Falsifying actual price registration? Land administration agents: Impossible

The Executive Yuan cabinet meeting recently passed a reconsideration bill on the amendment to Article 51-1 of the Land Administration Agent Act, and the Ministry of the Interior listed five points that are difficult to implement. The land administration agents' association issued a press release in response.

The National Federation of Land Administration Agent Associations of the Republic of China said that if land administration agents make false declarations in actual price registration, they may face suspension of business or removal from the register as a disciplinary penalty, and land administration agents would not be foolish enough to break the law.

The land administration agents' association said that the Ministry of the Interior claims declarants may technically delay declaration, which would affect the immediacy of information, but land administration agents have repeatedly taken the initiative to reflect and cooperate with the actual price registration system, and are willing to handle actual price registration at the same time as handling the ownership transfer registration for entrusted sale and purchase cases. In this way, the immediacy of government information release would not be affected, and because land administration agents would declare simultaneously, they could avoid the risk of penalties for overdue declaration, and there would be no situation of technical delay in declaration.

The Ministry of the Interior claims that land administration agents can use correction within a time limit for false declarations, affecting the truthfulness of information, and because there is an opportunity for correction, land administration agents may make a false declaration the first time, which may reduce the credibility of actual price registration. The land administration agents' association believes that since land administration agents do not even dare to violate the current administrative fines of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000, how could they risk their own future or licenses by testing the law when facing suspension of business or removal from the register as a disciplinary penalty? Land administration agents would not be foolish enough to break the law.

The Ministry of the Interior believes that if the Land Administration Agent Act is not reconsidered, local governments will need to invest more manpower in auditing, increasing administrative costs. The land administration agents' association believes that auditing actual price registration is originally a responsibility the government should carry out, and pre-amendment laziness cannot become an excuse for opposing the amendment.

In addition, the Ministry of the Interior pointed out that many legislative examples for related professional practitioners mostly involve direct penalties. The land administration agents' association pointed out that the actual price registration declaration form has as many as 19 items, and requiring land administration agents to declare with 100 percent accuracy is "like requiring students to score 100 on every exam, or otherwise be directly penalized. Is that reasonable?"