Consider paying deposit for land auction of more than 4 billion VND per square meter

Hanoi Land Fund Development Center proposed that the People's Committee of Me Linh district consider the application to withdraw the deposit of Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, who paid more than 4 billion VND/m2 for a 102 m2 plot of land, 142 times the starting price.

On January 16, Deputy Director of the Land Fund Development Center of Me Linh District Nguyen Hong Quang said that on January 3, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, 33 years old, submitted a request to the District People's Committee to consider returning the deposit for the land plot due to a mistake when paying the price.

Tung and his mother in the yard on the afternoon of January 16. Photo: Vo Hai — Tung and his mother in the yard on the afternoon of January 16. Photo: *Vo Hai*

Following the direction of the District People's Committee, the Center worked with Mr. Tung to verify the content of the application, thereby finding that Mr. Tung had a good personal background, was a freelance worker, did not speculate on land but auctioned the above land plot for residence.

At the auction on December 30, 2023, when the auctioneer announced the winner, Mr. Tung complained to the auctioneer about the wrong bid. Evaluation of the bid also showed no signs of calculation, no intentional misunderstanding, but mainly due to Mr. Tung's stress leading to the mistake.

Regarding his personal situation, Mr. Tung has two young children and the whole family is living with his mother. The deposit is too large (612 million VND), so Mr. Tung could not have intentionally lost it. Mr. Tung and his wife have not registered their names as owners of any land plots in the district, so there is no sign of intentionally paying a high price and then abandoning the deposit to raise the land price in the area for profit.

In addition, the wrong bid has not caused any damage to the state because the land plot will be re-auctioned according to regulations in case the result on December 30 is canceled...

The screen of the auction on December 30, 2023 shows that Nguyen Thanh Tung bid 4.28 billion VND per square meter of land. Photo: Vo Hai — The screen of the auction on December 30, 2023 shows that Nguyen Thanh Tung bid 4.28 billion VND per square meter of land. Photo: *Vo Hai*

After verification, the Me Linh District Land Fund Development Center sent a document to the District People's Committee requesting consideration of how to handle the situation reasonably on the basis of legal regulations to ensure that Mr. Tung is not disadvantaged.

Speaking to VnExpress at his home in Tien Thinh commune, Me Linh district, Mr. Tung said that after the auction, he stayed at home for a whole week. "I had no mind to go to work, I just thought about how to get my deposit back. After the auction, the participants talked to each other, the press reported it so many people knew and if I went out on the street, people would ask questions and it would be tiring," Mr. Tung explained.

His mood gradually improved after receiving encouragement from relatives and friends, and especially after being invited by the district government to attend an inter-sectoral meeting to hear the parties report on the auction results on December 30. At that meeting, Mr. Tung submitted a request to withdraw more than 600 million VND in deposit for the land plot due to a mistake in bidding.

"I calculated it to be more than 4.28 billion VND for the entire plot of land, but I didn't think the auction regulations were calculated per square meter, so there was a mistake," he reiterated his opinion at the meeting and affirmed that "it was my first time bidding, so I made a mistake, there was no bad motive."

There were 175 bidders at the auction on the afternoon of December 30, 2023 in Me Linh district. Photo: Vo Hai — There were 175 bidders at the auction on the afternoon of December 30, 2023 in Me Linh district. Photo: *Vo Hai*

Professor Dang Hung Vo (former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment) said that the payment of more than 4 billion VND/m2 mentioned above was due to a mistake. When discovering the wrong price, at that time, the auction organizer should have recognized the content of the auction participant's speech on the spot without confirming the winning bid result, which would be more reasonable.

But that time has passed, the price considered to be paid by mistake has been confirmed, so how to handle it in a way that is both reasonable and emotional will have certain difficulties. "The incident is not too big of a problem, but for now it is a lesson for the organizer and the auction participants," said Professor Vo.

Previously, on the afternoon of December 30, 2023, the Land Fund Development Center of Me Linh District coordinated with Vietnam Auction Joint Stock Company to organize an auction of land use rights for 47 plots of land in Chu Tran village, Tien Thinh commune. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung paid 4.28 billion VND/m2 for a plot of land of 102 m2, while the starting price was 30 million VND/m2 and became the auction winner.

Vo Hai

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