Question:
Our company has been leasing land in an industrial park under a contract signed in 2018. Recently, the industrial park developer notified us that we are required to pay an additional amount of land rent (not the land sublease fee payable to the State) even though the contract does not stipulate such an obligation, and also requested retroactive payment from the date of contract signing until now. We would like to ask whether this request is in compliance with the law?
Answer:
According to the provisions of the Land Lease Contract, the lessee (the company) is responsible for paying non-agricultural land use tax, administrative fees, and other related charges, but not including the land sublease fee payable to the State. Furthermore, under the Law on Fees and Charges No. 97/2015/QH13, there is no type of fee called “land use fee” or “land use charge.”
Therefore, the company’s obligations are limited to paying the fees stipulated in the contract and under the current laws, and there is no legal basis for the industrial park developer to require an additional “land rent” as notified. The request for retroactive collection of this amount from 2018 to the present is inappropriate and legally unfounded.
Consultation: Real Estate Law Services
