The Department of Land Administration under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has asked provincial agriculture and environment departments to use digitized land data to replace documents citizens are required to submit, reducing paperwork, processing time and the number of trips needed to complete land procedures.
The Department of Land Administration has issued its second guidance document on reusing digitized land data to cut paperwork and provide online public services. The document, signed by Deputy Director Mai Van Phan, was sent to agriculture and environment departments nationwide.
Under the guidance, agencies receiving and processing land-related administrative procedures are responsible for retrieving information and data already available in databases to replace required documents. The document makes clear that citizens do not have to resubmit documents whose information is already available in data that has been published, connected or shared in accordance with regulations.
Information in the National Land Database will be retrieved and used to replace certificates of land use rights and ownership of assets attached to land, initially for residential land. Localities must cross-check required documents against the databases to accurately determine which documents can be eliminated.
Localities are required to prioritize restructuring frequently performed procedures such as registration of changes to land and replacement of certificates. Depending on the completeness of the data and the ability to connect and share information, procedures may be provided as fully online or partially online public services.
However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said implementation must still ensure citizens' right to choose. Citizens may complete procedures online, in person at one-stop service centers or through public postal services, with the same legal validity.
Localities must monitor the rate of online applications, the percentage of documents eliminated, processing times and costs saved for citizens and businesses.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment categorizes application documents into three groups:
Group 1: Documents that are fully eliminated when the underlying data is complete, accurate, and legally valid.
Group 2: Documents that are conditionally eliminated when data exists but still requires supplementation, cross-checking, or verification.
Group 3: Documents that are retained when data is unavailable or lacks sufficient legal validity to serve as a replacement.
