The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment responded to this issue as follows:

According to Point a, Clause 2, Article 5 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP dated May 15, 2014, which provides detailed regulations for the implementation of some articles of the Land Law:

"... The land development organization has the functions of creating, developing, managing, and exploiting land funds; organizing the compensation, support, and resettlement; receiving land use rights transfer from organizations, households, and individuals; organizing land use rights auctions and other services."

In Point 9, Article 2 of Joint Circular No. 16/2015/TTLT-BTNMT-BNV-BTC dated April 4, 2015, which provides guidance on the functions, tasks, powers, organizational structure, and operational mechanisms of the Provincial Land Development Center under the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of provinces and centrally-run cities, it specifies the tasks and powers, including:

"Providing services in compensation, support, and resettlement when the State recovers land; land use rights auctions; land valuation consulting services, except for cases where the State determines land prices; providing information on investment locations, land prices, and land funds to organizations and individuals upon request."

According to Clause 1, Article 20 of Decree No. 44/2014/ND-CP dated May 15, 2014, which regulates land prices, the conditions for land valuation consulting activities are as follows:

"Organizations are allowed to engage in land valuation consulting activities if they meet the following conditions:

a) Having the function of land valuation consulting or real estate appraisal or valuation consulting;

b) Having at least 03 valuation experts who meet the conditions for practicing land valuation consulting as stipulated in this Clause."

Based on the above regulations, the Provincial Land Development Center is permitted to conduct land valuation consulting activities if it meets all the legal requirements.