Decree 123/2024/ND-CP sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of land

DECREE

Providing for the sanctioning of administrative violations
in the field of land

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Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations dated June 20, 2012; the Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations dated November 13, 2020;

Pursuant to the Law on Land dated January 18, 2024; the Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Land Law No. 31/2024/QH15, Housing Law No. 27/2023/QH15, Law No. 29/2023/QH15 on Real Estate Business and Law No. 32/2024/QH15 on Credit Institutions dated June 29, 2024;

At the request of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment;

The Government promulgates the Decree providing for the sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of land.

Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Decree provides for administrative violations in the field of land (including completed and in-progress administrative violations); sanctions, sanctioning levels and remedial measures, competence to make written records of administrative violations, entities subject to sanctioning of administrative violations; sanctioning competence of administrative violations in the field of land, including violations in land use and violations in the implementation of land-related services.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Organizations and individuals committing acts of administrative violation prescribed in this Decree which occur in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, except for cases in which treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party provide for other provisions, including:

a) Domestic individuals and overseas Vietnamese who are Vietnamese citizens, foreign individuals, people of Vietnamese origin residing abroad (below collectively referred to as individuals);

b) Households, residential communities (who shall be sanctioned as for individual violators);

c) Domestic organizations, foreign organizations, foreign-invested economic organizations, religious organizations and dependent religious organization.

2. Agencies, persons competent to impose sanctions and organizations and individuals related to sanctioning of administrative sanction as prescribed in this Decree.

Article 3. Statute of limitations for sanctioning of administrative violations

1. The statute of limitations for sanctioning an administrative violation in the field of land is 2 years.

2. The statute of limitations for sanctioning an administrative violation is counted as follows:

a) For an completed act of administrative violation specified in Clause 3 of this Article, the statute of limitations is counted from the time when the violation stops;

b) For acts of administrative violation other than those defined in Clause 3 of this Article that are in-progress administrative violations, the statute of limitations is counted from the time the violation is detected by a person competent to perform duty.

3. The time of termination of the violation shall be determined as follows:

a) For the acts specified in Articles 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 of this Decree, the time of termination of the violation is the time when the relevant parties have fulfilled their obligations under the signed contracts or transaction documents;

b) For the acts specified in Articles 14, 24, 26 and 27 of this Decree, the time of termination of the violation is the time when the activities of that violation have been completed;

c) For the acts specified in Article 28 of this Decree, the time of termination of the violation is the time when the provision of inaccurate information, papers and documents has been completed or when the deadline requested by the inspection or examination agency has expired but the violators fail to provide information, papers and documents to the organization or individual performing the task of inspection, examination and settlement of land-related disputes in accordance with law regulations.

4. Households or individuals using land before October 15, 1993 for which there is no document of handling of violation by a competent state agency before the effective date of the 2024 Land Law shall not be settled under this Decree.

Article 4. Forms of administrative sanction and remedial measures

1. Forms of administrative sanction include:

a) Warning;

b) Fine.

2. Additional sanctions include:

a) Confiscation of documents with erased, modified or falsified contents; forged documents used in land use;

b) Deprivation of the right to use consulting practice certificates or licenses for a definite time of between 6 to 9 months; or suspension of consulting service operation for a definite time of between 9 to 12 months.

3. Remedial measures:

In addition to the remedial measures prescribed at Point a and Point i Clause 1 Article 28 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations, depending on the nature and seriousness of violations, the violators may also be subject to one or several remedial measures as follows:

a) Forcible land registration;

b) Forcible implementation of procedures to get approval for large-scale concentrated livestock farming projects;

c) Forcible fulfillment of all financial obligations and implementation of procedures for being entitled to on-site land handover;

d) Requiring the transferee, lessee, sub-lessee, capital contribution recipient, or recipient of land-attached assets to return the land;

dd) Forcible termination of contracts for lease, sublease, mortgage, conversion, contribution as capital, purchase and sale of land-attached assets; purchase and sale of land-attached assets and the lease right in land lease contracts;

e) Forcible preparation of agricultural land use plan for organizations acquiring agricultural land use rights;

g) Forcible establishment of an economic organization and formulation of a plan on use of paddy land, for individuals not directly engaged in agricultural production who acquire the use rights of paddy land in excess of the quotas;

h) Forcible return of land-attached assets and the lease right in land lease contracts;

i) Forcible re-signing of land lease contracts;

k) Forcible submission of dossiers of application for approval from the provincial-level People's Committees on negotiation on acquisition of land use rights for implementation of projects;

l) Forcible putting of land into use;

m) Forcible submission of dossiers for implementation of procedures for shifting to the form of land lease in accordance with law regulations on land;

n) Cancellation of results of land-related administrative procedure performance;

o) Forcible provision, re-provision of information, papers, documents.

Article 5. Fine levels and sanctioning competence

1. Maximum fine levels applicable to acts of administrative violation as prescribed in this Decree shall not exceed the maximum fine levels specified by the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations.

2. The fine levels prescribed in Chapter II of this Decree shall be imposed on individuals (except for Clauses 4, 5, 6 Article 18, Clause 1 Article 19, Point b Clause 1 and Clause 4 Article 20, Article 22, Clauses 2 and 3 Article 29 of this Decree). For the same administrative violation, the fine levels to be imposed on organizations are two times those to be imposed on individuals.

3. The determination of specific fine levels must be based on the fines for each act specified in this Decree, extenuating as well as aggravating circumstances as defined by the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations and Decree on guiding the implementation of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations.

4. The level of fines by the competence prescribed in Articles 30 and 31 of this Decree shall be imposed to the acts of administrative violation of individuals. The level of fines by the competence to be imposed to the acts of administrative violation of organizations are two times those to be imposed on individuals.

5. The sanctioning of administrative violations and application of remedial measures in cases of transactions on land use rights transfer, lease, sublease, and capital contribution using land use rights shall be implemented as follows:

a) In case an administrative violation occurs before the transfer of land use rights, the land use rights transferor shall be administratively sanctioned and must take remedial measures for the act of violation committed by him/her in accordance with regulations. In case the transferor is a dissolved or bankrupt organization, or an individual who has died without an heir, or has moved to another place and is confirmed by the People's Committee of the commune where the land is located that his/her address cannot be determined at the time of detecting of the act of violation, and the land is not subject to land recovery by the State, the transferee shall not be administratively sanctioned but must take remedial measures for the consequences caused by the transferor.

The transferee shall be administratively sanctioned and must take remedial measures for the acts of violation committed by himself/herself/itself (if any);

b) In case of land use rights conversion without land-related change registration, both parties converting land use rights shall be subject to sanctioning of administrative violations;

c) In case of transfer, inheritance or donation of land use rights or contribution of land use rights as capital without land-related change registration, the transferee shall be subject to sanctioning of administrative violations;

d) In case of leasing, subleasing, or mortgaging land use rights without meeting the conditions or without registering land changes, the sanctioning of administrative violation shall be imposed on the person who leased, subleasing, or mortgaged the land use rights.

Article 6. Determination of illicit profits

1. Illicit profits are profits calculated in money that organizations and individuals committing acts of administrative violation in the field of land earned through land use after the violations and must be remitted into the state budget.

In case an act of violation is committed by many organizations or individuals on the same land parcel, the illicit profits to be collected shall be divided equally among the violating organizations and individuals.

2. The determination of the amount of illegal profit for each specific act of violation must be based on the area of ​​land affected by the violation and the time of violation, specifically as follows:

a) For the acts of improperly using land prescribed in Articles 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of this Decree, the illegal profit shall be equal to the difference between the value of land use rights of the land type after the violation compared to the value of land use rights of the land type before the violation, calculated according to the following formula:

G (1,2) = Land area with violation (x) The land price determined by the land price list;

The area of land and land price are determined at the time of making the written record of administrative violation;

The land type before the violation is determined in accordance with Article 10 of the Land Law; the land type after the violation is determined according to the current status at the time of making the written record of administrative violation;

The number of years of violation is counted from the time of land use at another purpose to the time of making the written record of administrative violation.

b) The illegal profit from the act of land encroachment or land occupation as prescribed in Article 13 of this Decree is determined by the land use right value of the encroached or occupied land area, calculated according to the following formula:

The area of land and land price are determined at the time of making the written record of administrative violation;

The type of land with violation is the land type after land encroachment or land occupation and determined by current status of the land being used at the time of making the written record of administrative violation;

The number of years of violation is counted from the time of land encroachment or occupation to the time of making the written record of administrative violation;

In case the land price of land area with violation after land encroachment or land occupation has not been defined in the land price list, the land price of land parcel of the same land type after land encroachment or occupation at the location closest to the land area with violation shall be used to determine the illicit profits;

In case of encroachment or occupation of unused land but not yet used for the purposes stated in the land price list, the competent agency or person shall determine the illicit profits based on the actual case, evidence, documents and papers (if any).

c) For the acts of transferring land use rights or contributing capital using land use rights that does not meet the conditions, the illicit profits shall be determined by the actual value of the transfer of land use rights or contribution of land use rights as capital according to the signed contract, but not lower than the value calculated according to the land price in the land price list at the time of making the written record of administrative violation and be calculated according to the following formula:

The number of years of violation is counted from the time of signing the contract for transfer or contribution of land use rights as capital to the time of making the written record of administrative violation.

d) In case the act of leasing or subleasing land use rights fails to meet the conditions, the illicit profits shall be determined illicit profits of the land lease or sublease under the signed contracts during the period of land lease or sublease, but not lower than the value of land rental payment determined by the land rental unit price with annual payments at the time of making the record of administrative violations and shall be calculated by the following formula:

Illicit profits earned through the commission of administrative violations = The land area with violation (x) land rental unit price with annual payments (x) Number of years of violation.

The number of years of violation is counted from the time of signing the contract for transfer or contribution of land use rights as capital to the time of making the written record of administrative violation.

dd) If transfer of land use rights, lease, sublease of land use rights, or the lease right in land lease contracts as prescribed in this Decree are conducted and the amount payable from such transactions (if any) are remitted into the state budget, the illicit profits shall be determined on the amount of profits calculated by fomulas prescribed at Point c and Point d of this Clause minus (-) the amount remitted into the state budget.

e) For the time used for calculation of the number of years of violation in cases with fractional days and/or months, the number of such fractional days and/or months shall be converted, in which a day shall be equal to 0.0028 years.

Article 7. Determination of the land areas with violation and the original state of the land before commission of violation

1. The land areas with violation in the cases as prescribed in this Decree are determined as follows:

a) In case a violation occurs on the whole area of ​​the land parcel and there are related cadastral maps, the cadastral maps shall be used for determining the land area with violation; in case there is no cadastral map but another map already used for land management in the locality, that map shall be used for determining the land area with violation.

b) In case the land areas with violation is located in places where there is no map specified at Point a of this Clause or the violation occurs on a part of the land parcel, the person competent to make a record of administrative violation shall be responsible for determining the determine the scope, boundaries and boundary markers for determination of the land areas with violation and state them in the record of administrative violation.

In case the land areas with violation do not allow manual measurement methods, a consulting unit with geodesic function may be hired to determine the land areas with violation.

If those who commit violations do not agree with the measurement of the person competent to make a record of administrative violation, they shall be allowed to hire other geodesic functional units to determine the land areas with violation.

Expenses for hiring such consulting unit with geodesic function for determination of the land areas with violation defined at this Point shall be paid by violators.

2. The original state of the land before commission of violation shall be determined by the land user, land type specified in Article 9 of the Land Law and by the current land use status before commission of the violation (terrain, topography, constructions on the land) and recorded in the record on administrative violation.

The original state of the land before commission of violation shall be determined based on dossiers and documents showing the original state of the land before commission of violation. In case there are no relevant dossiers or documents, the person competent to make a record on administrative violation shall be responsible for verifying the original state of the land before commission of violation based on the opinions of the violator and the commune-level People's Committee.

Chapter II
ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS, SANCTIONING FORMS, FINE LEVELS AND REMEDIAL MEASURES

Article 8. Repurposing paddy land to land other types without permission of a competent state agency

1. For the act of repurposing paddy land to agricultural land of other types, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.5 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 1 ha and under 3 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 3 ha or more.

2. For the act of repurposing paddy land to non-agricultural land (other than residential land) within the administrative boundaries of communes, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.05 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 1 ha and under 2 ha;

e) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 2 ha or more.

3. For the act of repurposing paddy land to residential land within the administrative boundaries of communes, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.01 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.01 ha and under 0.03 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.03 ha and under 0.05 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 0.1 ha or more.

4. For the act of repurposing paddy land to non-agricultural land within the administrative boundaries of wards or townships, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be equal to two times those defined in Clause 2 and Clause 3 of this Article.

5. Remedial measures:

a) Forcible restoration of the original state of the land before commission of violation, except for cases defined in Clause 3 Article 139 of the Land Law;

b) Forcible refund of illicit profits earned through the commission of acts of administrative violation.

Article 9. Repurposing special-use forest land, protection forest land, and production forest land to land other types without permission of a competent state agency

1. For the act of repurposing special-use forest land, protection forest land, or production forest land to agricultural land of other types, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.5 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 1 ha and under 2 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 2 ha or more.

2. For the act of repurposing special-use forest land, protection forest land, or production forest land to non-agricultural land (other than residential land) within the administrative boundaries of communes, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.05 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 1 ha and under 2 ha;

e) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 2 ha or more.

3. For the act of repurposing special-use forest land, protection forest land, or production forest land to residential land within the administrative boundaries of communes, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.02 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.02 ha and under 0.05 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 0.5 ha or more.

4. For the act of repurposing special-use forest land, protection forest land, or production forest land to non-agricultural land within the administrative boundaries of wards or townships, the fine levels shall be equal to two times corresponding fines defined in Clause 2 and Clause 3 of this Article.

5. Remedial measures:

a) Forcible restoration of the original state of the land before commission of violation, except for cases defined in Clause 3 Article 139 of the Land Law;

b) Forcible refund of illicit profits earned through the commission of acts of administrative violation.

Article 10. Repurposing agricultural land other than paddy land and other than forestry land to non-agricultural land without permission of a competent state agency

1. For the act of repurposing agricultural land other than paddy land and other than forestry land to non-agricultural land (other than residential land) within the administrative boundaries of communes, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.05 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 1 ha and under 2 ha;

e) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 2 ha or more.

2. For the act of repurposing agricultural land other than paddy land and other than forestry land to residential land within the administrative boundaries of communes, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.01 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.01 ha and under 0.03 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.03 ha and under 0.05 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 0.1 ha or more.

3. For the act of repurposing agricultural land other than paddy land and other than forestry land to non-agricultural land within the administrative boundaries of wards or townships, the fine levels shall be equal to two times corresponding fines defined in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article.

4. Remedial measures:

a) Forcible restoration of the original state of the land before commission of violation, except for cases defined in Clause 3 Article 139 of the Land Law;

b) Forcible refund of illicit profits earned through the commission of acts of administrative violation.

Article 11. Repurposing land of other types to land for concentrated livestock production when implementing large-scale livestock production projects without permission of a competent state agency

1. Repurposing land of other types to land for concentrated livestock production when implementing large-scale livestock production projects, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 01 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 01 ha or more.

2. Remedial measures:

a) Forcible restoration of the original state of the land before commission of violation;

b) Forcible refund of illicit profits earned through the commission of acts of administrative violation.

Article 12. Repurposing non-agricultural land to another purpose without permission of a competent state agency

1. For the act of repurposing non-agricultural land allocated by the State without collection of land use levy to other types of non-agricultural land (other than residential land) that is allocated by the State with collection of land use levy or leased within the administrative boundaries of communes, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.1 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 1 ha and under 2 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 2 ha or more.

2. For the act of repurposing non-agricultural land other than residential land to residential land within the administrative boundaries of communes, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.02 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.02 ha and under 0.05 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 0.5 ha or more.

3. For the act of repurposing land for construction of non-business works or land used for public interests with business purposes to non-agricultural production and business land within the administrative boundaries of communes, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.05 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 1 ha and under 2 ha;

e) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 2 ha or more.

4. For the act of repurposing land for non-agricultural production and business activities other than land for trade or service activities to land for trade and service activities within the administrative boundaries of communes, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.1 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 1 ha and under 2 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 2 ha or more.

5. For the acts of land repurposing within the administrative boundaries of wards or townships, the fine levels shall be equal to 2 times those applicable to corresponding type of land.

6. Remedial measures:

a) Forcible restoration of the original state of the land before commission of violation, except for cases defined in Clause 3 Article 139 of the Land Law;

b) Forcible refund of illicit profits earned through the commission of acts of administrative violation.

Article 13. Land encroachment or land occupation

1. The act of encroachment or occupation of the land managed by State agencies or organizations, as shown in the cadastral dossiers within the administrative boundaries of communes or documents on allocation of land for management, shall be subject to the following sanctions and fine levels:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.02 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.02 ha and under 0.05 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

e) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 01 ha and under 02 ha;

g) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 2 ha or more.

2. For the act of encroachment or occupation of the agricultural land (not being paddy land, special-use forest land, protection forest land, and production forest land) other those defined in Clause 1 of this Article within the administrative boundaries of communes, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.02 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.02 ha and under 0.05 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

e) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 01 ha and under 02 ha;

g) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 2 ha or more.

3. For the act of encroachment or occupation of the agricultural land being paddy land, special-use forest land, protection forest land, and production forest land within the administrative boundaries of communes that are not those defined in Clause 1 of this Article, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.02 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.02 ha and under 0.05 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

e) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 1 ha or more.

4. For the act of encroachment or occupation of the non-agricultural land other those defined in Clause 1 of this Article and within the administrative boundaries of communes, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.02 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.02 ha and under 0.05 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

e) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 1 ha or more.

5. For the act of using land for which the State have been issued a decision on land allocation, land lease but persons allocated or leased land by the State have not yet been handed over the land on the field, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.05 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 300,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 01 ha and under 2 ha;

e) A fine of between VND 300,000,000 and VND 500,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 2 ha or more.

6. For the act of encroachment or occupation of land and encroachment within the administrative boundaries of wards or townships, the fine levels shall be equal to 2 times those for the corresponding land type specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article; and the maximum fine to be imposed on an individual violator and an institutional violator shall not exceed VND 500,000,000 and not exceed VND 1,000,000,000, respectively.

7. For the act of encroachment or occupation of land belonging to safety corridors of works, areas; land for building works or setting up areas with safety corridors; land for workplaces and public service facilities of agencies and organizations under the law on management and use of public property, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall comply with the law regulations on sanctioning of administrative violations in specialized fields. In case specialized laws do not provide for sanctioning, the sanctioning shall comply with this Decree.

8. Remedial measures:

a) Forcible restoration of the original state of the land before commission of violation (including the restoration of the boundaries and boundary markers of the land parcel), except for cases eligible for grant of a certificate of land use rights and ownership of land-attached assets or cases allowed to temporarily use such land until the State recovers the land as prescribed in Article 139 of the Land Law and Point b of this Clause;

b) Forcible implementation of procedures for being handed over the land on the field as defined (by persons allocated or leased land), for cases specified in Clause 5 of this Article;

c) Forcible refund of illicit profits earned through the commission of acts of administrative violation.

Article 14. Land destruction

1. For the act of degrading the land quality in one of the following cases: causing loss or reduction of the thickness of arable land; altering the topsoil of agricultural land with materials, wastes or soils mixed with sand, gravels, stones or other ingredients rather than those of the currently-used land; causing infertility, erosion and/or washout of agricultural soil, which leads to loss or reduction of the ability to use the land as determined, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.05 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 1 ha or more.

2. For the act of deforming the topography in one of the following cases: changing in slope of the land surface; lowering the land surface; filling special-use waters (except for irrigation reservoirs) or uplifting or lowering the surface of agricultural land or land for aquaculture, which leads to loss or reduction of the ability to use the land compared with the determined purpose (except for cases of changing the structures of crop and livestock production on paddy land to rice cultivation combined with aquaculture, building facilities directly serving agricultural production on paddy land, converting agricultural land into terraced fields and other land rehabilitation methods suitable for use purposes of the land allocated, leased or land with land use rights recognized or suitable for investment projects that have been approved or accepted by People's Committees competent to allocate or lease the land), sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.05 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 1 ha or more.

3. For the act of polluting the land, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall comply with the law regulations on sanctioning of  administrative violations in the field of environmental protection.

4. For the acts of violation in which such restoration of the original state of the land before commission of violation defined in Clause 5 of this Article is not feasible, the fine levels shall be equal to 2 times the corresponding fine levels specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article; but the maximum fine to be imposed on an individual violator and an institutional violator shall not exceed VND 500,000,000 and not exceed VND 1,000,000,000, respectively.

5. Remedial measure, for the acts of violation specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article:

Forcible restoration of the original state of the land before commission of violation, except for cases where such restoration of the original state of the land before commission of violation is not feasible in the field. Provincial-level People's Committees shall, based on the practical local conditions, prescribe cases of impracticability and the level of restoration of the original state of the land.

Article 15. Obstructing or causing difficulties to the other person’s use of land

1. A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed on those who put construction materials or other objects on another person's land parcel or their land parcels thus obstructing or causing difficulties to the other person’s use of land.

2. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on those who dig and/or build walls or fences on their land or another person's land thus obstructing or causing difficulties to the other person’s use of land.

3. Remedial measures:

Forcible restoration of the original state of the land before commission of violation.

Article 16. Failure to register land

1. A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed for the act of not complying the first-time registration of land under Points a, b and c Clause 1 Article 132 of the Land Law.

2. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed for the act of not complying the registration of land-related changes under Points a, b, i, k, l, m and q Clause 1 Article 133 of the Land Law.

3. Remedial measures:

Forcible registration of land as prescribed.

Article 17. Transfer of land use rights, lease, sublease, mortgage of land use rights when failing to fulfill the requirements as prescribed

1. For the act of converting the agricultural land use rights when failing to fulfill the requirements as defined, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of converting the agricultural land use rights when failing to satisfy one of the conditions defined in Clause 1 Article 45 of the Land Law;

b) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of converting the agricultural land use rights when failing to fulfill the requirements defined in Article 47 of the Land Law;

c) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of converting the agricultural land use rights when failing to fulfill the requirements defined in Clause 1 Article 45 and Article 47 of the Land Law.

2. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of transferring, contributing as capital, donating or inheriting the land use rights by ethnic minority people who are allocated or leased land by the State under Clause 3 Article 16 of the Land Law (except for the cases specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 48 of the Land Law).

3. For the act of transferring, leasing, subleasing, inheriting and donating land use rights; mortgaging land use rights or contributing land use rights as capital when failing to satisfy one of the conditions prescribed in Clause 1 Article 45 of the Land Law, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of inheriting or donating land use rights;

b) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of leasing, or subleasing, or mortgaging land use rights;

c) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of transferring or contributing land use rights as capital.

4. Remedial measures:

a) Forcible hand-over of the land by the transferee, lessee or sub-lessee to the transferor, lessor, or sub-lessor; unless otherwise specified at Points d and dd of this Clause;

b) Forcible termination of the contracts on mortgage of land use rights;

c) Forcible refund of illicit profits earned through the commission of acts of administrative violation;

d) Forcible registration of land, for cases eligible for grant of certificates of land use rights and ownership of land-attached assets according to regulations;

dd) Forcible registration of land, for cases of failing to return land in case the transferors are organizations, which are dissolved or bankrupt, or individuals, who are dead without heirs or who are certified by the People's Committees of communes where the land is located that they have unidentifiable addresses at the time of detecting the violations, and are not subject to land recovery by the State as prescribed in Article 81 and Article 82 of the Land Law. The transferee must take remedial measures for the consequences caused by the transferor's violation before the transfer.

Article 18. Transfer of land use rights, lease, sublease, mortgage of land use rights for land not falling into the cases eligible for transfer, lease, sublease, mortgage according to regulations

1. For the act of converting or mortgaging land use rights for land allocated by the State or land with use rights recognized by the State in the form of land allocation without land use levy payment (except for agricultural land of households and individuals), land leased by the State with annual land rental payment, land with use rights recognized by the State in the form of land allocation with collection of land use levy or land lease with one-off payment of land rental for the entire lease period but failing to fulfill the financial obligations, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.05 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 1 ha or more.

2. For the act of leasing or subleasing land use rights for land allocated by the State or land with use rights recognized by the State in the form of land allocation without land use levy payment (except for agricultural land of households and individuals), land leased by the State with annual land rental payment, land with use rights recognized by the State in the form of land allocation with collection of land use levy or land lease with one-off payment of land rental for the entire lease period but failing to fulfill the financial obligations, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.05 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 1 ha or more.

3. For the act of transferring, donating, inheriting land use rights, or contribute land use rights as capital, for land allocated by the State or land with use rights recognized by the State in the form of land allocation without land use levy payment (except for agricultural land of households and individuals), land with use rights recognized by the State in the form of land allocation with collection of land use levy or land lease with one-off payment of land rental for the entire lease period but failing to fulfill the financial obligations, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.05 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.2 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.2 ha and under 0.5 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 0.5 ha or more.

4. For the act of transferring, donating land use rights, contribute land use rights as capital, leasing or mortgaging land use rights, for land allocated by the State to economic organization, other organization for management, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.05 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 1 ha or more.

5. In case an organization that is allocated land by the State with land use levy payment or leased land by the State with one-off payment of land rental for the entire lease period donates its land use rights to an ineligible subject as prescribed at Point d Clause 1 Article 33 of the Land Law, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.05 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 1 ha or more.

6. In case a public non-business unit that is leased land by the State with annual land rental payment and not fall into the case of land use for investment in construction and commercial operation of infrastructure of industrial parks and cottage industry zones, sells or mortgages land-attached assets and the lease right in land lease contracts or contributes them as capital, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.05 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.05 ha and under 0.1 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.1 ha and under 0.5 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 200,000,000 and VND 250,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 250,000,000 and VND 300,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 1 ha or more.

7. Remedial measures:

a) Forcible return of land, land-attached assets by the transferee, capital contribution recipient, lessee, sub-lessee of land or recipient of land-attached assets to the land users before the transfer, capital contribution, lease or sublease of land, sale of land-attached assets, except for the case specified at Point b of this Clause and the case of land recovery as prescribed in Clause 4 Article 81 of the Land Law;

b) Forcible registration of land, for cases eligible for grant of certificates of land use rights and ownership of land-attached assets as defined in Article 140 of the Land Law;

c) Forcible termination of contracts on conversion, capital contribution, lease, sublease, purchase, sale of land-attached assets, mortgage of land use rights;

d) Forcible refund of illicit profits earned through the commission of acts of administrative violation.

Article 19. Economic organizations acquiring the use rights of  agricultural land without preparation of a plan on land use; individuals acquiring the use rights of paddy land in excess of the quotas without establishment of an economic organization

1. For an economic organization acquiring the use rights of  agricultural land without having a plan on land use approved by the relevant district-level People's Committee as defined by Clause 6 Article 45 of the Land Law, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.5 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 1.0 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 1.0 ha and under 3.0 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 3 ha or more.

2. A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed on an individual not directly engaged in agricultural production who acquires or is donated the use rights of paddy land in excess of the quotas without establishment of an economic organization as defined in Clause 7 Article 45 of the Land Law.

3. Remedial measures:

a) Forcible preparation of a plan on agricultural land use for submitting it to the relevant district-level People's Committee, for the cases defined in Clause 1 of this Article;

b) Forcible establishment of an economic organization and preparation of a plan on paddy land use, for the cases defined in Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 20. Acquisition of transfer or donation of land use rights in violation of Clause 8 Article 45 and Clause 3 Article 48 of the Land Law

1. For cases where organizations, individuals, residential communities, religious organizations, dependent religious organizations, people of Vietnamese origin residing abroad, and foreign-invested economic organizations acquiring land use rights or receiving land use rights as donations are not those defined in Clause 1 Article 28 of the Land Law, fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for the act of violation by an individual, residential community or person of Vietnamese origin residing abroad;

b) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for the act of violation by an organization, religious organization, dependent religious organization, or foreign-invested economic organization.

2. A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed on an individual who does not live in protection forests or special-use forests but acquires use rights or receives as donations the use rights of residential land and land of other types in protection forests or strictly protected sub-zones or ecological restoration sub-zones in such special-use forests.

3. A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed on cases of acquiring land use rights, receiving land use rights as capital contributions, receiving land use rights as donations or inheriting land use rights of ethnic minority people who are allocated or leased land by the State under Clause 3 Article 16 of the Land Law (except for the cases prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 48 of the Land Law).

4. A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed on an economic organization acquiring protection forest land use rights or special-use forest land use rights from individuals, except for cases where they are permitted to repurpose land under land-use master plans or land use plans approved by competent state agencies.

5. Remedial measures:

Forcible return of land by the transferee or the donee to the transferor or donor of land use rights, except for cases subject to land recovery prescribed in Articles 81 and 82 of the Land Law.

Article 21. Sale of land-attached assets or the lease right in land lease contracts in which the land users are leased land by the State with annual land rental payment without fully satisfying conditions defined in Article 46 of the Land Law

1. A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of selling land-attached assets in which the land users are leased land by the State with annual land rental payment to implement infrastructure projects without satisfying one of the conditions defined in Clause 1 Article 45 of the Land Law.

2. A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of selling land-attached assets in which the land users are leased land by the State with annual land rental payment when failing to satisfy one of the conditions defined in Clause 1 Article 46 of the Land Law.

3. A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of selling land-attached assets in which the land users are leased land by the State with annual land rental payment and the lease right in land lease contracts when failing to satisfy one of the conditions defined in Clause 2 Article 46 of the Land Law.

4. Remedial measures:

a) Forcible termination of the contracts on purchase and sale of land-attached assets as prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article and termination of the contract on purchase and sale of land-attached assets and the lease right in land lease contracts as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article, except for the case defined at Point b of this Clause;

b) If the land-attached asset sellers are organizations, which are dissolved or bankrupt and not subject to land recovery by the State, the transferee of land-attached assets, or  land-attached assets and the lease right in land lease contracts must continue to carry out the procedures for fully satisfying conditions for asset sale defined in Article 46 of the Land Law;

c) Forcible continuation in implementation of procedures for fully satisfying conditions for asset sale defined in Article 46 of the Land Law by the sellers of land-attached assets and the lease right in land lease contracts.

Article 22. Project owners that are leased land by the State to invest in the construction and commercial operation of infrastructure of industrial parks and cottage industry zones with annual payment of land rental but sublease the land with one-off payment of land rental for the entire lease period

1. Sanctioning forms and fine levels applicable to project owners that are leased land by the State to invest in the construction and commercial operation of infrastructure of industrial parks and cottage industry zones with annual payment of land rental but sublease the land with one-off payment of land rental for the entire lease period shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.5 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 1 ha and under 2 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 2 ha or more.

2. Remedial measures:

Forcible signing contracts of land lease with annual payment of land rental between project owners for the construction and commercial operation of infrastructure of industrial parks and cottage industry zones and the sub-lessees.

Article 23. Acquisition of land use rights to implement socio-economic development projects without written approval by the provincial-level People’s Committees as defined at Point c Clause 3 Article 127 of the Land Law

1. For the act of acquiring land use rights to implement socio-economic development projects when failing to fulfill the requirements as defined, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.2 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.2 ha and under 0.5 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 1 ha and under 2 ha;

dd) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 2 ha or more.

2. Remedial measures:

Forcible submission of dossiers of application for approval from the provincial-level People's Committees on negotiation on acquisition of land use rights for implementation of projects.

Article 24. Failure to use land for annual crops, land for aquaculture for 12 consecutive months; failure to use land for perennials for 18 consecutive months; or failure to use land for afforestation for 24 consecutive months

1. The sanctioning forms and fine levels applicable to the act of failing to use land for annual crops, land for aquaculture for 12 consecutive months shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.5 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 1 ha or more.

2. The sanctioning forms and fine levels applicable to the act of failing to use land for perennials for 18 consecutive months shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.5 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 1 ha or more.

3. The sanctioning forms and fine levels applicable to the act of failing to use land for afforestation for 24 consecutive months shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.5 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 1 ha or more.

4. Remedial measures:

Forcible putting of the land into use by land users within 60 days for the acts specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2; or within 90 days for the act specified in Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 25. Failure to carry out the procedures for shifting to land lease for the case defined in Clause 3 Article 255 of Land Law

1. For cases where land users were allocated land by the State without land use levy before July 1, 2014, and are now subject to land lease in accordance with Land Law No. 45/2013/QH13 and the Land Law No. 31/2024/QH15, but have not yet submitted dossiers for carrying out the procedures for shifting to land lease until the effective date of this Decree, sanctioning forms and fine levels shall be as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of under 0.5 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 0.5 ha and under 01 ha;

c) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of between 1 ha and under 2 ha;

d) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for an act of violation for the land area of 2 ha or more.

2. Remedial measures:

Forcible submission of dossiers for implementation of procedures for shifting to the form of land lease in accordance with law regulations on land.

Article 26. Violations of regulations on boundary markers of administrative units

1. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of moving or changing boundary markers of administrative units.

2. A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of damaging boundary markers of administrative units.

3. Remedial measures:

Forcible restoration of the original state of the boundary markers of administrative units.

Article 27. Violations against regulations on documents and vouchers in land use

1. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of erasing, modifying or falsifying contents of documents and vouchers in land use that do not fall into the cases prescribed in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article.

2. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of untruthfully declaring land use or erasing, modifying or falsifying the contents of documents and vouchers in land use leading to the errors in issuance of the certificates and the transformation, transfer, lease, inheritance, donation, mortgage, or contribution of capital by the land use rights but not to the extent of being examined for penal liability.

3. A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed on the act of using forged documents in carrying out administrative procedures and other land-related activities but not to the extent of being examined for penal liability.

4. Additional sanctions:

Confiscation of documents with erased, modified or falsified contents; forged documents used.

5. Remedial measures:

Cancellation of results of land-related administrative procedures as defined in case of violations prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 28. Violations against regulations on provision of land-related information for inspection, examination and collection of evidences to settle land-related disputes

1. A warning shall be imposed on delayed provision of information, documents and materials related to land-related inspection and examination after 07 days after the date the inspection and examination decisions are announced or at written requests of the competent agencies or persons in charge of inspection, examination and collection of evidences to settle land-related disputes of the People's Courts and administrative agencies at all levels.

2. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed on providing incorrect or incomplete land-related information at written requests of persons in charge of inspection, examination and collection of evidences to settle land-related disputes of the People's Courts and administrative agencies at all levels.

3. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on failing to provide information, documents and materials related to the inspection, examination and collection of evidences to settle land-related disputes by the People's Courts and administrative agencies at all levels after the time limit.

4. Remedial measures:

Forcible provision or re-provision of information, documents, materials as prescribed in this Article.

Article 29. Violations of conditions for providing land-related services

1. A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts of violation:

a) An individual practicing land price determination consultancy in a land price determination consultancy organization does not possess a valuer card and fails to fully satisfy conditions defined in Clause 1 Article 36 of Decree No. 71/2024/ND-CP on prescribing land prices;

a) An individual practices independently land price determination consultancy, do not in a land price determination consultancy organization.

2. A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts of violation:

a) A land survey and evaluation consultancy service organization does not satisfy one of conditions defined in Clause 1 Article 17 of Decree No. 101/2024/ND-CP regulating the basic land surveys; registration for grant of certificates of land use rights and ownership of land-attached assets; land-related information system;

b) A land price determination consultancy organization fails to register the list of valuators and the amendment and supplementation of list of valuators with the provincial-level agency with land management function of the locality where it registers its head office in accordance with Point g Clause 2 Article 162 of the Land Law.

3. A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts of violation:

a) A land price determination consultancy organization fails to satisfy one of the conditions defined in Clause 3 Article 162 of the Land Law;

b) An organization consulting for the formulation of land-use master plans and plans fails to satisfy one of the conditions defined in Clause 1 Article 23 of Decree No. 102/2024/ND-CP detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Land Law.

4. A fine of between VND 80,000,000 and VND 120,000,000 shall be imposed on a land price-related professional training and further training institution failing to satisfy one of the conditions defined in Clause 3 Article 36 of Decree No. 71/2024/ND-CP on prescribing land prices.

5. Additional sanctions:

a) Deprivation of the right to use practice certificates or licenses for a definite time of between 6 to 9 months, from the effective date of decision on sanctioning of administrative violation, for an organization or individual.

In case a license or practice certificate is still valid for a duration fewer than the above-mentioned period, the period of deprivation of the right to use the practice certificate or license shall be the remaining term of such license or practice certificate; the re-grant of the license or practice certificate shall only be carried out when the term of deprivation of the right to use the practice certificate or license expires as prescribed in this Clause;

b) Suspension of operation for 3 months, from the effective date of decision on sanctioning of administrative violation, for a land price determination consultancy organization fails to register the list of valuators and the amendment and supplementation of list of valuators with the provincial-level agency with land management function of the locality where it registers its head office in accordance with Point g Clause 2 Article 162 of the Land Law;

c) Suspension of operation for a definite time of between 9 to 12 months, from the effective date of decision on sanctioning of administrative violation, for an organization without operating license;

d) Suspension of operation for a definite time of between 9 to 12 months, from the effective date of the administrative sanction decision, for a land price-related professional training and further training institution failing to satisfy one of the conditions defined in Clause 3 Article 36 of Decree No. 71/2024/ND-CP on prescribing land prices.

Chapter III

COMPETENCE TO SANCTION ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS

Article 30. Competence of Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels to sanction administrative violations

1. Chairpersons of commune-level People’s Committees may

a) Impose warnings;

b) Impose a fine of up to VND 5,000,000;

c) Confiscate documents with erased, modified or falsified contents; forged documents used in land use;

d) Apply the remedial measures:

Forcible restoration of the original state of the land before commission of violation; forcible restoration of the original state of the boundary markers of administrative units.

2. Chairpersons of district-level People’s Committees may:

a) Impose warnings;

b) Impose a fine of up to VND 100,000,000;

c) Confiscate documents with erased, modified or falsified contents; forged documents used in land use;

d) Deprive of the right to use licenses for providing land-related consultancy services for a definite time or suspend the land-related consultancy services for a definite time;

dd) Apply the remedial measures specified in Clause 3 Article 4 of this Decree.

3. Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees may:

a) Impose warnings;

b) Impose a fine of up to VND 500,000,000;

c) Confiscate documents with erased, modified or falsified contents; forged documents used in land use;

d) Deprive of the right to use licenses for providing land-related consultancy services for a definite time or suspend the land-related consultancy services for a definite time;

dd) Apply the remedial measures specified in Clause 3 Article 4 of this Decree.

Article 31. Sanctioning competence of specialized inspectorates

1. Head of specialized inspection team of the Department of Land Resources Planning and Development, Heads of inspection teams established by Chief Inspectors of the provincial-level Departments of Natural Resources and Environment, the Chief Inspectors of the provincial-level Departments of Natural Resources and Environment may:

a) Impose warnings;

b) Impose a fine of up to VND 50,000,000;

c) Confiscate documents with erased, modified or falsified contents; forged documents used in land use;

d) Deprive of the right to use licenses for providing land-related consultancy services for a definite time or suspend the land-related consultancy services for a definite time;

dd) Apply the remedial measures specified in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Decree.

2. Chiefs of Inspectorates of provinces, heads of inspection teams established by the Chief of Inspectorate of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment may:

a) Impose warnings;

b) Impose a fine of up to VND 250,000,000;

c) Confiscate documents with erased, modified or falsified contents; forged documents used in land use;

d) Deprive of the right to use licenses for providing land-related consultancy services for a definite time or suspend the land-related consultancy services for a definite time;

dd) Apply the remedial measures specified in Clause 3 Article 4 of this Decree.

3. The Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Director of the Department of Land Resources Planning and Development may:

a) Impose warnings;

b) Impose a fine of up to VND 500,000,000;

c) Confiscate documents with erased, modified or falsified contents; forged documents used in land use;

d) Deprive of the right to use licenses for providing land-related consultancy services for a definite time or suspend the land-related consultancy services for a definite time;

dd) Apply the remedial measures specified in Clause 3 Article 4 of this Decree.

4. The National Defense Inspectorates have the competence to sanction acts of administrative violation in the use of land for national defense purpose in accordance with this Decree.

5. Chief Inspectors of the provincial-level Police Departments and the Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Public Security have the competence to sanction acts of administrative violations in the use of land for security purpose as prescribed in this Decree.

Positions of the Public Security Force prescribed in Article 39 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations are entitled to sanction the acts defined in Clause 3, Article 27 of this Decree according to their competence.

Article 32. Records of administrative violation and competence to make records of administrative violation

1. Records of administrative violations in the field of land are made in accordance with Article 58 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations (amended and supplemented in Clause 29 Article 1 of Law No. 67/2020/QH14); Decree No. 118/2021/ND-CP dated December 23, 2021 detailing a number of articles of, and measures to implement, the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations and this Decree.

2. Persons competent to make written records of administrative violations include:

a) Persons competent to sanction administrative violations in the field of land as prescribed in Articles 30 through 31 of this Decree;

b) Heads of the inspection teams, members of the inspection teams established by Chief Inspectors at the provincial level, commune-level civil servants engaged in cadastral work; civil servants and public employees of agencies with land management function at all levels who are on duty.

Civil servants and public employees of forest rangers who are on duty may make administrative violation records for acts of violation related to forestry land. People in the People's Public Security force on duty may make administrative violation records for violations of this Decree; people in the People's Army force on duty may make administrative violation records for violations of the regime of management and use of land for national defense purpose;

c) For competent persons on duty who do not hold the positions specified at Point b of this Clause or are not in the localities under their management, if they detect an act with signs of an administrative violation, they must make a working record to record the incident and immediately transfer the record to the competent person to make a record of the administrative violation.

Article 33. Responsibilities of persons competent to sanction administrative violations in the field of land

1. Upon handling of administrative violations, if the acts of administrative violation in Articles 17, 18 and 20 of this Decree fall into the cases subject to land recovery as prescribed in Articles 81 and 82 of the Land Law, persons competent to sanction administrative violations shall be responsible for notifying in writing and transferring the dossiers to the competent land recovery agencies to carry out land recovery as prescribed by the Land Law.

2. When handling an administrative violation that falls under the cases defined in Article 29 of this Decree, the persons competent to sanction administrative violations shall be responsible for notifying in writing the agency that has granted the license or practice registration to coordinate in handling it in accordance with law regulations.

3. To notify in writing cases of administrative violations in the field of land and cases that have completed the execution of decisions on sanctioning of administrative violations in accordance with this Decree to the agencies with land-related state management function at the provincial level for posting them on the portals of the provincial-level People's Committees and provincial-level Departments of Natural Resources and Environment.

Provincial-level Departments of Natural Resources and Environment shall be responsible for compiling a list of cases of administrative violations in the field of land and cases that have completed the execution of decisions on sanctioning of administrative violations in accordance with this Decree, and sending it to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for posting on the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's portal.

Chapter IV
IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 34. Effect

1. This Decree takes effect on October 04, 2024.

2. Decree No. 91/2019/ND-CP dated November 19, 2019 providing for the sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of land; Article 1 of Decree No. 04/2022/ND-CP dated January 06, 2022, amending and supplementing a number of articles of decrees on sanctioning of administrative violations of provisions on land; water resources and minerals; hydrometeorology; topography and cartography shall cease to be effective from the effective date of this Decree.

Article 35. Transitional provisions

1. For acts of administrative violation related to land that are committed before the effective date of this Decree, regulations on sanctioning of administrative violation to be applied shall be as follows:

a) In case a record has been made and a sanctioning decision has been issued but the sanctioning decision has not been fully executed, such decision shall continue to be executed;

b) For an act of administrative violation for which a record of administrative violation has been made but a decision on sanctioning of administrative violation has not been issued, the handling shall be as follows:

In case the statute of limitations or time limit for issuing a decision on sanctioning of administrative violation as prescribed at Point c Clause 1 Article 65 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations has expired, a sanctioning decision shall not be issued, but a decision on confiscation of documents with erased, modified or falsified contents; forged documents used; and remedial measures (if any) must be issued. The application of additional sanctions and remedial measures shall comply with the Decree on the sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of land at the time of making the records of administrative violations. In case this Decree does not prescribe the legal liability or prescribe lighter legal liability, provisions of this Decree shall prevail.

In case the time limit for issuance of sanctioning decisions does not expire, the sanctioning levels and remedial measures shall comply with the Decree on the sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of land at the time of making the records of administrative violations. In case this Decree does not prescribe the legal liability or prescribe lighter legal liability, provisions of this Decree shall prevail.

2. The time for determining the amount of illicit profits earned through the commission of an act of violation that occurred before the effective date of this Decree shall be counted from the date the Decree stipulating the amount of illicit profits required to be paid takes effect, or from the date of commission of act of violation if the act of violation occurs after the date the first Decree on sanctioning of administrative violations related to land that stipulates the amount of illicit profits required to be paid takes effect. The calculation of illicit profits earned through the commission of acts of violation shall comply with this Decree.

3. If sanctioned individuals and organizations lodge complaints about decisions on sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of land that have been issued or whose execution has been completed before the date on which this Decree takes effect, the regulations on sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of land effective at the time of issuing such sanctioning decisions shall be applied to handling them.

Article 36. Responsibility of implementation

1. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment shall guide and organize the implementation of this Decree.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally run cities and related organizations, individuals shall take responsibilities for the implementation of this Decree.