Decree No. 91/2019/ND-CP penalties for administrative violations against regulations on land

DECREE

On penalties for administrative violations against regulations on land

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations dated June 20, 2012;

Pursuant to the Law on Land dated November 29, 2013;

Pursuant to the Law on Housing dated November 25, 2014;

Pursuant to the Law on Real Estate Business dated November 25, 2014;

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

The Government promulgates a Decree on penalties for administrative violations against regulations on land.

Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Decree regulates administrative violations, penalty measures, penalty rates, consequence improvement measures, decentralized competence on making records and imposing penalties on administrative violations against regulations on land, including violations against regulations on land use and provision of land-related services.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Entities subject to administrative penalties as prescribed in this Decree include the following entities, who commit administrative violations hereof in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, unless otherwise prescribed in international treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party:

a) Households, communities, domestic individuals, foreign individuals, Vietnamese nationals (hereinafter referred collectively to as individuals);

b) Domestic organizations, foreign organizations, foreign-invested enterprises, religious establishments (hereinafter referred collectively to as organizations).

2. Agencies and/or persons with competence on imposing penalties and organizations and/or individuals involved in imposing penalties on administrative violations as prescribed in this Decree.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

1. Land encroachment refers to the act of a land user who moves the landmarks of his/her land lot or trespass on the boundary of other’s land lot in order to expand the area of his/her land lot without the permission of the State agencies in charge of land governance or the lawful user of such encroached land.

2. Land appropriation is the use of land in any of the following cases:

a) Using land without permission of the State agencies in charge of land governance;

b) Arbitrarily using land under the lawful use right of other organizations or individuals without permission of such organizations or individuals;

c) Using land allocated or leased by the State but the land use term expires and is not allowed to get extended by the State (except for households and individuals directly engaged in agricultural production using agricultural land);

d) Using land lots without completing procedures for land allocation or lease as prescribed by related laws.

3. Land destruction refers to the act of deforming the topography, degrading soil quality or causing soil pollution, which causes the loss or reduction of the ability to use land for the determined purposes, including:

a) Deforming the topography in the following cases: changing in slope of the land surface; lowering the land surface for other purposes or making the land surface lower than those of the adjacent land lots; filling special-use waters, canals, ditches, drainage or uplifting agricultural land surface compared with those of the adjacent land lots; except for cases of converting agricultural land into terraced fields and other land improvement methods suitable to the usage purposes of allocated or leased land or in line with investment projects approved by competent People's Committees in charge of land allocation and lease;

b) Degrading soil quality in 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 gravels, stones or other ingredients rather than those of the currently-used land; causing erosion and/or washout of agricultural soil;

c) Soil pollution refers to the introduction toxic substances or microorganisms, parasites harmful to plants, animals and humans into the soil;

d) Causing the loss of the ability to use land for the determined purposes refers that the commission of any of the acts specified at Points a, b and c of this Clause leads to the non-use for the determined purposes of the land allocated, leased, permitted  to change the purposes of land use, or recognized the land use titles by the State;

d) Reducing the ability to use land for the determined purposes refers that the commission of any of the acts specified at Points a, b and c of this Clause leads to the requirement of land reclamation in order to use for the determined purposes of the land allocated, leased, permitted  to change the purposes of land use, or recognized the land use titles by the State.

4. Land use title transaction refers to the transformation, transfer, donation, lease, sublease, inheritance of land use titles or mortgage, capital contribution with land use titles by involved parties as prescribed by land-related laws.

Article 4. Statute of limitations for administrative violation penalties

1. The statute of limitations for administrative violation penalties in land-related sector is 02 years.

2. The applicable time for the statute of limitations for administrative violation penalties is prescribed as follows:

a) For completed administrative violations as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article, the statute of limitations shall be applicable when such violations are completely committed;

b) For administrative violations which are being committed as stipulated in Clause 4 of this Article, the statute of limitations shall be applicable when the competent persons detect such violations;

c) For administrative violation penalties against organizations and individuals in records made and transferred by competent persons, the statute of limitations for such penalties shall comply with Clause 1 of this Article and Points a, b of this Clause until the decisions on administrative violation penalties are issued.

3. Violations and when they shall be considered as completed are prescribed as follows:

a) Land use title transformation, transfer, donation, inheritance, lump-sum rental land lease, mortgage and capital contribution with land use titles or acquisition of land use title transformation, transfer, donation, inheritance, lump-sum rental land lease, mortgage and capital contribution with land use titles with respect to land which are not entitled to or ineligible for land use title transitions as prescribed by related regulations, in which the involved parties have completed their obligations under the signed contracts or transaction documents; the land use title transactions shall be considered as completed when the parties' obligations are fulfilled in line with the signed contracts or documents;

b) Land use title transfer in the form of subdivision or sale of land lots in investment projects of housing construction for sale or sale-lease but all conditions as prescribed by related laws are not satisfied or they are satisfied but the People's Committee of provinces or municipalities (hereinafter referred to as the provincial-level People's Committees) do not allow the transfer but the involved parties have fulfilled their obligations under the signed contracts or transfer documents; the land use title transfer shall be considered as completed when the parties' obligations are fulfilled in line with the signed contracts or documents;

c) Vietnamese nationals eligible to own houses in Vietnam acquire title transfer of land, where houses are not built and not included in housing development projects, or title transfer of residential land located outside industrial parks, industrial clusters, export processing zones, hi-tech parks or economic zones; Foreign-invested enterprises acquire investment capital transfer of titles of agricultural or forestry land, or rent non-agricultural land of households or individuals outside industrial parks, industrial clusters, export processing zones, hi-tech parks, economic zones, in which the involved parties have fulfilled their obligations under the signed contracts or transfer documents; Such land use title transfer shall be considered as completed when the parties' obligations are fulfilled in line with the signed contracts or documents;

d) Transfer or acquisition of the transfer of land use titles associated with transfer of a part or the whole of an implemented investment project whose land use titles are not transferred or not eligible for transfer as prescribed by related laws, in which involved parties have fulfilled their obligations under the signed contracts or transaction documents on land use titles;  The transfer and receipt of the transfer shall be considered as completed when the parties' obligations are fulfilled in line with the contracts or signed documents;

dd) Sale or purchase of assets associated with the land leased by the State with annual rental payment, which do not satisfy the conditions as specified in Article 189 of the Law on Land, but the involved parties have fulfilled their obligations under the signed contracts or sale and purchase documents; The sale of purchase of assets shall be considered as completed when the parties' obligations are fulfilled in line with the signed contracts or documents;

e)  Land destruction; reposition, changing or damaging of land-markers or administrative boundary markers; erasure, reparation or falsification of land use documents and documents completed before the violations are committeds are detected. The violations specified at this Point shall be considered as completed when such violations are completely committed;

g) Violations against conditions for providing land-related services in case such services are conducted and the involved parties have fulfilled their obligations under the signed service contracts or documents; The violations defined at this Point shall be considered as completed when the documents on liquidation of the signed service contracts or documents are signed;

h) Provision of unreliable information for inspection, examination and settlement of land disputes; The violation prescribed at this Point shall be considered as completed when the unreliable information is completely provided for organizations and individuals in charge of inspection, examination and settlement of land disputes as prescribed by related laws;

i) Investors of real estate projects failing to submit application to carry out procedures for granting Certificates to their buyers, lessees of houses, construction works, recipients of land use title transfer or failing to provide and/or providing inadequate documents for their buyers, lessees of houses, construction works, recipients of land use title transfer, who wish to submit their own application for Certificates as prescribed in Clause 7, Article 26 of the Law on Housing and Clause 4, Article 13 of the Law on Real Estate Business; however, the investors have rectified their violations after a definite time limit. The violations specified in this Point shall be considered as completed when the applications are submitted or the documents are provided sufficiently to the buyers, lessees of houses, construction works, recipients of land use title transfer who wish to submit their own applications for Certificates as prescribed by related laws;

k) In case those who commit administrative violations as prescribed at Points a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h and i of this Clause fail to satisfy the completion of their violations, such violations shall be considered as under the statute of limitations for administrative violation penalties.

4. Land-related administrative violations as specified in this Decree which are specified in Clause 3 of this Article shall be considered as being committed.

5. Within the time limit prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, if organizations or individuals commit administrative violations intentionally evade or hinder the application of penalties by competent agencies or persons, the statute of limitations for administrative violation penalties shall be applicable when the evasion or hinderance of penalty application are terminated.

Article 5. Penalty measures and consequence improvement measures

1. Major penalty measures:

a) Warning;

b) Fine.

2. Additional penalty measures:

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

b) Revocation of licenses for providing land-related consultancy services for 06 to 09 months or suspension of land-related consultancy services for 09 to 12 months.

3. Consequence improvement measures prescribed in this Decree:

a) Compulsory restoration to original state of the land as before the violations are committed. Provincial-level People's Committees shall base themselves on local realities to prescribe the extent of restoration for each violation as prescribed in this Decree;

b) Compulsory submission of illicit profits gained from committing violations as prescribed in this Decree;

c) Compulsory implementation of land-related administrative procedures;

d) Compulsory hand-over of used land against regulations;

dd) Compulsory termination of the mortgage contract with land use titles;

e) Compulsory refund of land transfer, lease, or sublease payments made against related laws in the remaining land use time;

g) Compulsory fulfillment of financial obligations related to land;

h) Compulsory completion of construction investment strictly according to regulations;

i) Compulsory termination of contracts on purchase, sale or lease of assets attached to land which do not meet the prescribed conditions;

j) Compulsory use for the precise purposes of land allocated, leased or recognized of the land use title by the State;

l) Compulsory restoration to the original state of the land-markers and administrative boundary markers as before the violations are committed;

m) Compulsory provision or re-provision of information, documents and materials at the request of competent agencies and persons in charge of inspection, examination and settlement of land disputes;

n) Compulsory fulfillment of conditions as prescribed by law provisions on real estate business in case of violations prescribed in Article 24 of this Decree.

o) Compulsory submission of granted certificates in case of violations prescribed in Article 35 of this Decree;

p) Cancelation of outcomes of land-related administrative procedures in case of using forged documents to carry out such administrative procedures and other land-related activities, but not to the extent of being prosecuted for penal liability;

q) Handling of illegally created assets as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 23 of this Decree;

r) Recovery of land in accordance with the Law on Land in the case of violations subject to land recovery as prescribed in Articles 15, 18, 19, 22, 26, 29, 30 and 32 of this Decree.

4. The application of administrative violation penalties and consequence improvement measures in case of land use title transactions are prescribed as follows:

a) If an administrative violation is committed before the transfer of land use titles is conduct, the land use title transferor shall be imposed with administrative violation penalties and the additional measures including compulsory submission of illicit profits gained from committing violations and compulsory restoration to original state of the land as before the violations are committed as prescribed by related regulations (if the penalties imposed to transfer of titles require the transferee to hand over the land to the transferor). The transferee of land use titles shall take consequence improvement measures to rectify the remaining consequences for each violation as prescribed by related regulations;

b) If land use titles are changed without registration of land change, administrative penalties shall be imposed on both parties of land use title transfer. In case of transfer, inheritance, donation or contribution of land use titles without registration of land change, administrative penalties shall be imposed on the transferee. In case of leasing or mortgaging with land use titles without registration of land change, administrative penalties shall be imposed on land users who lease or mortgage their land.

Besides administrative violation penalties as prescribed at this Point, the transferor and the transferee shall also take consequence improvement measures for each specific violation according to the provisions of this Decree.

Article 6. Application of fines

1. Subjects of application of fines are prescribed as follows:

a) The fines as specified in Chapter II of this Decree shall be applied to individuals, except for those specified at Point b of this Clause; with the same violations, the fines applied to organizations double the rates applied to individuals;

b) The fines as specified in Clause 4 of Article 19, Articles 20, 21, 22, Clause 4 of Article 26, Articles 27, 28, Clause 2 of Article 30, Articles 31 and 37 of this Decree shall be applied to organizations.

2. The fining competence on every title as prescribed in Articles 38 and 39 of this Decree means the fining competence of individuals. The fining competence of organizations shall double the competence of individuals of the same title.

Article 7. Determination of illicit profits

The determination of illicit profits gained from committing land-related administrative violations shall be conducted as follows:

1. If the land is used for other purposes without permission of competent State agencies prescribed in Articles 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 of this Decree, the illicit profits gained from committing violations shall be determined on the difference of the land types before and after the violations are committed on the same land area for which the land use purpose has been changed during the time of violation (from the time of starting the change of land use purpose to the time of making the record of administrative violations). The land prices of the land types before and after the violations are committed shall be determined on the basis of the land price list issued by the provincial-level People's Committee multiplied (x) by the land price adjustment coefficient at the time of changing the land use purpose (for prices of land type before the violations are committed) and at the time of making the administrative violation records (for the prices of the land type after the land use purpose is changed). The profits gained from changing the land use purpose is calculated by the following formula:

The land type before the violations are committed shall be determined in accordance with Article 3 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP, amended and supplemented in Clause 1 of Article 2 of Decree No. 01/2017/ND-CP; The land type after the violations are committed shall be determined in accordance with the current situation at the time of making the administrative violation records.

2. If the land in use is encroached or appropriated as prescribed in Article 14 of this Decree, the illicit profits gained from committing violations shall be determined on the value of the encroached or appropriated area during time of violation (from the time of starting using such land to the time of making the record of administrative violations) and the specific land prices determined by the land price adjustment coefficient method for the current land type after the land is encroached or appropriated at the time of making the record of administrative violations. The profits shall be calculated by the following formula:

3. If the transfer or capital contribution with land use titles fail to satisfy the conditions as specified in Clause 3 of Article 18, Clause 3 of Article 19, Clause 1 of Article 22, Article 25 and Clause 3 of Article 27 of this Decree, the illicit profits shall be determined on the actual value of land use title transfer under the signed contracts during the time of title transfer, but not lower than the value based on the specific land price determined by the land price adjustment coefficient method at the time of making the record of administrative violations. The profits shall be calculated by the following formula:

4. If the lease or sublease of land use titles fail to satisfy the conditions as specified in Clause 3 of Article 18, Clause 2 and 4 of Article 19, Article 20, and Clause 2 of Article 27 of this Decree, the illicit profits shall be determined on the actual value of land lease or sublease under the signed contracts during the time 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 as prescribed by related laws at the time of making the record of administrative violations multiplied (x) with the area for lease or sublease and the number of years of land lease or sublease (in which the  specific land price is determined by the land price adjustment coefficient method).        

5. In case of transfer of land use titles in the form of subdivision or sale of land lots in investment projects on housing construction and business as prescribed in Article 21 of this Decree, the illicit profits shall be calculated on the difference between the land use levy submitted by the investors to the State when being allocated with the land (in respect of the land lot subdivision and sale) and the actual value of the land use title transfer of the investor in line with the signed contracts after infrastructure construction investment (if any) are deduced.

6. If sale of assets attached to land leased by the State with annual rental payment fails to satisfy the conditions specified in Article 23 of this Decree, the illicit profits shall be determined on the value of depreciation of assets during the time of sale and purchase (determined on the value of assets stated in the signed sale and purchase contracts). The useful life of an asset for depreciation calculation shall be determined by related laws for the type of purchased and sold property.

7. If the lease of assets attached to land leased by the State with annual rental payment fails to satisfy the conditions prescribed in Article 24 of this Decree, the illicit profits shall be determined on the actual value of the property lease in line with the signed contracts during the leasing period (from the date the leasing period begins to the time of making the record of administrative violations).

8. If transfer of land use titles, lease, sublease of land, sale or lease of assets attached to land as prescribed in this Decree are conducted and the income taxes from such transactions are paid, the illicit profits shall be determined on the amount of profits calculated by fomulas prescribed in Clauses 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of this Article minus (-) the amount of paid income taxes.

9. The number of years of violation as specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article includes 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 8. Determination of the area of violated land and the administrative violation penalties

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

a) In case of violating the whole area of ​​the land lot, the violated area shall be determined as the area stated in the documents on land use titles as prescribed in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of Article 11 of the Law on Land;

b) In case of violating the whole area of ​​the land lot without documents on land use titles but cadastral maps, the cadastral maps shall be used for determining the violated area; In case there is no cadastral map but another map already used for land management in the localities, that map shall be used for determining the violated area;

c) In case of violating the whole area of ​​the land lot without the documents as specified at Points a and b of this Clause or violating a part of the land lot, the competent persons in charge of the inspection and examination shall determine the boundaries or the areas of the violated land or hire geodesic functional units to determine the violating land areas to be stated in the records of administrative violations (in case the large area of violating land and/or the complex terrain of the land lot do not allow manual measurement methods). If those who commit violations do not agree with the measurement of inspection and examination agencies, they shall be allowed to hire other geodesic functional units to determine the violating area. Expenses for hiring such units shall be paid by violators.

2. The determination of specific fines for each case shall be based on the penalty frame as prescribed in this Decree and the extenuating or aggravating circumstances as prescribed Articles 9 and 10 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations.

Chapter II
ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS, PENALTY MEASURES AND LEVELS, AND CONSEQUENCE IMPROVEMENT MEASURES

Article 9. Change of use purpose of a land lot used for rice cultivation without permission from competent State agencies as prescribed at Points a and d, Clause 1, Article 57 of the Law on Land

1. Transformation of purpose of a land lot used for rice cultivation into the one used for perennial plants and forests (except for the violations as specified in Clause 7, Article 14 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP, amended and supplemented in Clause 11, Article 2 of Decree No. 01/2017/ND-CP) shall be subject to the penalty measures and amounts as follows:

a) A fine of between 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of less than 0.5 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of more than 03 hectares.

2. Transformation of purpose of a land lot used for rice cultivation into the one used for aquafarming and salt production shall be subject to the penalty types and amounts as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of less than 0.1 hectare;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

dd) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 70,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of more than 03 hectares.

3. Transformation of purpose of a land lot used for rice cultivation into the non-agricultural land lot in rural areas shall be subject to the penalty types and amounts as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of less than 0.01 ha;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.01 hectares to less than 0.02 hectares;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.02 hectares to less than 0.05 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 15,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.05 hectares to less than 0.1 hectares;

dd) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

e) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 80,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

g) A fine ranging from VND 80,000,000 and VND 120,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

h) A fine of between VND 120,000,000 and VND 250,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of more than 03 hectares.

4. Transformation of purpose of a land lot used for rice cultivation into the non-agricultural land lot in urban areas shall be subject to the penalty types and amounts double those prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article.

5. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory restoration to the original state of the land before the violations are committed in case of violations prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article, unless otherwise specified at Point b of this Clause;

b) Compulsory land registration as prescribed regulations for the cases eligible for being recognized of land use titles as prescribed in Article 22 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP;

c) Compulsory submission of illicit profits gained from committing violations prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article; Illicit profits shall be determined as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 7 of this Decree.

Article 10. Change of use purpose of land used for special-use forests, protective forests and productive forests without permission from competent State agencies as prescribed at Points c and d, Clause 1, Article 57 of the Law on Land

1. Transformation of land lots used for planted special-use forests, planted protective forests and planted productive forests into other agricultural purposes shall be subject to penalty types and amounts as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of less than 0.5 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 05 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of more than 05 hectares.

2. Transformation of land lots used for planted special-use forests, planted protective forests and planted productive forests into other non-agricultural purposes shall be subject to penalty types and amounts as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of less than 0.02 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.02 hectares to less than 0.05 hectares;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.05 hectares to less than 0.1 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 15,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

dd) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

e) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 1 hectare to less than 05 hectares;

g) A fine ranging from VND 100,000,000 and VND 250,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of more than is 5 hectares.

3. Transformation of land lots used for natural special-use forests, natural protective forests and natural productive forests into other purposes shall be subject to penalty types and amounts double those respectively prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

4. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory restoration to the original state of the land before the violations specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, unless otherwise specified in Clause b of this Article;

b) Compulsory land registration as prescribed by regulations for the cases eligible for being recognized of land use titles as prescribed in Article 22 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP;

c) Compulsory submission of illicit profits gained from committing violations prescribed in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article; Illicit profits shall be determined by the formulas as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 7 of this Decree.

Article 11. Change of use purpose of the agricultural land other than land lots used for rice cultivation, protective forests, special-use forests and productive forests without permission from competent State agencies as prescribed in Points b and d, Clause 1, Article 57 of the Law on Land

1. Transformation of the land used for other annual plant cultivation into the land used for saltwater aquaculture, salt production, and fish farming in the form of ponds, ditches or lakes shall be subject to penalty types and amounts as follows:

a) A fine of between 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of less than 0.5 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of more than 03 hectares.

2. Transformation of the land used for other annual plant cultivation, perennial plant cultivation, aquaculture, salt production and other agricultural purposes into non-agricultural land in rural areas shall be subject to penalty types and amounts as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of less than 0.02 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 8,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.02 hectares to less than 0.05 hectares;

c) A fine of between VND 8,000,000 and VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.05 hectares to less than 0.1 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 15,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

dd) A fine of between 30,000,000 and 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectares to less than 01 hectares;

e) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

g) A fine ranging from VND 100,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of more than 03 hectares.

3. Transformation of the land used for other annual plant cultivation, perennial plant cultivation, aquaculture, salt production and other agricultural purposes into non-agricultural land in urban areas shall be subject to penalty types and amounts double those prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

4. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory restoration to the original state of the land before the violations specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, unless otherwise specified in Clause b of this Article;

b) Compulsory land registration as prescribed by regulations for the cases eligible for being recognized of land use titles as prescribed in Article 22 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP;

c) Compulsory submission of illicit profits gained from committing violations prescribed in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article; Illicit profits shall be determined by the formulas as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 7 of this Decree.

Article 12. Change of use purpose of the land classified into the group of non-agricultural land into other purposes without permission from competent State agencies as prescribed at Points e, f and g, Clause 1, Article 57 of the Law on Land

1. Transformation of use purpose of the non-agricultural land other than housing land and/or land allocated with land use levy or leased with lump-sum rental by the State into the land used for the residential purposes in rural areas shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of less than 0.05 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging 0.05 hectares to less than 0.1 hectares;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging 0.1 hectares and under 0.5 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 40,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

dd) A fine of between VND 40,000,000 and VND 80,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

e) A fine of between VND 80,000,000 and VND 160,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of more than 03 hectares.

2. Transformation of use purpose of the non-agricultural land other than housing land and/or land allocated with land use levy or leased with annual rental by the State into the land used for the residential purposes; transformation of use purpose of the non-agricultural land other than housing land and/or land allocated or leased without land use levy by the State into non-agricultural land allocated or leased with land use levy by the State in rural areas shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of less than 0.1 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 40,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 40,000,000 and VND 80,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 80,000,000 and VND 160,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 160,000,000 and VND 300,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of more than 03 hectares.

3. Transformation of use purpose of land used for the construction of non-commercial structures, commercial public utilities, or land used for non-agricultural production and commerce other than the land used for the commercial and service provision purposes into the land used for the commercial and service business purposes; transformation of land used for the purpose of commerce and service business, construction of non-commercial structures into the land used for the establishment of non-agricultural production premises in rural areas shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 7,000,000 and VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of less than 0.1 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 15,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to 0.5 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 60,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

d) A fine ranging from VND 60,000,000 and VND 120,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 120,000,000 and VND 250,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of more than 03 hectares.

4. Transformation of use purpose of the non-agricultural land into the land used for other purposes without permission from competent State agencies in urban areas shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts double those specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article and the maximum fines shall not exceed VND 500,000,000 for individuals and VND 1,000,000,000 for organizations.

5. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory restoration to the original state of the land before the violations specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, unless otherwise specified in Clause b of this Article;

b) Compulsory land registration as prescribed by regulations for the cases eligible for being recognized of land use titles as prescribed in Article 22 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP;

c) Compulsory submission of illicit profits gained from committing violations prescribed in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article; Illicit profits shall be determined by the formulas as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 7 of this Decree.

Article 13. Transformation of crop structure on the land lots used for rice cultivation against regulations, transformation of use purpose of the land lots, which must be registered, into other purposes without registration as prescribed by related regulations

1. Transformation of crop structure on the land lots used for rice cultivation satisfying all conditions prescribed in Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree No. 35/2015/ND-CP (amended and supplemented in Clause 1, Article 1 of Decree No. 62/2019/ND-CP) without registration with the communal-level People's Committees shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose crop structure is transformed covers an area of less than 0.5 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose crop structure is transformed covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 1 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose crop structure is transformed covers an area of more than 01 hectare.

2. Transformation of crop structure on the land lots used for rice cultivation against the conditions as specified in Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree No. 35/2015/ND-CP (amended and supplemented in Clause 1, Article 1 of Decree No. 62/2019/ND-CP) shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and VND 4,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose crop structure is transformed covers an area of less than 0.5 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 4,000,000 and VND 8,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose crop structure is transformed covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 8,000,000 and VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose crop structure is transformed covers an area of more than 01 hectare.

3. Change of use purpose of the land, classified into the group of agricultural land into other purposes and required registration of land use purpose change, without registration as prescribed by regulations shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of less than 0.5 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of more than 03 hectares.

4. Change of use purpose of the land, classified into the group of non-agricultural land into other purposes and required registration of land use purpose change, without registration as prescribed by regulations shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of less than 0.5 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 3 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed if the land lot whose purpose is illegally changed covers an area of more than 03 hectares.

5. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory restoration to the original state of the land before the violations are committed, unless otherwise prescribed at Points b, c and d of this Clause;

b) Compulsory registration of crop restructuring with the commune-level People's Committees in case of violations specified in Clause 1 of this Article;

c) Compulsory implementation of the procedures for registration of land use purpose change as prescribed by regulations for land lots with certificates as prescribed in Clauses 3 and 4 of this Article;

d) Compulsory implementation of the procedures for land registration as prescribed by regulations for land lots without certificates as prescribed in Clauses 3 and 4 of this Article;

d) Compulsory submission of illicit profits gained from committing violations specified in Clauses 3 and 4 of this Article; Illicit profits shall be determined by the formulas as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 7 of this Decree.

Article 14. Land encroachment and appropriation

1. Encroachment and appropriation of unused land in rural areas shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area of less than 0.05 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area ranging from 0.05 hectares to less than 0.1 hectares;

c) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area ranging from 0.1 hectares to less than 0.5 hectares;

d) A fine ranging from VND 15,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 70,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area of more than 01 hectare.

2. Encroachment and appropriation of agricultural land other than the land lots used for rice cultivation, special-use forest, protective forest and productive forest in rural areas shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area of less than 0.05 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area ranging from 0.05 hectares to less than 0.1 hectares;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

d) A fine ranging from VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

dd) A fine ranging from VND 50,000,000 and VND 120,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area of more than 01 hectare.

3 Encroachment and appropriation of agricultural land lots used for rice cultivation, special-use forest, protective forest and productive forest in rural areas shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area of less than 0.02 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 7,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area ranging from 0.02 hectares to less than 0.05 hectares;

c) A fine of between VND 7,000,000 and VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area ranging from 0.05 hectares to less than 0.1 hectares;

d) A fine ranging from VND 15,000,000 and VND 40,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

dd) A fine ranging from VND 40,000,000 and VND 60,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

e) A fine of between VND 60,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area of more than 01 hectare.

4. Encroachment and appropriation of non-agricultural land lots in rural areas, except for the cases specified in Clause 6 of this Article, shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area of less than 0.05 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 40,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area ranging ​​from 0.05 hectares to less than 0.1 hectares;

c) A fine of between VND 40,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area ranging ​​0.5 hectare to less than 1 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 200,000,000 and VND 500,000,000 shall be imposed on an encroached appropriated area of more than 01 hectare.

5. Encroachment and appropriation of agricultural and/or non-agricultural land lots in urban areas, except for the cases specified in Clause 6 of this Article, shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts double those  respectively prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article and the maximum fines shall not exceed VND 500,000,000 for individuals or VND 1,000,000,000 for organizations.

6. With respect to the encroachment and appropriation violations against protective barriers for structural works, working offices and non-business facilities of agencies or organizations as prescribed by related laws on management and use of State-owned assets, the penalty types and amounts shall comply with the regulations on penalties for administrative violations against related laws on construction investment activities; quarrying, production and business of minerals as building materials, production and business of building materials; technical infrastructure management; real estate business; housing development, housing and office building use and management; road and rail transport sector; culture, sports, tourism, and advertising sector; operation and protection of irrigation works; dyke or embankment structures; flood and typhoon prevention and control measures, management and use of State-owned assets as well as other particular sectors.

7. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory restoration to the original state of the land before the violations as specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article are committed and compulsory hand-over of the encroached or appropriated land areas; unless otherwise specified in Points b and c of this Clause;

b) Compulsory registration of land as prescribed regulations for cases eligible for being recognized of land use titles as prescribed in Article 22 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP;

c) Compulsory implementation of procedures for land allocation or land lease as prescribed by related regulations for cases of land use before procedures for land allocation or land lease have been completed;

d) Compulsory submission of illicit profits gained from committing violations as specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article; Illicit profits shall be determined by the formulas as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 7 of this Decree.

Article 15. Land destruction

1. Deforming the topography or reducing the quality of land shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND shall be imposed on a damaged area of less than 0.05 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on a damaged area ranging from 0.05 hectare to less than 0.1 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed on a damaged area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 60,000,000 shall be imposed on a damaged area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 60,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed on a damaged area of more than 01 hectare.

2. Causing land pollution shall be subject to the penalty types and amounts as prescribed by related laws on penalties for administrative violations against environmental protection regulations.

3. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied to violations specified in Clause 1 of this Article:

Compulsory restoration to the original state of the land before the violations are committed. For those who commit violations fail to abide by the penalties, the State shall recover the land lots as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 64 of the Law on Land.

Article 16. Hindrance to or causing damage to the other person’s use of land

1. Warning or a fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 3,000,000 shall be imposed on those who put construction materials or other objects on another person's land lot or their land lots thus hindering or causing damage to other people's use of land.

2. A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed on those who put wastes or toxic substances on another person's land lot or their land lots thus hindering or causing damage to other people's use of land.

3. 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 to hinder or cause damage to other people's use of land.

4. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

Compulsory restoration to the original state of the land before the violations as prescribed in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article are committed.

Article 17. Failure to register land lots

1. Failure to obtain the first land registration as prescribed at Point b, Clause 3, Article 95 of the Law on Land in rural areas shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A warning or a fine of between VND 500,000 and 1,000,000 shall be imposed if within 24 months from the effective date of this Decree the first land registration is not obtained;

b) A fine of between 1,000,000 VND to 2,000,000 VND shall be imposed if in more than 24 months from the effective date of this Decree the first land registration is not obtained

2. Failure to register land changes as prescribed at Points a, b, h, i, k and l, Clause 4, Article 95 of the Law on Land in rural areas shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed if within 24 months after the expiry of the time limit prescribed in Clause 6, Article 95 of the Law on Land, no change registration is made;

b) A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed if in more than 24 months after the expiry of the time limit prescribed in Clause 6, Article 95 of the Law on Land, no change registration is made.

3. Failure to obtain the first land registration and failure to register land changes in urban areas shall be subject to the penalty types and amounts double those prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

4. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

Compulsory implementation of procedures for first land registration and registration of land changes by the current land users who fail to obtain land registration as prescribed by related regulations.

Article 18. Transferring land titles, leasing land lots, mortgaging land lots when failing to fulfill the requirements prescribed in Clause 1, Article 188 of the Law on Land

1. A household or an individual transferring their use titles of agricultural land to another household or individual shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 500,000 and VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed on transfer of agricultural land use titles between households and individuals without fulfillment of one requirement as specified in Clause 1, Article 188 and Article 190 of the Law on Land;

b) A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed on the failure of fulfillment of two or more requirements as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 188 and Article 190 of the Law on Land.

2. Mortgage with a land use title without fulfillment of the prescribed requirements shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 500,000 and VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed on the failure of fulfillment of one requirement as specified in Clause 1, Article 188 of the Law on Land;

b) A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed on the failure of fulfillment of two or more requirements as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 188 of the Law on Land.

3. Transfer, donation, lease, sublease or capital contribution with land use titles which fail to fulfill the prescribed requirements shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 for rural areas, from VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 for urban areas shall be imposed on the failure of fulfillment of one requirement as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 188 of the Law on Land;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 for rural areas, from VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 for urban areas shall be imposed on the failure of fulfillment of two or more requirements as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 188 of the Law on Land.

4. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a)  Compulsory hand-over of the land by the land transferee or lessee to the land user before acquiring the transfer or lease of land; unless otherwise specified at Points b and c of this Clause;

b) Compulsory implementation procedures for land registration as prescribed by related regulations by the transferees of land use title who acquire land use title transfer without certificates but fulfilling the requirements for such certificates as prescribed by Clause 1, Article 82 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP, amended and supplemented in Clause 54, Article 2 of Decree No. 01/2017/ND-CP;

c) Compulsory implementation procedures for land registration as prescribed by related regulations by the transferees of land use title in case the transferors are organizations, which are dissolved or bankrupt, or individuals, who are certified by the People's Committees of communes where the land is located at the time of violations and have unidentifiable addresses, or individuals, who are dead or declared dead by the courts without lawful heirs;

d) Compulsory repayment of land transfer, lease or sublease payments during the remaining time of land use;

dd) Compulsory submission of illicit profits gained by the transferor, lessor, sublessor or contributor of land use titles from performing the transfer of land use title or land lease, which fail to fulfill the prescribed requirements during time of violation; the illicit profits shall be determined by the formulas as prescribed in Clauses 3 and 4, Article 7 of this Decree;

f) Recovery of land in case the transfer of use titles or lease of the land allocated or leased by the State are acquireed when the land use titles expire and are not allowed to be extended as prescribed at Point d of Clause 1 of Article 65 of the Law on Land;

g) Compulsory termination of the mortgage contracts of land use titles as specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 19. Transferring land titles, leasing land lots, mortgaging land lots which are not allowed to be transferred, leased or mortgaged as prescribed by the Law on Land

1. Transformation or mortgage of land lots allocated or recognized of the land use titles without land use levy (except for agricultural land lots of households and/or individuals) or leased with annual rental, or allocated or recognized of land use titles with land use levy or lump-sum rental, in which the financial obligations are not fulfilled or the paid money originating from the State budget, shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of less than 0.05 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.05 hectares to less than 0.1 hectares;

c) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectares to less than 0.5 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

dd) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of more than 01 hectare.

2. Lease or sublease of land use titles of land lots allocated or recognized of the land use titles without land use levy (except for agricultural land lots of households and/or individuals) or leased with annual rental, or allocated or recognized of land use titles with land use levy or lump-sum rental in which the financial obligations are not fulfilled or the paid money originating from the State budget, or donation of land use titles to improper entities in rural areas shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of less than 0.05 hectare;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 7,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.05 hectare to less than 0.1 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 7,000,000 and VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 15,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

dd) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of more than 01 hectare.

3. Transfer, donation, or contribution of capital with land use titles of land lots allocated or recognized of the land use titles without land use levy (except for agricultural land lots of households and/or individuals) or leased with annual rental, or allocated or recognized of land use titles with land use levy or lump-sum rental, in which the financial obligations are not fulfilled or the paid money originating from the State budget, or donation of land use titles to entities other than those prescribed in rural areas, shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 7,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of less than 0.05 hectare;

b) A fine of between VND 7,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.05 hectare to less than 0.1 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 1 hectare;

dd) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of more than 01 hectare.

4. Public service facilities, who rent land lots from the State and pay the lump-sum rental with money not originating from the State budget, transfer, sub-lease, donation, mortgage or contributed the titles of such land lots as capital without the written approval of competent State agencies in rural areas shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of less than 0.1 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

d) A fine ranging from VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from more than 01 hectare.

5. Transfer, donation or contribution of capital with land use titles, lease or sublease of land lots which are not allowed to be transferred, leased or subleased as prescribed by the Law on Land in urban areas shall be subject to the penalty types and amounts double those respectively specified in Clauses 2, 3 and 4 of this Article.

6. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory hand-over of the land by the land transferee or lessee as prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article to the land user before acquiring the transfer of land titles; for transfer or donation of land use titles, the State shall recover the land lots as prescribed at Point d, Clause 1, Article 64 of the Law on Land;

b) Compulsory submission of illicit profits gained by the transferor, lessor, sublessor or contributor of land use titles from performing the transfer of land use title, land lease or sublease and contribution of capital with land use titles during time of violation; the illicit profits shall be determined by the formulas as prescribed in Clauses 3 and 4, Article 7 of this Decree;

c) Compulsory repayment of land transfer, lease or sublease payments (in case of land lease with lump-sum rental) during remaining time of land use;

d) Compulsory termination of the mortgage contracts of land use titles as specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 20. Land users, whose land lots are leased by the State with annual land rental for construction of infrastructure of industrial parks, industrial clusters and export processing zones, sublease such land lots with lump-sum rental from the effective date of the 2013 Law on Land

1. A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of less than 0.5 hectare.

2. A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare.

3. A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 01 hectare and under 05 hectares.

4. A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of more than 05 hectares.

5. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Land users whose land lots are used for construction of infrastructure of industrial parks, industrial clusters or export processing zones shall re-sign land lease contracts with the State with lump-sum rental for the violated land areas in remaining time; Such lump-sum rental shall comply with the Law on Land;

b) Land users whose land lots are used for construction of infrastructure of industrial parks, industrial clusters or export processing zones shall submit the illicit profits gained from performing land lease with lump-sum rental during the time of violation; Illicit profits shall be determined by the formulas as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 7 of this Decree.

Article 21. Transfer of land use titles in the form of subdivision or sale of land lots in investment projects on housing construction and business

1. Land use title transfer in the form of subdivision or sale of land lots in investment projects of housing construction for sale or sale-lease, in which one of the conditions specified in Clause 1, Article 41 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP is not satisfied or all the conditions specified in Clause 1, Article 41 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP are satisfied but the provincial-level People's Committees do not allow the transfer as prescribed at Point a, Clause 1, Article 194 of the Law on Land, shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed on the transferred land area of ​​less than 0.5 hectares;

b) A fine ranging from VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed on the transferred land area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

c) A fine ranging from VND 100,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed on the transferred land area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

d) A fine ranging from VND 200,000,000 and VND 500,000,000 shall be imposed on the transferred land area of ​​more than 03 hectares.

2. Land use title transfer in the form of subdivision or sale of land lots in investment projects of housing construction for sale or sale-lease, in which at least two conditions specified in Clause 1, Article 41 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP are not satisfied, shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed on the transferred land area of ​​less than 0.5 hectare;

b) A fine ranging from VND 100,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed on the transferred land area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

c) A fine ranging from VND 200,000,000 and VND 500,000,000 shall be imposed on the transferred land area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

d) A fine ranging from VND 500,000,000 and VND 1,000,000,000 shall be imposed on the transferred land area of more than 03 hectares.

3. In case of transfer of land use titles in the form of subdivision or sale of land without making investment projects on construction of houses for sale or for sale in combination with leasing, the sanctioning shall comply with the provisions of Decree No. 139/2017/ND-CP dated November 27, 2017 of the Government on penalties for administrative violations on construction investment activities, quarrying, production and business of minerals as building materials, production and business of building materials, technical infrastructure management; real estate business, housing development, housing and office building use and management.

4. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory implementation of procedures fỏ submitting applications to provincial-level People's Committees for permission to subdivide or sell land lots in case written permissions of provincial-level People's Committees are not available as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 194 of the Law on Land;

b) Compulsory completion of the investment in the construction of infrastructure according to the approved 1/500 construction detailed planning and compulsory fulfillment of financial obligations related to the land by the investors if they fail to fulfill the requirements as prescribed at Points b and c, Clause 1, Article 41 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP;

c) Compulsory completion of the housing construction according to the approved designs by the investors if they fail to fulfill the requirements as prescribed at Point d, Clause 1, Article 41 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND. -CP;

d) Compulsory submission of the illicit profits gained from committing violations; The illicit profits shall be determined by the formulas as prescribed in Clause 5, Article 7 of this Decree.

Article 22. Transfer of land use titles associated with transfer of a part or the whole of investment projects without fulfilling the requirements as prescribed in Articles 42 and 42a of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP, amended and supplemented at Clause 26, Article 2 of Decree No. 01/2017/ND-CP

1. Transfer of land use titles associated with transfer of a part or the whole of investment projects without certificates, transfer of land lots in dispute or distrained in execution of judgments or transfer of land lots in which the land use terms expire and are not allowed to be extended by the competent state agencies or the financial obligations related to the transferred land lots have not been fulfilled shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed on the transferred land area of ​​less than 01 hectare;

b) A fine ranging from VND 100,000,000 and VND 200,000, shall be imposed on the transferred land area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

c) A fine ranging from VND 200,000,000 and VND 500,000, shall be imposed on the transferred land area ranging from 03 hectares to less than 05 hectares;

d) A fine ranging from VND 500,000,000 and VND 1,000,000,000 shall be imposed on the transferred land area of more than 05 hectares.

2. A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed on the transfer of land use titles associated with transfer of a part or the whole of investment projects of which the transferees conduct inappropriate business lines in accordance with the land use purposes and the investment project objectives; fail to make deposits as prescribed by related laws on investment; fail to have sufficient financial capacity as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 14 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP, do not violate land-related legal regulations when using land lots allocated or leased by the State for implementing other investment projects.

3. In case of transfer of land use titles associated with transfer of a part or the whole of an investment project before the completion of corresponding technical infrastructure works according to the schedule stated in the approved project (for For investment projects on housing business and investment projects on construction of infrastructure for transfer or lease), penalties shall be imposed according to the provisions of Decree No. 139/2017/ND-CP.

4. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory submission of illicit profits gained from committing violations specified in clause 1 of this Article during the time of violation; illicit profits shall be determined by the formulas prescribed in Clause 3, Article 7 of this Decree;

b) Compulsory hand-over of the transferred land area obtained by committing violations by the transferee as specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, unless otherwise prescribed at Point c of this Clause. The refund of transferred money between the parties shall comply with civil laws.

c)  Recovery of land as prescribed at Point d, Clause 1, Article 65 of the Law on Land for cases of land use title transfer specified in Clause 1 of this Article, in which the land use term expire and are not allowed to be extended.

Article 23. Sale and purchase of assets attached to land lots leased by the State with annual rental but failing to fulfill the requirements prescribed in Article 189 of the Law on Land

1. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on the purchase of assets attached to land lots leased by the State with annual rental when the buyers of assets associated with the leased land lots have inappropriate business lines for investment projects or have insufficient financial capacity to implement investment projects or violate the related legal regulations on the land lots allocated or leased by the State for implementing the previous project.

2. A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for the sale of assets attached to land lots leased by the State with annual rental when the assets attached to the leased land are illegally created or has not been completely constructed in accordance with the approved detailed construction planning and investment projects.

3. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory completion of the incomplete construction in accordance with approved detailed construction planning and investment projects, which have been transferred as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article;

b) Compulsory termination of contracts on the purchase and sale of assets attached to land lots as specified in Clause 1 of this Article and/or the purchase and sale of illegally created assets as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article; the settlement of interests of the parties related to the termination of property purchase and sale contracts shall comply with civil laws;

c) Compulsory submission of illicit profits gained from committing violations specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article Force by the property sellers; the illegal profits shall be determined by formulas as prescribed in Clause 6 of Article 7 of this Decree;

d) Handling of illegally created assets attached to the leased land as specified in Clause 2 of this Article shall comply with the related legal regulations on construction.

Article 24. Lease of assets attached to land lots leased by the State with annual rental but failing to fulfill the requirements specified in Article 38a of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP, amended and supplemented in Clause 24, Article 2 of Decree No. 01/2017/ND-CP

1. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on the failure of fulfilling one of the requirements as prescribed by legal regulations on real estate business.

2. A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed on the failure of fulfilling two or more requirements as prescribed by legal regulations on real estate business.

3. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory fulfillment of the requirements as prescribed by legal regulations on real estate business.

b) Compulsory termination of the lease contracts of assets attached to land lots in case of failure of fulfilling two or more requirements as prescribed by legal regulations on real estate business;

c) Compulsory submission of illicit profits gained from violations specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article; Illicit profits shall be determined by formulas prescribed in Clause 7, Article 7 of this Decree.

Article 25. Transfer or donation of conditional land use titles of households and/or individuals without fulfilling the requirements prescribed in Article 192 of the Law on Land

1. A warning or a fine of between VND 500,000 and VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed on the following violations committed by family households or individuals:

a) Transfer or donation of land titles by households or individuals, who are living amidst strictly protected and ecological remediation zones of the special-use forest but are not capable of moving out of such zones, of residential land or land used for forest cultivation in combination with agroforestry and aquaculture production to households or individuals who are living outside such zones;

b) Transfer or donation by households or individuals of the land use titles to the residential land or agricultural land allocated by the State inside the protective forests to other households or individuals who are also living inside such areas;

c) Transfer or donation of land titles by households or individuals who are ethnic minorities using the land allocated by the State's incentive policies before 10 years as from the date on which the State’s decisions to allocate the land are made, or after 10 years as from the date on which the State’s decisions to allocate the land are made but the communal-level People’s Committees have yet to confirm that they have left the land due to their relocation away from their residence, change of their jobs or their productive incapacity.

2. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

Compulsory submission of illicit profits gained from committing violations specified in clause 1 of this Article; Illicit profits shall be determined by formulas prescribed in Clause 3, Article 7 of this Decree.

Article 26. Acquisition of transfer or donation of conditional land use titles without the fulfillment of the requirements prescribed in Articles 191 and 192 of the Law on Land

1. A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed on households and individuals acquiring the transfer or donation of land use titles of residential or agricultural land within the territory of protective forests, strictly protected or ecological remediation zones of special-use forests but not residing in such areas.

2. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed on households and individuals who are not directly involved in agricultural production but willfully acquire the transfer or donation of land use titles of rice cultivation land.

3. A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and VND 6,000,000 shall be imposed on households and individuals acquiring the transfer or donation of land use titles from households or individuals who are ethnic minorities  using land allocated by the State's preferential policies within 10 years from the date of the land allocation decisions are made.

4. A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed on organizations that willfully acquire the transfer of land use titles of the land used for rice cultivation, protective forest, special-use forest from households or individuals; except for the cases in which the change of land use purposes is allowed with reference to the planning and proposal for land use approved by the competent authorities.

5. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory hand-over of the area with land use titles acquired by committing violations specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article; unless otherwise specified at Point b of this Clause;

b) In case of transfer of land use titles as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, if the transferors no longer reside in such protective or special-use forest areas, the State shall recover the land in accordance with related laws.

Article 27. Transferring and acquiring land use titles of religious establishments against Law on Land

1. Transformation or mortgage of land use titles shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of less than 0.1 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 40,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 1 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 40,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of more than 01 hectare.

2. Lease of land use titles shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of less than 0.1 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 15,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to 0.5 hectare;

c A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000, shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 1 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 120,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of more than 01 hectare.

3. Transfer, donation or capital contribution with land use titles shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 25,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of less than 0.1 hectares;

b) A fine of between VND 25,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

c) A fine ranging from VND 50,000,000 and VND 80,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 1 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 80,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of more than 01 hectare.

4. Land rent shall be subject to the penalty types and amounts equal to 70% of those prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article. Acquisition of transfer or donation of land use titles shall be subject to the penalty types and amounts equal to 70% of those prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article.

5. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory hand-over of the land by the land transferee or lessee as prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article to the land transferor or lessor;

b) Compulsory submission of illicit profits gained by the land transferor or lessor from performing the transfer of land use title or land lease as prescribed in Clause 2 and 3 of this Article; the illicit profits shall be determined by the formulas as prescribed in Clauses 3 and 4, Article 7 of this Decree;

c) Compulsory repayment of land transfer, lease or sublease payments (in case of land lease with lump-sum rental) during remaining time of land use;

d) Compulsory termination of the mortgage contracts of land use titles as specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 28. Acquiring transfer, capital contribution, renting agricultural land use titles to execute non-agricultural production and business investment projects without fulfilling the requirements specified in Article 193 of the Law on Land

1. Acquisition of transfer and/or capital contribution or rent of agricultural land use titles to execute non-agricultural production and business investment projects without written approval of competent State agencies, or in which the land use purposes of the projects with respect to areas transferred or contributed as capital or the land use titles rented are inconsistent with land use planning and plans approved by competent State agencies, shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 15,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of less than 0.1 hectare;

b) A fine of between VND 15,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to 0.5 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 60,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 1 hectare;

d) A fine ranging from VND 60,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

dd) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 300,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of more than 03 hectares.

2. Acquisition of transfer and/or capital contribution or rent of agricultural land use titles to execute non-agricultural production and business investment projects without fulfilling all 02 requirements prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article shall be subject to the penalty types and amounts 1.5 times higher than those prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. Acquisition of transfer and/or capital contribution or rent of agricultural land use titles to execute non-agricultural production and business investment projects without paying any of the amounts as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 134 of Law on Land shall be subject to the penalty types and amounts as prescribed Article 106 of the Law on Tax Administration and the Government’s Decree No. 129/2013/ND-CP dated October 16, 2013 on penalties for violations against tax administration and enforcement of tax administrative decisions.

4. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory completion of procedures to obtain written approval of competent State agencies in case of acquisition of transfer, capital contribution or rent of agricultural land use titles for project implementation;

b) Compulsory hand-over of the land transferred, contributed as capital or of which the land use titles are rented against the approved land use planning.

Article 29. Transfer of agricultural land use titles in excess of the limits specified in Article 130 of the Law on Land and Article 44 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP

1. Acquisition of transfer of agricultural land use titles in excess of the limits prescribed by the related laws on land shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A warning or a fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 3,000,000 shall be imposed on the acquired area exceeding the limits by less than 01 hectare;

b) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed on the acquired area exceeding the limits from 01 hectare to 03 hectares;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 shall be imposed on the acquired area exceeding the limits from 03 hectares to 05 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed on the acquired area exceeding the limits by more than 05 hectares.

2. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

Compulsory hand-over of the acquired area of ​​land exceeding the limits as a result of committing violations specified in Clause 1 of this Article. In case the land cannot be handed over, the State shall recover such land according as prescribed at Point d, Clause 1, Article 64 of the Law on Land.

Article 30. Acquiring land use title transfer or renting land against Articles 153 and 169 of the Law on Land and Article 39 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP

1.  Vietnamese nationals who are allowed to own houses in Vietnam acquiring transfer of land use titles of land without houses not under housing development projects or transfer of land use title of land other than residential land outside industrial parks, industrial clusters, export processing zones, hi-tech parks or economic zones shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of less than 0.1 hectare;

b) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 40,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 40,000,000 and VND 60,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 60,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 200,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of more than 03 hectares.

2. Foreign-invested enterprises acquiring transfer of investment capital as land use titles of agricultural or forestry production land or foreign-invested enterprises renting non-agricultural production and business land of households and individuals outside industrial parks, industrial complexes, export processing zones, hi-tech parks and economic zones shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of less than 0.1 hectare;

b) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 60,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.1 hectare to 0.5 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 60,000,000 and VND 90,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 1 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 90,000,000 and VND 150,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area ranging from 01 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 150,000,000 and VND 300,000,000 shall be imposed if the violated land lot covers an area of more than 03 hectares.

3. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

Compulsory hand-over of the transferred or leased area as specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article. In case the land cannot be handed over, the State shall recover such land according to the provisions of Point d, Clause 1, Article 64 of the Law on Land.

Article 31. Failing to submit documents, failing to provide or providing inadequate documents to carry out procedures for granting certificates to buyers, renters of houses, construction works or for acquiring land use titles in real estate business projects

Real estate project executing organizations failing to submit documents to carry out procedures for granting certificates to buyers, renters of houses, construction works or transferees of land use titles, or failing to provide or providing inadequate documents to buyers, renters of houses, construction works or transferees of land use titles who wish to applying for certificates by themselves as prescribed in Clause 7 Article 26 of the Law on Housing and Clause 4, Article 13 of the Law on Real Estate Business shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

1. From 50 days to 06 months:

a) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed on violations affecting less than 30 apartments, construction works or land lots;

b) A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed on violations affecting from 30 to less than 100 apartments, construction works or land lots;

c) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed on violations affecting more than 100 apartments, constructions or land lots.

2. From more than 06 months to 09 months:

a) A fine ranging from VND 30,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed on violations affecting less than 30 apartments, construction works or land lots;

b) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed on violations affecting from 30 to less than 100 apartments, construction works or land lots;

c) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 300,000,000 shall be imposed on violations affecting more than 100 apartments, construction works or land lots.

3. From more than 09 months to 12 months:

a) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed on violations affecting less than 30 apartments, construction works or land lots;

b) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 300,000,000 shall be imposed on violations affecting from 30 to less than 100 apartments, construction works, land lots;

c) A fine ranging from VND 300,000,000 and VND 500,000,000 shall be imposed on violations affecting more than100 or more apartments, constructions, land lots.

4. From 12 months or more:

a) A fine of between VND 100,000,000 and VND 300,000,000 shall be imposed on violations affecting less than 30 apartments, construction works or land lots;

b) A fine ranging from VND 300,000,000 and VND 500,000,000 shall be imposed on violations affecting from 30 to less than 100 apartments or construction works, land lots;

c) A fine ranging from VND 500,000,000 and VND 1,000,000,000 shall be imposed on violations affecting more than 100 apartments, constructions or land lots.

5. The time of violation specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article shall be considered starting from the date the investor hands over the houses, construction works or land lots to the buyers or from the time the lessees fully pay the agreed rental to the time of making the record of administrative violations; In case the investor has rectified the violations after the time limit specified in Clause 7, Article 26 of the Housing Law and Clause 4, Article 13 of the Law on Real Estate Business, the time limit for violation shall end at the date the violations are rectified.

6. In a project, if investors commit violations at different durations affecting different numbers of apartments, construction works and land lots as prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article, the penalty types and amounts shall be determined according to each of the fines as specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article, but the total fines shall not exceed VND 1,000,000,000.

7. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

Compulsory submission of documents or sufficient provision of documents to buyers, renters of houses, construction works, or land use title transferees who wish to apply for certificates themselves as prescribed.

Article 32. Failing to use land for planting annual crops on 12 consecutive months, for planting perennial plants on 18 consecutive months, or for afforestation land on 24 consecutive months

1. Failing to use land for planting annual crops on 12 consecutive months, for planting perennial plants on 18 consecutive months, or for afforestation land on 24 consecutive months which are not in majeure circumstances as prescribed in Article 15 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 500,000 and 1,000,000 shall be imposed on the unused area of less than 0.5 hectare;

b) A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 3,000,000 shall be imposed on the unused area ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 03 hectares;

c) A fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 5,000,000 be imposed on the unused area ranging from 03 hectares to less than 10 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 be imposed on the unused area of more than 10 hectares.

2. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

Compulsory use of land for the purposes as allocated, leased or recognized by the State; In case of being imposed with penalties but not putting the land into use, the State shall recover the land according to the provisions of Point h, Clause 1, Article 64 of the Law on Land.

Article 33. Failing to follow procedures for transformation to land lease in the case specified in Clause 2, Article 60 of the Law on Land

1. People currently using land lots allocated by the State without land use levy before July 1, 2014, now falling into the case of having to rent land as prescribed in the Law on Land, but not yet submitting applications for carrying out procedures for transfer to land lease shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed on the area that shall be converted into land lease of less than 0.1 hectare;

b) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed on the area that shall be converted into land lease ranging from 0.1 hectare to less than 0.5 hectare;

c) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed on the area that shall be converted into land lease ranging from 0.5 hectare to less than 01 hectare;

d) A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed on the area that shall be converted into land lease ranging from 01 hectare to less than 05 hectares;

d) A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed on the area that shall be converted into land lease of more than 05 hectares.

2. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

Compulsory implementation of procedures for transferring to land lease as prescribed in the Law on Land.

Article 34. Violations against regulations on management of land-markers and administrative boundary markers

1. A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed on moving or changing administrative boundary markers or land-markers, which do not imply land encroachment for usage purposes as specified in Clause 1, Article 3 of this Decree.

2. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on damaging administrative boundary markers or land-markers.

3. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

Compulsory restoration to the original state of land-markers and administrative boundary markers in case of violations prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

Article 35. Violations against regulations on documents and vouchers in land use

1. A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 3,000,000 shall be imposed on 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 4,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed on 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 titles but not to the extent of being examined for penal liability.

3. A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed on 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. The following additional penalty measures shall be applied:

Confiscation of documents with erased, modified, falsified contents; forged documents used in the cases specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article.

5. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

a) Compulsory submission of granted certificates and re-implementation of land administrative procedures as prescribed by related laws in case of violation specified in Clause 2 of this Article;

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

Article 36. Violations against regulations on provision of land-related information for inspection, examination and collection of evidences to settle land-related disputes

1. A warning or a fine of between VND 500,000 and 1,000,000 shall be imposed on delayed provision of information, documents and materials related to land inspection and examination after 07 days after the date the inspection 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 by the People's Courts and administrative agencies at all levels.

2. A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed on providing incorrect or incomplete land-related information at written requests of the competent agencies or persons in charge of inspection, examination and collection of evidences to settle land-related disputes by the People's Courts and administrative agencies at all levels.

3. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 shall be imposed on failing to supply 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.

4. The following consequence improvement measures shall be applied:

Compulsory provision or re-prevision of information, documents, materials as prescribed in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article.

Article 37. Violations against conditions for providing land-related services

1. Organizations committing violations against conditions for providing consultancy services on land pricing shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on providing consultancy services on land pricing without the functions of consultancy on land pricing or price appraisal or real estate valuation consultancy or without at least 03 qualified valuers to practice consultancy on land pricing as specified in Clause 2, Article 20 of the Government’s Decree No. 44/2014/ND-CP dated May 15, 2014 on land prices (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 44/2014/ND-CP), amended in Clause 1, Article 2 of the Government’s Decree No. 136/2018/ND-CP dated October 5, 2018 amending a number of articles of Decrees related to business investment conditions related to natural resources and environment (hereinafter called Decree No. 136/2018/ND-CP);

b) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed on providing consultancy services on land pricing without the functions of consultancy on land pricing or price appraisal or real estate valuation consultancy or without at least 03 qualified appraisers to practice consultancy on land pricing as specified in Clause 2, Article 20 of Decree No. 44/2014/ND-CP, amended in Clause 1 Article 2 of Decree No. 136/2018/ND-CP.

2. Organizations committing violations against conditions for providing consultancy services on land planning shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on providing of consultancy services on land use planning without the functions of consultancy on formulating land use planning and plans or without at least 02 individuals to practice consultancy on formulating land use planning and plans prescribed in Clause 2, Article 10 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP, amended in Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2018/ND-CP;

b) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed on providing of consultancy services on land use planning without the functions of consultancy on formulating land use planning and plans or without at least 02 individuals to practice consultancy on formulating land use planning and plans prescribed in Clause 2, Article 10 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP, amended in Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2018/ND-CP.

3. Organizations providing other land-related consultancy services, including land survey and assessment; land reclamation; measuring, making cadastral maps, cadastral documentation, building land databases, making applications for certificates; auction of land use titles; compensation, financial support and resettlement committing violations against conditions on land-related consultancy services as specified in Clause 3, Article 25 of the Law on Property Auction; Articles 5a and 5b of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP amended and supplemented in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2018/ND-CP and Clause 1, Article 9 of the Government’s Decree No. 45/2015/ND-CP dated May 06, 2015 on geodesic and cartographic activities shall be subject to the following penalty types and amounts:

a) A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed on failing to have 01 of the conditions as prescribed by related laws;

b) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed on failing to have 02 or more conditions as prescribed by related laws.

4. The following additional penalty measures shall be applied:

a) Deprivation of operation licenses of organizations in a definite term of 06 to 09 months from the date the decisions on administrative violation penalties take effect as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 25 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations;

b) Suspension of operations of organizations without operation licenses for 09 to 12 months from the date the decisions on administrative violation penalties take effect as prescribed in Clause 3 Article 25 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations.

Chapter III
COMPETENCE TO IMPOSE PENALTIES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS

Article 38. Competence of presidents of People's Committees at all levels to impose penalties for administrative violations

1. Presidents of commune-level People's Committees shall be vested with the right to impose:

a) Warning;

b) Fines up to VND 5,000,000;

c) Confiscation of documents with erased, modified, falsified contents; forged documents in land use;

d) Application of consequence improvement measures:

Compulsory restoration to the original state of the land before the violations are committed.

2. Presidents of district-level People's Committees shall be vested with the right to impose:

a) Warning;

b) Fines up to VND 50,000,000;

c) Confiscation of documents with erased, modified, falsified contents; forged documents in land use;

d) Revocation of operation licenses for providing land-related consultancy services for a definite term or suspension of land-related consultancy services for a definite term;

dd) Application of consequence improvement measures as specified in Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree.

3. Presidents of provincial-level People's Committees shall be vested with the right to impose:

a) Warning;

b) Fines up to VND 500,000,000;

c) Confiscation of documents with erased, modified, falsified contents; forged documents in land use;

d) Revocation of operation licenses for providing land-related consultancy services for a definite term or suspension of land-related consultancy services for a definite term;

dd) Apply consequence improvement measures specified in Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree.

4. Competent persons defined in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article detecting violations that are not under their competence or are beyond their competence to impose penalties or take consequence improvement measures shall comply the provisions of Clause 3, Article 58 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations and Clause 2, Article 6 of the Government's Decree No. 81/2013/ND-CP dated July 19, 2013 detailing a number of articles and measures of implementation of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations amended and supplemented in Clause 7, Article 1 of the Government's Decree No. 97/2017/ND-CP dated August 18, 2017.

Article 39. Competence of specialized inspectors

1. Inspector or the person tasked with the specialized inspection during their law enforcement shall be vested with the right to impose:

a) Warning;

b) Fines up to VND 500,000;

c) Confiscation of documents with erased, modified, falsified contents; forged documents in land use;

d) Application of consequence improvement measures:

Compulsory restoration to the original state of the land before the violations are committed.

2. The Chief Inspector of the provincial/municipal Departments, Heads of the Specialized Inspection Teams established under the decisions of the either General Director of General Department of Land Administration, Director or Chief Inspector of the provincial/municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall be vested with the right to impose:

a) Warning;

b) Fines up to VND 50,000,000;

c) Confiscation of documents with erased, modified, falsified contents; forged documents in land use;

d) Revocation of operation licenses for providing land-related consultancy services for a definite term or suspension of land-related consultancy services for a definite term;

dd) Application of consequence improvement measures as specified in Clause 3 Article 5 of this Decree.

3. Heads of Specialized Inspection Teams established by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall be vested with the right to impose:

a) Warning;

b) Fines up to VND 250,000,000;

c) Confiscation of documents with erased, modified, falsified contents; forged documents in land use;

d) Revocation of operation licenses for providing land-related consultancy services for a definite term or suspension of land-related consultancy services for a definite term;

dd) Application of consequence improvement measures as specified in Clause 3 Article 5 of this Decree.

4. The Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the General Director of the General Department of Land Administration shall be vested with the right to impose:

a) Warning;

b) Fines up to VND 500,000,000;

c) Confiscation of documents with erased, modified, falsified contents; forged documents in land use;

d) Revocation of operation licenses for providing land-related consultancy services for a definite term or suspension of land-related consultancy services for a definite term;

dd) Application of consequence improvement measures as specified in Clause 3 Article 5 of this Decree.

5. Construction-specialized inspectors shall be vested with the right to impose penalties for administrative violations specified in Article 31 of this Decree.

The Inspectorate of the Ministry of National Defense shall be vested with the right to impose penalties for administrative violations related to land used for national defense purposes while the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Public Security shall be vested with the right to impose penalties for administrative violations related to land used for public security purposes as prescribed by this Decree.

6. Competent persons defined in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 5 of this Article detecting violations that are not under their competence or are beyond their competence to impose penalties or take consequence improvement measures shall comply the provisions of Clause 3, Article 58 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations and Clause 2, Article 6 of Decree No. 81/2013/ND-CP amended and supplemented in Clause 7, Article 1 of Decree No. 97/2017/ND-CP.

Article 40. Records of administrative violations and competence to make records of administrative violations

1. Records of administrative violations in land management shall be made in accordance with Article 58 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations and Decree No. 81/2013/ND-CP amended and supplemented in Decree No. 97/2017/ND-CP.

2. Persons with competence to make records include:

a) Persons with competence to impose penalties for land-related administrative violations as prescribed in Articles 38 and 39 of this Decree;

b) Civil servants and public employees assigned to inspect and examine land management, use and land-related service provision.

Forest rangers assigned to conduct inspection and supervision of forest management and use shall make written records of administrative violations regarding acts of encroaching on, occupying and using land within special-use forests, protection forests or productive forests for other purposes. Civil servants of airport authorities are tasked with inspecting the use of land at airports and airfields.

Article 41. Responsibilities of persons with competence to impose penalties for administrative violations in case of temporary suspension or suspension of land-related service operations

Upon handling administrative violations which falls within the provisions of Article 37 of this Decree, the persons with competence to impose penalties for administrative violations shall notify in writing the agencies that grant licenses, register practice activities for handling coordination as prescribed by related laws.

Chapter IV
PROVISIONS OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 42. Transitional provisions

1. Land-related administrative violations occurred before the date this Decree takes effect shall apply the provisions on penalties for administrative violations as follows:

a) In case violation record has been made but no sanctioning decision has been issued before the effective date of this Decree and the statute of limitations of such violation has expired or such violation does not fall into the cases as prescribed in this Decree, penalties shall not be imposed for such violations;

b) In case violation record has been made but no sanctioning decision has been issued before the effective date of this Decree and the statute of limitations of such violation has not expired as prescribed in this Decree, such violation shall continue to be imposed with related penalties.

Penalties for administrative violations in this case shall comply with the regulations on administrative violation penalties in land-related sector, which take effect at the time of making records of such administrative violations. If the application of this Decree is more favorable to the violators, the penalties shall comply with this Decree;

c) If a penalty decision has been issued but has not yet been implemented or has not been completely implemented, the penalty decision shall be continued;

d) If the penalties have been imposed but the related administrative violations continue and the cases other than those specified in Points a, b and c of this Clause, penalties prescribed by this Decree shall be applied.

2. If the decisions on land-related administrative violation penalties are issued but have not yet been implemented or have been completely implemented before the effective date of this Decree, and individuals and organizations still raise any complaints, they shall apply the law provisions on administrative violation penalties currently in effect at the time of issuing such decisions.

Article 43. Effect

1. This Decree takes effect from January 5, 2020.

2. This Decree replaces the Government's Decree No. 102/2014/ND-CP dated November 10, 2014 on penalties for administrative violations in land-related sector.

3. Annulling Point d, Clause 3 and Point i, Clause 6, Article 57 of the Government's Decree No. 139/2017/ND-CP dated November 27, 2017.

Article 44. Organization and responsibilities for implementation

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

2. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level regulatory agencies, Heads of Government-attached agencies, Presidents of People’s Committees of municipalities and provinces, or relevant organizations, individuals shall assume responsibility for implementing this Decree./.

For the Government

The Prime Minister

Nguyen Xuan Phuc