Legal News

[Laws and Regulations] Major Changes in the Revised Land Code Effective August 1, 2024

2024/08/08

The Land Law 2024 (the “Revised Law”) officially came into effect on August 1, 2024, and many details have been modified and supplemented compared to the 2013 Land Law, some of which are discussed in this article.

First, 22 new concepts were added to the amended law. One of them is the replacement of the term “foreign investment enterprise” with “foreign investment economic organization” in order to be consistent with the concept used in related laws such as the Investment Law of 2020, the Real Estate Business Law, and the Housing Law of 2024.

Second, the revised law specifies who is responsible to the state for land use. For example, in the case of a foreign-invested economic organization (“foreign enterprise”), the “legal representative” is the person responsible to the State for land use.

Third, with regard to the rights and obligations of foreign enterprises using land to implement investment projects in Vietnam, the amended Law inherits the content of the 2013 Land Law, but adds a number of details. For example, it adds that foreign companies that pay annual land rent to the State and lease land have the right to sublease their land use rights to the State in the form of annual land rent payments for land on which infrastructure construction has been completed, if infrastructure construction or business investment is allowed on land in industrial parks, industrial clusters, or high-tech zones.

Fourth, the amended law adds content pertaining to the authority of commercial arbitration to resolve land disputes. According to Article 236.5 of the Amended Law, disputes between parties arising from commercial activities related to land shall be resolved by courts in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure or by commercial arbitration in accordance with relevant laws.

Compared to the 2013 Land Law, a number of changes have been added to the amended law to eliminate duplication and inconsistencies in land-related policies and laws. On the other hand, these changes may create challenges for investors and foreign companies in actually updating and applying the regulations, so it is necessary to review the changes and adapt quickly to the changes in laws and regulations.

 

References:
Land Law of January 18, 2024.