare the dossiers submitted by households and individuals to carry out the cancellation of land use fee debts recorded on the Certificate and return the Certificate to households and individuals from "immediately on the working day" to "01 working day from the date the household or individual submits the dossier at Point b of this Clause."

Fourth, removing the following clause: "6. Households and individuals eligible for recording land use fee debts must pay in full the remaining land use fee debts and late payment fees (if any) before transferring, donating, mortgaging, guaranteeing, or contributing capital with land use rights. In case of inheritance of land use rights in accordance with the law without paying off land use fee debts, the heir is responsible for continuing to pay land use fee debts as prescribed."

III. Conclusion

The regulations on recording land use fee debts in Decree 103/2024/NĐ-CP have had certain additions and changes compared to the old regulations in Decree 79/2019/NĐ-CP. In addition to the more specific clauses such as the entities eligible for recording land use fee debts, some points in the order and procedures for recording, paying, and canceling debts, there are still ambiguities and difficulties in understanding in some regulations on the term of recording land use fee debts and debt recording procedures for those who are not allocated resettlement land under Clause 3, Article 111 of the Land Law. Therefore, amendments and supplements to these clauses are needed.

Author: Legal Service Department - Brandco Law Firm