Farmland Preservation Charge Refund Procedure and Refund Interest

Procedure

Procedure

1. 01

   1. Check whether a refund ground applies — Article 38(5) of the Farmland Act lists as refund grounds revocation of the permit under Article 39, a change of the business plan, failure to obtain a permit after paying the charge, and other equivalent grounds that reduce the converted area below the original. Revocation upon the permit holder's own request also falls under Article 39(1)6. Where a farmland conversion permit was deemed granted under another act, such as a building permit, and that project is cancelled, the competent authority's judgment is required, so check the permit and cancellation documents together.

2. 02

   2. Check payment records and whether the authority sent notice — Locate the payment notice, receipt and original levy decision notice number, and check whether the levying mayor, county head, district head or provincial governor has determined and notified the refund. For older cases, one option is to confirm through an information disclosure request whether the authority made a refund decision and notified the Korea Rural Community Corporation. Where restoration was ordered, notice is given only after restoration is confirmed, so also check whether restoration has been completed.

3. 03

   3. Submit a refund decision request to the competent authority — If a refund ground has arisen but no decision notice was received, submit a civil petition to the authority stating the refund ground, the legal basis and the payment record. The authority determines the refund under Article 51(1) of the Enforcement Decree and sends the decision notice of Form 48 to the payer and the Korea Rural Community Corporation. For partial refunds due to a business plan change, compare the area before and after the change and the revised levy amount.

4. 04

   4. Verify the refund interest calculation — Refund interest is calculated for the period from the day after the starting date to the refund decision date at the national tax refund interest rate under Article 43-3(2) of the Enforcement Decree of the Framework Act on National Taxes. The starting date differs by ground: the payment date for mistaken or double payment, the revocation date when the permit is revoked for reasons attributable to the payer, the payment date when no permit is granted after payment, and the change permit date for a business plan change. Check that the refund interest breakdown in the decision notice uses the correct starting date for the ground.

5. 05

   5. Claim the refund from the Korea Rural Community Corporation — Submit the refund and refund interest claim of Form 49 with the decision notice to the Korea Rural Community Corporation and enter the remittance account. The corporation pays the refund without delay and sends the payment completion notice of Form 50 to the authority. The resident registration abstract or corporate registration certificate is checked by staff through shared administrative information.

Filing route

Filing route

Deadlines & processing notes

Deadlines & processing notes

Fees & official charges

Fees & official charges

Included in the basic fee — Initial document review, required-document guidance, basic form preparation, one filing support and one ordinary supplement.

Conditional success fee — For this service, any conditional success fee may be separately agreed within the lawful service scope and stated in a written engagement agreement. No outcome is guaranteed.

Displayed amounts are starting estimates, not statutory or standard rates. The final fee is confirmed after consultation and document review in the engagement agreement. Government fees and actual expenses may change.

Basic documents

Basic documents

Although the authority must decide the refund without delay, notices are sometimes omitted, so if no decision notice arrives after a permit revocation or business plan change, check with the authority first. The form states that the refund reverts to the Farmland Management Fund 5 years after receipt of the decision notice, so keep a record of the date the notice was received.