The English version is for reference only. If there is any inconsistency or conflict between the English and Chinese version, the Chinese version shall prevail.

Operation Basis

Laws: Articles 44 and 45 of the Land Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China provide for: Whereas occupation of land for construction purposes involves the conversion of agricultural land into land for construction purposes, the examination and approval procedures in this regard shall be required. For projects of roads, pipelines and large infrastructure approved by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, land for construction has to be approved by the State Council where conversion of agricultural land is involved. Land to be occupied for construction purposes other than as provided for in the second and third paragraphs of this article shall be approved by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous region and municipalities where conversion of agricultural land into construction land is involved. The expropriation of the following land shall be approved by the State Council: 1. Basic farmland; 2. Land exceeding 35 hectares outside of basic farmland; 3. Other land exceeding 70 hectares. Expropriation of land other than as prescribed for in the preceding paragraph shall be approved by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and submitted to the State Council for record. Expropriation of agricultural land should first of all go through the examination and approval procedure for converting agricultural land into land for construction purposes according to the provisions of Article 44 of this law. Where conversion of land is approved by the State Council, land expropriation examination and approval procedures should be completed concurrently with the procedures for converting agricultural land to construction uses and no separate procedures are required. Where the conversion of land is approved by people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities within their terms of reference, land expropriation examination and approval procedures should be completed at the same time and no separate procedures are required. Where the terms of reference have been exceeded, separate land expropriation examination and approval procedures should be completed according to the provisions of the first paragraph of this article. Article 53 specifies: Where a construction project approved needs land owned by the State for construction purposes, the construction unit should file an application with the land administration department of the people's government at and above the county level with the power of approval on the strength of related documents required by law and administrative decrees. The land administration department shall examine the application and submit it to the people's government at the same level for approval. Article 54 stipulates: A paid lease should be adopted in use of land owned by the State by a construction unit. But the following land may be obtained through government allocation with the approval of the people's governments at and above the county level according to law: 1. Land for use by government organs and for military use; 2. Land for building urban infrastructure and for public welfare undertakings;3. Land for building energy, communications and water conservancy and other infrastructure projects supported by the State. 4. Other land as provided for by the law and administrative decrees.

Administrative Regulations: Article 20 of the Regulations on the Implementation of the Land Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China provides for: Occupation of land for the implementation of urban planning within the scope of land for urban construction determined in the overall planning for land utilization shall be handled pursuant to the following provisions: (i) municipal, county people's governments shall, pursuant to the annual plans for land utilization, draft agricultural land conversion plans, cultivated land supplemental plans, land requisition plans, and submit them in batches and level by level to people's governments with the authority of approval. (II) The competent departments of land administration of people's governments with the authority of approval shall examine the agricultural land conversion plans, cultivated land supplement plans, land requisition plans, put forth examination remarks and submit the same to people's governments with the authority of approval for approval; among which, the cultivated land supplement plans shall be approved simultaneously with the approval of agricultural land conversion plans by people's governments that approve the agricultural land conversion plans. (III) Municipal, county people's governments shall, upon approval of the agricultural land conversion plans, cultivated land supplement plans and land requisition plans, organize their implementation and provide land separately according to specific construction projects. For occupation of land for the implementation of village and township planning within the scope of land for village and township construction determined in the overall planning for land utilization, municipal, county people's governments shall draft agricultural land conversion plans and cultivated land supplement plans and process them pursuant to the procedures prescribed in the preceding paragraph. Article 22 of the Regulations on the Implementation of the Land Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China provides: The construction unit shall, by holding relevant approval documents of the construction projects, file the construction land application to the land administration department of the people’s government at the city and county level that is responsible for review and drafting the plan on supply of land and submit it to the people’s government at the city and county level for approval; if the people’s government at a higher level is required, it is required to submit it to the people’s government at a higher level for approval. Articles 23 and 24 provide for: For any need to use land for a specific construction project, an application must be filed according to law for the use of State-owned land for construction within the scope of urban land for construction determined in the overall planning for land utilization. Where an actual need arises for the use of land outside the scope of land for urban construction determined by the overall planning for land utilization for such construction projects as energy, communications, water conservancy, mines and military installations involving agricultural land, it shall be handled pursuant to the following provisions: (ii) The construction unit shall, on the strength of the relevant approval decumbent of the construction project, file an application for land for construction with the competent department of municipal or county people's government, the competent department of municipal or county people's government shall examine the application, draw up an agricultural land conversion plan, land requisition plan and land provision plan (where state owned agricultural land is involved, no land requisition plan shall be drafted), which shall, upon examination, verification and consent of the municipal or county people's government, be submitted level by level to the people's government with the authority of approval for approval; among which, the cultivated land supplemental plan shall be simultaneously approved by the people's government that approved the agricultural land conversion plan at the time of approval of the agricultural land conversion plan; the land provision plan shall be simultaneously approved by the people's government that approved land requisition at the time of approval of the land requisition plan (where state-owned agricultural land is involved, the land provision plan shall be simultaneously approved by the people's government that approved the agricultural land conversion at the time of approval of the agricultural land conversion plan). Where an actual need arises for land use for a construction project outside the scope of land for urban construction determined in the overall planning for land utilization involving unutilized land under peasants' collective ownership, only a land requisition plan and land provision plan shall be submitted for approval. Where a need arises for the occupation of state-owned unutilized land determined in the overall planning for land utilization for a specific construction project, it shall be handled pursuant to the provisions of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government; however, land use for key State construction projects, military installations and construction projects transcending the administrative areas of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government should be submitted to the State Council for approval. Article 29 Forms of paid-for use of State-owned land include: (1) transfer of state-owned land use right; (2) leasing of state-owned land; and (3) contribution at a fixed value or equity participation for State-owned land use right.

Local Regulations: Article 25 of the Measures of Shanghai for Implementation of the Land Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China provides for: Conversion of agricultural land into construction land is subject to examination and approval according to the following provisions: (i) within the downtown construction land scale and scope, the land administration department at the municipal and district (county) level will draft the agricultural land conversion plan and cultivation supplementing plan according to the annual land utilization plan [if the peasant’s collective ownership land is expropriated, it is required to, together with the country (town) people’s government, draft the plan on expropriation of land], and submit it to the State Council for approval in batches and step by step. (ii) Within the scale and scope of town and village construction land, the land administration department at the district (county) level will draft the agricultural land conversion plan and cultivation supplementing plan according to the annual land utilization plan [if the peasant’s collective ownership land is expropriated, it is required to, together with the country (town) people’s government, draft the plan on expropriation of land], and submit it to the municipal people’s government for approval in batches and step by step; among which, if exceeding the land approval powers of the municipal people’s government, it is required to submit it to the State Council for approval. Article 26 of the Measures of Shanghai for Implementation of the Land Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China sets forth: As for use of existing construction land or use of new construction land as approved by the State Council, in addition to review by the municipal land administration authority and drafting of the land supply plan and submission to the municipal people’s government for review and approval, the land administration authority at the district or county level shall conduct its review and draft the land supply plan and submit it to the people’s government at the district or county level, and put it on record at the municipal land administration authority. Article 28 specifies: If the agricultural land outside the scale and scope of downtown, town and village construction land is constructed and occupied, the municipal land administration department organizes the district (county) land administration department in drafting the agricultural land conversion plan, cultivation supplementing plan and land supply plan [if the peasant’s collective ownership land is expropriated, it is required to, together with the country (town) people’s government, draft the plan on expropriation of land], and submits it to the municipal people’s government for approval; among which, the large infrastructure construction projects as approved by the State Council and its affiliated authorities, enterprises separately designated in the State plan and the municipal people’s government, and military facility construction projects, and those exceeding the land expropriation approval powers of the municipal people’s government shall be reported to the State Council for approval. Article 33 specifies: in case of compensated use of State-owned land by means of assignment or leasing, etc., the municipal or district (county) planned land administration department and the land users shall sign a contract for compensated use of the State-owned land. Article 6 of Chapter II (Plan and Management) of the Measures for Administration of Land Reserve provides that individual places shall reasonably determine the scale of the reserved land according to the needs of adjusting and controlling the land market, with the reserved land in conformity with the planning, i.e. vacant and State-owned reserved construction land with low efficiency shall be first used.

Departmental Regulations: full text of the Catalogue of Allocated Land as promulgated by the Ministry of Land and Resources, the Regulations on Agreed Assignment of Right to Use State-owned Land as promulgated by the Ministry of Land and Resources, and the Temporary Measures for Regulation of Leasing of State-owned Land as promulgated by the Ministry of Land and Resources

Local Regulations: Article 6 (Reserved Scope) of the Measures of Shanghai for Land Reserve provides for that the following land shall be integrated into the land reserve scope: (i) land reclaimed from mudflats, upon passing the acceptance test; (ii) previously State-owned agricultural land that is to be converted into operating construction land; (iii) previously allotted state-owned land that is to be converted into operating construction land; (iv) previously rural collective ownership land to be assigned after legal expropriation; (v) vacant State-owned land to be recovered by the land administration department according to law; (vi) other State-owned land to be reserved by the municipal government for execution of urban planning.

Normative Documents: Detailed Rules on Implementation of the Measures of Shanghai for Land Reserve, Notice of the Ministry of Land and Resources on Printing and Issuance of the Regulations on Tendering, Auction and Listed Assignment of Right to Use the State-owned Land (trial) and the Specifications on Assignment of the Right to Use State-owned Land by means of Agreement (trial), Notice of Shanghai People’s Government on Batch Forwarding of the Trial Measures for Tendering and Auction of Assignment of Right to Use Land in Shanghai as Formulated by the Four Departments like Municipal Real Estate Resources Bureau, and Notice of the Shanghai People’s Government on Printing and Issuance of the Temporary Measures for Leasing of State-owned Land in Shanghai

Scope of Application

Applicable for application and acceptance of adjustment of approval documents and cancellation of approval of State-owned construction land in this city, and its review and licensing decision, submission and disclosure

Required Materials

Application Process

(I) New Handling

1. Acceptance Procedures:

Accepted by the window to verify whether the submitted materials are complete

2. Handling Procedures:

The application for approval of land is handled according to the applicable regulations.

If relevant provisions are complied with, the licensing department may handle it directly and complete it within 20 working days.

Application Location and Contact Information

Room 1713, No. 9 Jilong Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai

Post Code: 200131

Contact: Song Yuele

Contact Tel.: +86-21-58697735

Fax: +86-21-58697739

Complaint Mode

Mode of Complaint to the Management Committee of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone

Tel.: +86-21-58697800

Fax: +86-21-58698705

E-mail: ftzts@pudong.gov.cn

Provided by Lawyers Working Committee of Pudong New Area