LAND LAW / STAMP DUTY IN MYANMAR - LINCOLN

LAND LAW / STAMP DUTY IN MYANMARSeminar, 4 August 2016

IMPORTANT LAND LAWSTransfer of Property Act 1882Upper Myanmar Land and Revenue Regulations 1889Land Acquisition Act 1894Lower Myanmar Town and Village Lands Act 1899Registration Act 1909Land Nationalization Act 1953 (repealed)Transfer of Immovable Property Restriction Act 1987Constitution 2008

IMPORTANT LAND LAWSFarmland Law 2012Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Lands Management Law 2012Foreign Investment Law 2012Special Economic Zones Law 2012

TYPES OF LANDFarmland (paddy land and several types of non-paddyland)Non-farmland:Town landVillage landGrant landPermit landFreehold (“ancestral”) landLicensed land

TYPES OF LANDReligious landVacant land and fallow landVirgin landForest landFarmland that is allowed to be used in other ways(according to section 30 (a) or 30 (b) Farmland Law;previously “LaNa 39” land)

LAND DOCUMENTSLand grant certificate (lease agreement)Land permitLand licenseLand use certificate (form 7)Receipt for land taxLand forms 105, 106Certificate according to section 30 (a) or 30 (b) FarmlandLaw (formerly: “LaNa 39”)

LAND GRANTTechnically, a transferable leasePreviously: Only for residential purposesNow: Residential and business purposesLand grants are available for 90, 60 or 30 yearsIn Yangon: Issued by the Department of HumanSettlement and Housing Development (DHSHD) or YCDC

LAND GRANT

LAND GRANT

LAND PERMITDocument allowing temporary residencePeriod: One yearAllows the building of a houseProhibition to sell or transferPermit shows the name of the land holder and thelocation of the landCategorized as “town land”Verification possible at land record department

LAND LICENSEPreviously, issued under section 7 Lower Myanmar Townand Village Lands Act for specific types of businesses:Industry: e.g. rice mill, oil mill, timber factoryAgriculture: e.g. teak, dhaniExtendable after paying the annual taxNot issued any more

LAND USE CERTIFICATE (FORM 7)Issued according to section 7 Farmland Law 2012Can be sold, transferred and inheritedChanging the use requires permission from the CentralFarmland Management Committee (paddy land) orRegional/State Farmland Management Committee (othertypes of farmland)

LAND USE CERTIFICATE (FORM 7)

LAND USE CERTIFICATE (FORM 7)

LAND TAX RECEIPT (FORM 8)Issued for paddy land, garden land, ya (dry field) land, khai(dry field) landShows the name of the land user, use period, holding no.,kwin name and number, land type, land location; showsthe paid amountForm states that “this form does not prove ownership”

LAND TAX RECEIPT (FORM 8)

FORMS 105 AND 106Form 105: Map of a plot of landForm 106: Land historyAvailable from the Township Land Record DepartmentIssued for both farmland and non-farmlandForm 105: Shows the name of the “owner, grant holder,lessee”, land identification (plot no., etc.), status of theland (e.g. “government land”), land type (e.g. “gardenland”), land map

FORMS 105 AND 106

USING FARMLAND IN OTHER WAYSCentral Farmland Management CommitteeRegional/State Farmland Management CommitteeDistrict Farmland Management CommitteeTownship Farmland Management CommitteeLand Record DepartmentPaddy landNon-paddy land

USING FARMLAND IN OTHER WAYSApplication letter (form 10)Statement as to the current land usageForms 105, 106Location map (1 inch representing 1 mile)Location map taken from GoogleNon-objection letters from the neighboursResolution of the meeting of the Village FarmlandManagement CommitteeSite plan

USING FARMLAND IN OTHER WAYS

REGISTERING LEASE AGREEMENTSEvery Land Record Department is differentAt the very least, landlord, tenant and two witnesses haveto appear in personLandlord and tenant can be represented with a power ofattorney; power of attorney has to be notarizedOther documents that a land record department mayrequest to see: form 105 (purpose: “lease of land”), form7, permission according to section 30 (a)/30 (b) FarmlandLaw

REGISTERING LEASE AGREEMENTSDocuments have to be presented for registration withinfour months from the date of signing (section 23Registration Act)Documents have to be revenue stamped first (“before orat the time of signing”; section 17 Stamp Act)Stamp duty for lease agreements: 1.5% of annual rent ifterm 3 years; 3% of annual rent if term is longerPenalty: duty amount x 10 for late stamping (section 35(a)Stamp Act)

LAND GRABSLand taken away by force or through coercionDifficult to spot by looking at the land documents only;but a large plot of “virgin” or “vacant and fallow” landcould be an indication, as well as names connected to theformer junta or croniesCheck on the ground: Speak with residents and the localNLD officeCommittees investigating land grabs: See herehttp://tinyurl.com/jlvesu4

YCDCAdministers 33of the 45 townships of Yangon RegionCreated in 1990; now operates “almost as a dominant[additional] ministry under the Region government”Legal basis (now): Yangon City Municipal Law 2013(Yangon Region Hluttaw Law)Committee partly elected, partly appointed by theRegional GovernmentMayor (i) YCDC chairman and (ii) Region Minister forDevelopment Affairs; is appointed by the Union President

YCDCResponsible, among others, for urban planning (zoningand building permits)Further reading: UNDP Myanmar - The State of LocalGovernance: Trends in Yangon

HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS IN YANGONApplication for approval in principle to Yangon RegionGovernment, filed with the High-Rise Building InspectionCommittee HIC (application documents includearchitectural drawing and information as to location,height above sea level, spacing (i.e. distance betweenbuildings), parking space)Several of HIC’s departments review the applicationSecretary of the HIC reports on the result of the review tothe YCDC Chairman (i.e. the mayor of Yangon)

HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS IN YANGONIf the mayor agrees, HIC forwards the application to: (i)YCDC Executive Committee if building 12½ floors or (ii)Yangon Region GovernmentIf YCDC Executive Committee or Yangon RegionGovernment approve in principle: Application for buildingpermit to Engineering Department (Building)

HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS IN YANGONApplication documents have to be prepared and signed bya licensed engineer, licensed contractor and buildingengineer and include the information already submitted tothe Yangon Region Government, but in more detail andwith proper calculationsEngineering Department (Building) forwards, afterreviewing, the application to the High-Rise BuildingInspection Committee (HIC)

HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS IN YANGONHIC reviews applications for construction permits forbuildings with 8½ to 12½ floorsApplications for buildings with more than 12½ floors arereviewed by the Committee for Quality Control of HighRise Building Construction Projects (CQHP)HIC or CQHP gives recommendation to EngineeringDepartment (Construction) on: pile load test, deepexcavation, foundation, piling, superstructure and M&E

HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS IN YANGONEngineering Department (Building) issues a buildingpermit and, after construction is finished, a buildingcompletion certificate

ZONING IN YANGONInside “Shwedagon Pagoda Restricted Area”: Buildings 190 feet above sea level; must not obstruct the view onShwedagon Pagoda by worshippers in public areasOutside “Shwedagon Pagoda Restriced Area”: Buildings 417 feet above sea levelZoning plan so far only a draft

ZONING IN YANGONTaken from: U Than Myint, “Provisional Myanmar National Building Code and Guidelines for HighRise Buildings”

LEGAL RECOURSE AGAINST ACTS BYTHE GOVERNMENTSection 45 Specific Relief Act: “The High Court may makean order requiring any specific act to be done or forborne,within the local limits of its ordinary original civiljurisdiction, by any person holding a public office whetherof a permanent or a temporary nature or by anycorporation or inferior Court of Judicature”

CONTACTLincoln Legal Services (Myanmar) Ltd.La Pyi Wun Plaza, Room 103 (ground floor),37, Alan Pya Pagoda Road, Dagon Township,Yangon, MyanmarPhone: ge: Coming soon

Documents have to be revenue stamped first (“before or at the time of signing”; section 17 Stamp Act) Stamp duty for lease agreements: 1.5% of annual rent if term 3 years; 3% of annual rent if term is longer Penalty: duty amount x 10 for late stamping (section 35(a) Stamp Act)