Justice Minister Hoang Thanh Tung has defended a proposal to raise the deposit required to bid at land auctions, Dan Tri reports. The proposal is part of a draft law amending the Law on Property Auction, which the Ministry of Justice submitted and which lawmakers discussed on the afternoon of 3 November at the second session of the 16th National Assembly.
For auctions of land to be allocated to individuals as residential land, the deposit would be 20% to 50% of the starting price. For auctions of land for investment projects, the existing range of 10% to 20% would stay.
The minister said the aim is to stop collusion, price suppression and bidders who offer a very high price and then walk away from the deposit. He said some people or organisations bid very high and abandon the deposit to create a new price level for their own property deals. Bidders who do not win get their deposits back within two working days of the auction ending.
Mr Tung said the 20% to 50% band is an open framework, not a mandatory ceiling. A locality could set 20% or 30%, and areas with many violations could go up to 50%, with the body deciding the auction choosing the level according to local conditions. For project land, he said a rate set too high would create a barrier for investors, while one set too low would not deter anyone.
Several delegates were less sure. Nguyen Thi Yen Nhi, a delegate for Vinh Long, said a high deposit could shut out middle-income buyers who want land to live on and asked for different rules depending on an auction's nature, size and risk. Pham Van Hoa of Dong Thap gave the example of a VND10 billion property needing a VND5 billion deposit at 50% and called that too high.
Le Thanh Hoan of Thanh Hoa proposed that a contract be formed once the auctioneer announces the winner, with a defaulting bidder liable to pay compensation if a later sale fetches less. Thach Phuoc Binh asked for a distinction between deliberate manipulation and cases where a winner cannot pay for reasons outside their control.
The draft also bars family members and related businesses from bidding for the same asset, deals with breaches of payment obligations and introduces end-to-end online auctions. The drafting body will take on board delegates' comments before the bill goes to the Assembly for a vote.
Sources
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