Additional payment of land use fees: Need for a balanced solution

VTV.vn - The Department of Finance has just rejected Empire City's proposal to force it to pay an additional VND5,000 billion in land use fees; experts call for a balance of interests between the State and investors.

For many projects, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance requires additional payment of land use fees. Experts say that a solution is needed to balance the interests of the State and investors.

In the context that Ho Chi Minh City is trying to attract investment to promote real estate development, the Department of Finance has just rejected the proposal of the Empire City investor and forced to pay an additional 5,000 billion VND in land use fees according to the inspection conclusion, many experts said that we should find a solution to balance the interests of the State and investors.

The Department affirms that it followed the correct procedure.

In the context of the Ho Chi Minh City real estate market facing a series of persistent legal problems in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area, the latest decision from the Department of Finance on the Empire City project has become the center of attention. The City Land Valuation Council, after a rigorous review process, has agreed on a pricing plan for land lots from 2-13 to 2-21 in the Thu Thiem Functional Area.

This result requires the investor to add more than VND5,000 billion compared to the initial calculation, pushing the total financial obligation to VND8,819 billion. This is one of the highest adjustments since the city implemented measures to remove difficulties for the Thu Thiem project, reflecting efforts to ensure fairness in the management of public land resources.

Pay additional land use fees to ensure legal revenue for the budget, serve infrastructure development and social welfare in Ho Chi Minh City.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance affirmed that the entire process complied with legal regulations, with the coordination of the Department of Agriculture and Environment and the Land Valuation Council. Therefore, this agency believes that "there is no basis" to consider the request from the business.

According to the Department of Finance, up to now, the Department has not recorded any similar cases, showing that this is an isolated but necessary decision. Regarding solutions to speed up progress, the representative of the Department of Finance emphasized that Decision 1361/QD-HDTĐGĐ and 1362/QD-HDTĐGĐ issued on September 9, 2025 have clarified responsibilities, procedures and processing time limits, eliminating the backlog of documents.

On the investor side, the Imperial City Joint Venture Company Limited has sent a document to the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, proposing to redefine additional financial obligations. According to the company, in 2016, the city allocated more than 11 hectares of land in Thu Thiem for a term of 50 years, and by early 2017, they had completed paying nearly VND3,600 billion. The land allocation decision clearly stated that no additional payment was required when changing the form of land lease with one-time payment to land allocation with land use fee collection. Based on that, the project has completed three clusters of works with about 1,200 apartments handed over to residents.

However, since 2019, operations have been stagnant due to the Government Inspectorate's conclusion on additional financial obligations. Recently, the proposal to collect more than VND 8,800 billion, 2.46 times the amount paid, has made businesses worry that the total cost will skyrocket to billions of USD, exceeding their financial capacity and risking international disputes.

The requirement to pay additional land use fees at Empire City is not only a financial issue but also a lesson in protecting public interests in land management. According to conclusion 1037/KL-TTCP of the Government Inspectorate in 2019, the initial land price calculation with a unit price of 26 million VND/m² is not in accordance with regulations, leading to loss of state budget.

The adjustment to a total of VND 8,819 billion, with an additional VND 5,238 billion, aims to correct this error, ensure legal revenue for the budget, serve infrastructure development and social welfare in Ho Chi Minh City. This is consistent with the spirit of the 2024 Land Law and Decree 71/2024/ND-CP, overcome old shortcomings in land valuation, create convenience but still maintain transparency.

Need a balanced solution

Regarding the above issue, Mr. Le Hoang Chau, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association (HoREA), commented that the supplementary fee is too high, with an interest rate of 5.4%/year, which is an unreasonable burden, especially when the old law in 2013 did not stipulate a supplementary payment for the period of time when land fees were not calculated. Mr. Chau proposed to reduce it to 3.6%/year and allow offset if the enterprise is not at fault, to avoid affecting the investment environment. HoREA also proposed to amend the Resolution on the policy mechanism for implementing the Land Law, only applying supplementary payment when the land user is at fault, and at the same time allowing offset of the amount paid to ensure fairness.

The State needs to consider introducing a reasonable additional tax rate to ensure revenue sources as well as reduce pressure on investors.

Mr. Tran Khanh Quang, a real estate expert, said that in the context that Ho Chi Minh City is promoting and attracting investment for many development projects, requiring additional payment of land use fees is unreasonable. In fact, investors have fulfilled their land use fee obligations, but for objective reasons that are not the investors' fault, there is an additional fee. Therefore, it is necessary to consider imposing a reasonable additional fee to ensure revenue as well as reduce financial pressure on investors. "In this way, the policy will become fairer, promoting harmony between public and private interests, contributing to the sustainable prosperity of the city," Mr. Quang analyzed.

Empire City, with an investment capital of 1.2 billion USD, is a joint venture between Tien Phuoc, Tran Thai, Keppel Land (Singapore) and Gaw Capital Partners (Hong Kong), announced in 2015. The planning of the complex along the Saigon River includes a commercial center, hotel, office and apartment, with an 86-88-storey tower expected to be the tallest in Vietnam. After nearly a decade, only the residential part has been completed, the other items are still unfinished.

Source: https://vtv.vn/nop-bo-sung-tien-su-dung-dat-can-giai-phap-can-bang-100250930112822909.htm