Is the process of determining specific land prices currently stalled?

Currently, the market for land valuation consulting services in Binh Thuan is severely lacking in supply, even though everyone knows that there are 45 projects in the province awaiting specific land valuation, meaning the demand is abundant.

The land valuation consulting firm has given up.

It is now the end of May 2024. If the deadline set at the provincial People's Committee's meeting in early January 2024 – the deadline for calculating specific land prices for the three major projects by the end of the first quarter of 2024 – had been clearly stated, it would have been unattainable. At that time, setting such a deadline for NovaWorld Phan Thiet and the two industrial parks, Tan Duc and Son My 1, was justified, because the process of calculating specific land prices for the three projects, especially NovaWorld Phan Thiet, involved resolving obstacles with support from the central government. The short time ahead will focus on reviewing the valuation results from the consulting firm in several areas where the collected information and calculation methods were not satisfactory. Subsequently, the relevant authorities requested the consulting firm to supplement, finalize, and submit the project valuation results to the provincial valuation council for further processing.

Many projects are awaiting the final land valuation. Photo: Dinh Hoa

However, on February 5, 2024, Decree 12/2024 amending and supplementing some articles of Government Decree 44/2014 on land prices and Government Decree 10/2023 amending and supplementing some articles of decrees guiding the implementation of the Land Law were issued. These decrees contain provisions regulating the calculation of input and output indicators of methods that, according to consulting companies, are even less clear than Decree 44 and Circular 36. Furthermore, they clearly define the responsibilities of the consulting unit responsible for land valuation. Consequently, the companies withdrew their requests to conduct land valuation and did not request reimbursement of the costs incurred.

According to those concerned about land valuation, this binding responsibility has caused consulting firms, already struggling to accurately calculate land prices according to Decree 12/2024, especially using the surplus method, to abruptly cancel consulting contracts and request contract termination without notice. This situation is further exacerbated by the fact that a person responsible for land valuation was arrested in a case within the province. Therefore, at this time, the market for land valuation consulting services in Binh Thuan is severely lacking in supply, even though it is known that there are 45 projects in the province awaiting land valuation, meaning the demand is abundant.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Binh Thuan province stated that currently, the number of consulting units participating in land valuation is very scarce. Due to numerous obstacles, the department is also proposing amendments to Decree 12/2024. National Assembly representative Dang Hong Sy, from Binh Thuan province, also acknowledged this situation. The representative argued that the biggest obstacle is the current method of calculating land prices. Although the decree has been amended and supplemented, almost all localities are unable to calculate land prices to allocate to projects and carry out subsequent steps. This delay leads to the consequence of wasting land resources and losing budget revenue.

Find an easy way to calculate land prices.

According to the head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the lack of consulting units to participate in specific land valuation for calculating land use fees and land lease fees is one of the reasons for the slow land valuation process. In reality, the capacity of land valuers is still weak and does not meet the requirements for organizing land valuation; there is a lack of decisive action in proposing solutions and supplementing relevant procedures to carry out land valuation work; coordination with members of the Council and other departments and agencies is not truly good or timely in resolving difficulties in land valuation work.

Currently, consulting firms involved in land valuation are hesitant to accept responsibility, leading to the cancellation of consulting contracts. This is primarily due to the lack of clarity in current land valuation methods, especially the residual method, which carries significant risks. Input data is often incomplete and untimely, and the calculations of revenue and development costs are based on assumptions. Consequently, different consulting firms or those using different methods produce vastly different and unreliable land valuations. Furthermore, projects within the province lack sufficient information and conditions for determining specific land prices, such as the absence of zoning plans or detailed planning, which further slows down the land valuation process.

According to Mr. Tran Nguyen Loc, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, in the coming time, the department will continue to announce and invite land valuation consulting units, contact units of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Finance, and neighboring provinces and cities to find a consulting unit. If a consulting unit still cannot be found, the department will urgently implement the content of advising the Provincial People's Committee to establish an inter-agency working group to determine land prices. Simultaneously, the department will also advise the Provincial People's Committee on regulations regarding some factors forming the revenue and development costs of land parcels and areas in the surplus method when determining specific land prices in Binh Thuan province, as stipulated in Clause 8, Article 1 of Government Decree No. 12/2024/ND-CP dated February 5, 2024.

Mr. Loc added that currently, the 2024 Land Law and the draft Decree on land prices, which the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is advising the Government on promulgating, contain many new amendments. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment continues to compile reports for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to finalize and incorporate them into the draft decree. They are proactively researching and closely following the new regulations to provide advice on land price determination.

National Assembly representative Dang Hong Sy from Binh Thuan province said: “If the 2024 Land Law and its guiding documents are issued promptly and meet the necessary conditions, they should be applied early, from July 1, 2024 or August 1, 2024. Particular attention should be paid to providing guidance on land valuation that is easy to implement, so that officials and employees in agencies and units involved in this work can conveniently apply the method.”

Source: https://baobinhthuan.com.vn/tinh-gia-dat-cu-the-dang-bi-nghen-119252.html