A range of policies took effect on July 1 including the revised Land
Law, a decree on methods to evaluate land prices, and a decree to
monitor multi-level marketing.
The revised Land Law, which has
14 chapters and 212 articles, clearly regulates the State’s rights,
obligations and its role in land management.
The law says the
State has the right to decide on land planning, land use planning
schemes and the amount of land allocated to a household.
It also
says that land tenure, land allocation decisions and land lease and
certificates on land use rights, will be decided by the State. Decisions
to acquire land for the purposes of national defence, national security
and socio-economic development for the national interest and for the
public and others are also within the jurisdiction of the State, the law
says.
It aims to get rid of cases of acquiring land which might negatively impact the rights and benefits of land users.
Land
acquisitions must be done in a transparent manner with accountability,
and compensation must be paid in accordance with the laws in order to
ensure harmonious relations among the State, land user and investor.
The
law extends the agricultural land use term of families and individuals,
and expands the limit of land-use-right transfer of households and
individuals to meet requirements of land accumulation for agricultural
production towards modernisation.
Under Decree 44/2014/ND-CP,
which has also become valid since July 1, there are five methods to
determine land prices for specific types of land.
The direct
comparison method is applied to determine land prices in cases where
comparison is possible with land prices of areas that have been traded
in the market, or in cases, where land use rights have been successfully
auctioned.
The subtraction method is applied to determine land
prices of areas with attached assets when there is sufficient data on
similar areas, and when land has been traded in the market or land use
rights have been successfully auctioned.
The income method is applied for areas wherein income derived from the land and land use expenses can be determined.
The
surplus method is applied for areas with development potential as a
result of changes in zoning or conversion of purpose, and when total
revenues and expenses can be estimated.
The land price correction co-efficient method is applied in some specific cases required under the decree.
Decree
42/2014/ND-CP made it valid to properly monitor activities of
multi-level marketing firms as well as protect people, who worked for
the firms from scam or profiteering cases.
Goods that were
banned from multi-level marketing included, medicines, medical
equipment, pesticides, chemicals, and insecticides.
Decree
49/2014/ND-CP came into effect on July 1 to monitor and inspect
state-owned enterprises in obeying regulations in six fields.
These
included managing and using capital and state properties, the
observance of financial regulations and supervision and arranging,
innovating and strengthening the organisation and operation of
enterprises.
These also included developing and implementing
strategies and plans for investment and development of production.
Recruiting and managing employers as well as evaluating, rewarding and
disciplining them, also came under this Decree.
Another legal
document also came into effect on July 1, notably Circular No
57/2014/TT-BTC regarding annual leave payment for civil servants and
Government officers.
The circular said that since July 1, civil
servants and Government officers, who work in remote areas, mountainous
areas and islands could ask the leader of the organisation or department
to grant the annual leave every three years and allowance to be paid
along with that, instead of it being paid every year as before.
In
the meantime, President Truong Tan Sang signed an order dated June 26
to promulgate the Law on amendments and supplements to the Law on
Vietnamese Nationality.
The law, approved on June 24 by National
Assembly deputies at their seventh session in the 13th tenure, contains
changes to Articles 13 and 26 of the Law on Vietnamese Nationality.
The
new Article 13 stipulates that citizens having Vietnamese nationality
include those who have nationality by the effective date of this law and
those who acquire nationality under this law.
Overseas
Vietnamese, who have not yet lost Vietnamese nationality as prescribed
by law before the effective date of this law, still retain their
nationality.
Vietnamese residing abroad, who have not yet lost
Vietnamese nationality and have no papers to prove their nationality as
prescribed in Article 11 of this law, should make a registration with
overseas Vietnamese representative missions to have their nationality
recognised and their Vietnamese passports issued.
Clause 3 of
Article 26 which was related to the failure to register for retention of
Vietnamese nationality as prescribed in clause 2 of the old article 13
was annulled.
The amended law took effect from June 26.-VNA