Fill soil is the most misunderstood material in Vietnamese mining: many landowners assume that soil inside their land certificate can be dug and sold at will. Under the Law on Geology and Minerals 54/2024/QH15, soil and minerals for levelling fill sit in mineral Group IV — the most simplified licensing group — but ‘simplified’ does not mean ‘no licence’ once digging becomes a commercial extraction business.
Group IV minerals: a lighter regime, not a legal vacuum
Law 54/2024/QH15 divides minerals into four management groups; Group IV covers fill materials and certain other common minerals, with streamlined licensing and strong decentralisation to local authorities under Decree 193/2025/ND-CP. Some small-scale extraction serving an on-site work directly may use registration or notification instead of a full exploitation licence. The dividing line is purpose and scale: digging soil to level the foundation of your own house is fundamentally different from stripping soil to sell to someone else’s project.
When digging needs no mining licence
Households and individuals extracting common construction minerals within their own land-use area to build their own works fall within the cases that do not require an exploitation licence under minerals law — and owe no environmental protection fee for that portion under Decree 164/2016/ND-CP. The core condition is self-service: the excavated soil must be used on site for the landowner’s own work. The moment one truckload is sold off site, the whole activity can be reclassified as unlicensed commercial extraction.
Selling fill soil is extraction business
Once excavated soil is sold to a third party, the activity becomes commercial mineral extraction requiring a licence or registration under the Group IV regime, with declaration duties and corresponding grant fees, environmental protection fees and resource tax. Buyers of fill for projects should also check the seller’s permit: material of unclear origin exposes the project owner when authorities trace fill sources, especially on state-funded works.
How illegal soil extraction is sanctioned
Illegal digging for sale is fined under the minerals penalty framework of Decree 36/2020/ND-CP, with confiscation of minerals and possibly equipment, mandatory site restoration and disgorgement of illegal gains; misuse of land purpose may additionally draw penalties under Decree 123/2024/ND-CP as amended by Decree 281/2026/ND-CP. Large, organised operations can be considered for criminal liability under Article 227 of the Penal Code. In practice, illegal soil pits are most often detected through their trucks — transport is squarely within enforcement focus.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does digging fill soil need a mining licence?
Not if you dig within your own land solely to level ground for your own family’s construction — that case needs no licence. But digging to sell or supply another project is Group IV mineral extraction and requires licensing or registration under the Law on Geology and Minerals 54/2024/QH15 and Decree 193/2025/ND-CP.
Can I sell fill soil dug from my own land?
Only with a valid extraction licence or registration. Owning the land-use right does not make the minerals in it freely saleable: selling turns digging into commercial extraction, triggering grant fees, environmental protection fees and resource tax that must be declared and paid.
How is illegal soil extraction punished?
Offenders are fined under Decree 36/2020/ND-CP, lose the extracted minerals and possibly their equipment, must restore the site and disgorge illegal profits. Large-scale operations or repeat offences after a penalty can be prosecuted under Article 227 of the Penal Code 2015.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council