Finance (1909-10) Act 1910

PART IDuties on Land Values.

Increment Value Duty.

1Duty on increment value.

Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, there shall be charged, levied, and paid on the increment value of any land a duty, called increment value duty, at the rate of one pound for every complete five pounds of that value accruing after the thirtieth day of April nineteen hundred and nine, and—

(a)on the occasion of any transfer on sale of the fee simple of the land or of any interest in the land, in pursuance of any contract made after the commencement of this Act, or the grant, in pursuance of any contract made after the commencement of this Act, of any lease (not being a lease for a term of years not exceeding fourteen years) of the land; and

(b)on the occasion of the death of any person dying after the commencement of this Act, where the fee simple of the land or any interest in the land is comprised in the property passing on the death of the deceased within the meaning of sections one and two, subsection, (1) (a), (b), and (c), and subsection three, of the [57 & 58 Vict. c. 30.] Finance Act, 1894, as amended by any subsequent enactment; and

(c)where the fee simple of the land or any interest in the land is held by any body Corporate or by any body unincorporate as defined by section twelve of the [48 & 49 Vict. c. 51.] Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1885, in such a manner or on such permanent trusts that the land or interest is not liable to death duties, on such periodical occasions as are provided in this Act,

the duty, or proportionate part of the duty, so far as it has not been paid on any previous occasion, shall be collected in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

2Definition of increment value.

(1)For the purposes of this Part of this Act the increment value of any land shall be deemed to be the amount (if any) by which the site value of the land, on the occasion on which increment value duty is to be collected as ascertained in accordance with this section, exceeds the original site value of the land as ascertained in accordance with the general provisions of this-Part of this Act as to valuation.

(2)The site value of the land on the occasion, on which increment value duty is to be collected shall be taken to be—

(a)where the occasion is a transfer on sale of the fee simple of the land, the value of the consideration for the transfer ; and

(b)where the occasion is the grant of any lease of the land, or the transfer on sale of any interest in the land, the value of the fee simple of the land, calculated on the basis of the value of the consideration for the grant of the lease or the transfer of the interest; and

(c)where the occasion is the death of any person, and the fee simple of the land is property passing on that death, the principal value of the land as ascertained for the purposes of Part I. of the [57 & 58 Vict. c. 30.] Finance Act, 1894, and where any interest in the land is property passing on that death the value of the fee simple of the land calculated on the basis of the principal value of the interest as so ascertained ; and

(d)where the occasion is a periodical occasion on which the duty is to be collected in respect of the fee simple of any land or of any interest in any land held by a body corporate or unincorporate, the total value of the land on that occasion to be estimated in accordance with the general provisions of this Part of this Act as to valuation ;

subject in each, case to the like deductions as are made, under the general provisions of this Part of this Act as to valuation, for the purpose of arriving at the site value of land from the total value.

(3)Where it is proved to the Commissioners on an application made for the purpose within the time fixed by this section that the site value of any land at the time of any transfer on sale of the fee simple of the land or of any interest in the land, which took place at any time within twenty years before the thirtieth day of April, nineteen hundred and nine, exceeded the original site value of the land as ascertained under this Act, the site value at that time shall be substituted, for the purposes of increment value duty, for the original site value as so ascertained, and the provisions of this Part of this Act shall apply accordingly.

Site value shall be estimated for the purposes of this provision by reference to the consideration given on the transfer in the same manner as it is estimated by reference to the consideration given on a transfer where increment value duty is to be collected on the occasion of such a transfer after the passing of this Act.

This provision shall apply to a mortgage of the fee simple of the land or any interest in land in the same manner as it applies to a transfer, with the substitution of the amount secured by the mortgage for the consideration.

An application for the purpose of this section must be made within three months after the original site value of the land has been finally settled under this Part of this Act.

3General provisions as to collection of increment value duty.

(1)On each occasion on which increment value duty is collected on the increment value of any land, such an amount of duty shall be deemed to be unsatisfied as the Commissioners determine, after giving credit for the amount of duty paid on previous occasions. The Commissioners shall make such apportionments and re-apportionments of any duty paid on previous occasions as they think necessary for the purpose of giving effect to this provision.

(2)Where increment value duty is collected on the occasion of the transfer or passing on death of the fee simple of any land, or on any periodical occasion in the case of land held in fee simple by a body corporate or unincorporate, the whole amount of the duty which is determined to be unsatisfied shall be collected by the Commissioners in accordance with rules made by them for the purpose.

(3)Where increment value duty is collected on the occasion of the grant of a lease, or on the transfer or passing on death of any interest in land, or on any periodical occasion in the case of an interest in land held by a body corporate or unincorporate, such proportionate part of the duty shall be collected as may be determined by the Commissioners to be payable in respect of the interest in land created, transferred, passing on death, or held, in accordance with rules made by them for the purpose.

(4)Where on the occasion of the .death of any person the property passing on the death comprises settled land in which the deceased or any other person had an interest ceasing on the death of the deceased, then—

(a)if the subject of the settlement at the time of the death is the fee simple of the land, increment value duty shall be collected as if the fee simple of the land passed; and

(b)if the subject of the settlement at the time of the death is any other interest in the land, increment value duty shall be collected as if that interest passed;

but that duty shall not be collected on any such occasion if under the provisions of section five of the Finance Act, 1894, as amended by any subsequent enactment, estate duty is not payable in respect of the settled land.

(5)For the purpose of the collection of duty on the increment value of any land under this section, the increment value shall be deemed to be reduced on the first occasion for the collection of increment value duty by an amount equal to ten per cent. of the original site value of the land, and on any subsequent occasion by an amount equal to ten per cent. of the site value on the last preceding occasion for the collection of increment value duty, and the amount of duty to be collected shall be remitted in whole or in part accordingly.

Any duty which by reason of this provision is remitted on any occasion shall not be collected and shall be deemed to have been paid:

Provided that no remission shall be given under this provision on any occasion which will make the amount of the increment value on which duty has been remitted during the preceding period of five years exceed twenty-five per cent. of the site value of the land on the last occasion for the collection of increment value duty prior to the commencement of that period or of the original site value if there has then been no such occasion.

(6)Increment value duty shall be a stamp duty collected and recovered in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

4Collection and recovery of duty in cases of transfers and leases.

(1)On any transfer on sale of the fee simple of any land or of any interest in land, or on the grant of any lease of any land for a term exceeding fourteen years, increment value duty shall be assessed by the Commissioners and paid by the transferor or lessor, as the case may be.

(2)It shall be the duty of the transferor or lessor, on the occasion of any transfer on sale of the fee simple of any land or of any interest in land or on the grant of any lease of any land for a term exceeding fourteen years, to present to the Commissioners, in accordance with regulations made by them, the instrument by means of which the transfer or the lease is effected or agreed to be effected or reasonable particulars thereof for the purpose of the assessment of duty thereon, and, if the transferor or lessor fails to comply with this provision, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds, and to pay interest at the rate of five per cent. per annum on any duty ultimately payable by him as from the date on which the instrument has been executed, but any person aggrieved by any conviction or order of a court of summary jurisdiction under this provision may appeal therefrom to a court of quarter sessions.

(3)Any such instrument shall not, for the purposes of section fourteen of the [54 & 55 Vict. c. 39.] Stamp Act, 1891, and notwithstanding anything in section twelve of that Act, be deemed to be duly stamped unless it is stamped—

(a)either with a stamp denoting that the increment value duty has been assessed by the Commissioners and paid in accordance with the assessment; or

(b)with a stamp denoting that all particulars have been delivered to the Commissioners, which, in their opinion, are necessary for the purpose of enabling them to assess the duty, and that security has been given for the payment of duty in any case where the Commissioners have required security; or

(c)with a stamp denoting that upon the occasion in question no increment value duty was payable;

but where an instrument is so stamped, it shall, notwithstanding any objection" relating to the increment value duty, be deemed to be duly stamped so far as respects that duty.

(4)Any duty assessed by the Commissioners under this -section shall be a debt due to the Crown from the transferor or lessor, as the case may be, and for the purpose of calculating the amount of increment value duty to be collected on any subsequent occasion shall be deemed to have been paid.

(5)Regulations may be made by the Commissioners with respect to the mode in which any instrument is to" be presented to them in order to be dealt with under this section, and for dispensing with the presentation of any instrument, or particulars thereof, in cases where arrangements are made for obtaining those particulars through any registry of lands, deeds, or title, or through a Register of Sasines, and with respect to the modern which any application for a return of duty under this section is to be made, and for the payment of any increment value duty by instalments in the case of any lease or transfer on sale where the consideration is in the form of a periodical payment; and the Commissioners shall deal with any instrument presented to them and allow payment by instalments in accordance with those regulations. The regulations shall provide that where the duty to be collected on the grant of a lease is payable by instalments, and the lease is determined before all such instalments have fallen due, the instalments which have not fallen due shall be. remitted, and that in that case the amount of duty which, under this section, is deemed to have been paid shall be reduced by the amount of the instalments so remitted:

(6)In any case where increment value duty shall have been paid under the provisions of this section, but the transaction in respect of which the duty shall have been paid was subsequently not carried, into execution, the duty shall be returned to the transferor or lessor on his making application to the Commissioners within two years after the payment of the duty in accordance with regulations to be made by them under this section, and in that case the duty returned shall not be deemed to have been paid for the purposes of this section.

(7)Where any agreement for a transfer or agreement for a lease is stamped in accordance with this section, it shall not be .necessary to stamp any conveyance, assignment, or lease made subsequently to and in conformity with the agreement, but the Commissioners shall, if an application is made to them for the purpose, denote on the conveyance, assignment, or lease the amount of duty paid.

5Collection and recovery of duty in case of death.

The provisions as to the assessment, collection, and recovery of estate duty under the [57 & 58 Vict. c. 30.] Finance Act, 1894, shall apply as if increment value duty to be collected on the occasion of the death of any person were estate duty; but, where any interest in land in respect of which increment value duty is payable is property passing to the personal representative as such, the duty shall be payable out of that interest in land in exoneration of the rest of the deceased's estate, and shall be collected upon an account to be delivered by the personal representative, setting forth the particulars of the increment value in respect of the property :

Provided that in respect of all property of the deceased, other than that assessed to increment value duty, the Crown shall, as a creditor in respect of such increment value duty, rank pari passu with the other creditors of the deceased.

6Collection and recovery of duty in case of property held by bodies corporate or unincorporate.

(1)Where the fee simple of any land or any interest in land is held by any body corporate or by any body unincorporate, as defined by section twelve of the [48 & 49 Vict. c. 51.] Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1885, in such a manner or on such permanent trusts that the land or interest is not liable to death duties, the occasions on which increment value duty is to be collected shall be the fifth day of April in the year nineteen hundred and fourteen and in every subsequent fifteenth year.

(2)The account to be delivered under section fifteen of the Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1885, shall, in the case of the account to be delivered in the year nineteen hundred and fourteen and in every subsequent fifteenth year, contain an account of the increment value of the land, as on the preceding fifth day of April, and that section shall, save as in this Act is hereafter provided, apply for the purpose of increment value duty, whether the body corporate or unincorporate are chargeable with duty under Part II. of the Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1885, or not. ,

(3)The provisions of sections thirteen to eighteen, of subsection (1) of section nineteen, and of section twenty of the Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1885 (with the exception of any provisions relating to appeals), shall have effect for the purpose of the assessment and recovery of increment value duty as they have effect for the purpose of the duty charged under section eleven of that Act:

Provided that increment value duty may, if the body corporate or unincorporate chargeable therewith so desire, be paid by fifteen equal yearly instalments, and the first instalment shall be due immediately after the assessment of the duty.

Any part of any duty so payable by instalments may be paid up at any time.

(4)Any increment value duty assessed by the Commissioners on an account delivered in accordance with this section shall, for the purpose of determining the amount of increment value duty to be collected on any subsequent occasion, be deemed to have been paid.

(5)Nothing in this section shall affect the collection of increment value duty on the occasion of the grant of any lease or the transfer on sale of the fee simple of any land or any interest in land by a body corporate or unincorporate, or oblige an account to be delivered of the increment value of any land on any periodical occasion, if, under the subsequent provisions of this Part of this Act, increment value duty in respect thereof is not to be collected on that occasion.

7Exemption for agricultural land.

Increment value duty shall not be charged in respect of agricultural land while that land has no higher value than its market value at the time" for agricultural purposes only :

Provided that any value of the land for sporting purposes, or for other purposes dependent upon its use as agricultural land, shall be treated as value for agricultural purposes only, except where the value for any such purpose exceeds the agricultural value of the land.

8Exemption of small houses and properties in owner's occupation.

(1)Increment value duty shall not be charged on the increment value of any land, being the site of a dwelling-house, where immediately before the occasion on which the duty is to be collected the house was, and had been for twelve months previously, used by the owner thereof as his residence, and the annual value of the house, as adopted for the purpose of income tax under Schedule A, does not exceed—

(a)in the case of a house situated in the administrative county of London, forty pounds ; and

(b)in the case of a house situated in a borough or urban district with a population according to the last-published Census for the time being of fifty thousand or upwards, twenty-six pounds ; and

(c)in the case of a house situated elsewhere, sixteen pounds.

(2)Increment value duty shall not be charged on the increment value of any agricultural land where, immediately before the occasion on which the duty is to be collected, the land was, and had been for twelve months previously, occupied and cultivated by the owner thereof, and the total amount of that land, together with any other land belonging to the same owner, does not exceed fifty acres, and the average total value of the land does not exceed seventy-five pounds per acre:

Provided that the exemption under this provision shall not apply to any land occupied together with a dwelling-house the annual value of which, as adopted for income tax under Schedule A, exceeds thirty pounds.

(3)Where a dwelling-house is valued for the purposes of income tax under Schedule A. together with other land, and it is necessary for the purpose of this section to determine the annual value of the dwelling-house, the total annual value shall be divided between the dwelling-house and the other land in such manner as the Commissioners may determine.

(4)For the purposes of this section—

(a)the expression "owner" includes a person who holds land under a lease which was originally granted for a term of fifty years or more; but in such a case nothing in this section shall prevent the collection of increment value duty so far as it is payable in respect of any other interest in the land other than that leasehold interest; and

(b)the site of a dwelling-house shall include any offices, courts, and yards, and gardens not exceeding one acre in extent, occupied together with the dwelling-house.

(5)Any increment value duty which would, but for this section, be charged shall, for the purpose of the provisions of this Act as to the collection of the duty, be deemed to have been paid.

9Special provision for increment value duty in the case of land used for games and recreation.

Increment value duty shall not be collected on any periodical occasion in respect of the fee simple of, or any interest in, any land which is held by any body corporate or unincorporate, without any view to the payment of any dividend or profit out of the revenue thereof, bonâ fide for the purpose of games or other recreation, if the Commissioners are satisfied that the land is so used under some agreement with the owner which as originally made could not be determined for a period of at least five years, or under other circumstances' which render it probable that the land will continue to be so used, without prejudice, however, to the collection of the duty on any other occasion.

10Provision as to Crown lands, &c.

(1)Any increment value duty in respect of the fee simple of, or any interest in, any land held by, or in trust for, His Majesty or any department of Government, which would have been collected on any occasion had it been held by a private person, shall for the purposes of the provisions of this Act as to the collection of increment value duty be deemed to have been paid.

(2)Neither section seventy-seven of the [10 Geo. 4. c. 50.] Crown Lands Act, 1829, nor section thirty-eight of the [8 Edw. 7. c. 48.] Post Office Act, 1908, nor any other enactment exempting from stamp duty any document made or executed on behalf of, or for the purpose of, the Crown or any Government department, shall apply so as to prevent increment value duty being collected on any instrument by which the transfer on sale of the fee simple of, or any interest in, any land, or the grant of any lease of any land, to the Crown or to any Government department, or to any officer on behalf of, or for the purposes of, the Crown or any Government department, is effected or agreed to be effected.

11Special provision as to flats.

Where a building is used for the purpose of separate tenements, flats, or dwellings, the grant of a lease of any such separate tenement, flat, or dwelling, and the transfer on sale or passing on death of any lease of any such separate tenement, flat, or dwelling, shall not be an occasion on which increment value duty is to be collected under this Act, nor shall duty be collected on any periodical occasion from a body corporate or unincorporate where the interest held by the body is only a leasehold interest in any such separate tenement, flat, or dwelling.

12Provision as to claims for deductions.

A person shall not be entitled to claim any deduction for the purpose of ascertaining the site value of any land on any occasion on which increment value duty becomes payable if the deduction is one which could have been, but was not, claimed for the purpose of ascertaining the original site value of the land.

Reversion Duty.

13Reversion duty.

(1)On the determination of any lease of land there shall be charged, levied, and paid, subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, on the value of the benefit accruing to the lessor by reason of the determination of the lease a duty, called reversion duty, at the rate of one pound for every complete ten pounds of that value.

(2)For the purposes of this section the value of the benefit accruing to the lessor shall be deemed to be the amount (if any) by which the total value (as defined for the purpose of the general provisions of this Part of this Act relating to valuation) of the land at the time the lease determines, subject to the deduction of any part of the total value which is attributable to any works executed or expenditure of a capital nature incurred by the lessor during the term of the lease and of all compensation payable by such lessor at the determination of the lease, exceeds the total value of the land at the time of the original grant of the lease, to be ascertained on the basis of the rent reserved and payments made in consideration of the lease (including, in, cases where a nominal rent only has been reserved, the value of any covenant or undertaking to erect buildings or to expend any sums upon the property), but, where the lessor is himself entitled only to a leasehold interest, the value of the benefit as so ascertained shall be reduced in proportion to the amount by which the value of his interest is less than the value of the fee simple.

14Exemptions from reversion duty, and allowances.

(1)Where, in the case of a reversion to a lease purchased before the thirtieth day of April nineteen hundred and nine, the lease on which the reversion is expectant determines within forty years of the date of the purchase, no reversion duty shall be charged under this Part of this Act on the determination of the lease : Provided that this exemption shall not apply where the lease is determined within forty years by agreement between the lessor and the lessee, whether express or implied, not contained in the lease itself, unless the lease would, apart from -any such agreement, have determined within that period.

(2)No reversion duty shall be charged on the determination of the lease of any land which is at the time of the determination agricultural land, nor on the determination of a lease, the original term of which did not exceed twenty-one years, nor shall reversion duty be charged where the interest of the lessor expectant on the determination of a lease is a leasehold interest which does not exceed that number of years.

(3)Where a lease of any land is determined before the expiration of the term of the lease by agreement between the lessor and the lessee, whether express or implied, and a fresh lease of the land is then granted to the lessee the term of which extends at least twenty-one years beyond the date on which the original lease would have expired, the Commissioners shall make an allowance in respect of the reversion duty payable of two and a half per cent. of the duty for every year of the original term of the lease which is unexpired when the lease is determined, and any sum so allowed shall be treated as having been paid:

Provided that the allowance shall not exceed fifty per cent. of the whole duty payable.

(4)Where on any occasion on which increment value duty is due in respect of any increment value it is proved to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that reversion duty has been paid in respect of any benefit accruing to a lessor, or part of such a benefit, which is identical with the increment value, such sums as the Commissioners determine to have been paid in respect of the benefit or part of the benefit -shall be treated as being also a payment on account of increment value duty ; and where on any occasion on which reversion duty is due in respect of any benefit accruing to a lessor, it is shown to the satisfaction of the Commissioners that increment value duty has been paid on any increment value which is identical with that benefit or any part of that benefit, such sums as the Commissioners determine to have been paid in respect of that value shall be treated as being" also a payment on account of the reversion duty in respect of that benefit or part of a benefit.

(5)Where a reversion has been mortgaged before the thirtieth day of April nineteen hundred and nine, and the mortgagee has foreclosed before the lease on which the reversion is expectant determines, the mortgagee shall not be liable to pay reversion duty in excess of the amount by which the total value of the land at the time of the determination of the lease exceeds the amount payable under the mortgage at the date of the foreclosure.

15Recovery of reversion duty.

(1)Reversion duty shall be recoverable from any lessor to whom any benefit accrues from the determination of a lease as a debt due to His Majesty, but shall rank pari passu with all other debts due from such lessor.

(2)Every lessor shall, on the determination of a lease on the determination of which reversion duty is payable under this section, deliver an account to the Commissioners setting forth the particulars of the land and the estimated value of the benefit accruing to the lessor by the determination of the lease.

(3)If any pereon who is under an obligation to deliver an account under this section knowingly fails to deliver such an account within the period of three months after the determination of the lease, he shall be liable to pay to His Majesty a sum not exceeding ten per cent. upon the amount of any duty payable under this section, and a like penalty for every three months after the first month during which the failure continues.

(4)Section seventeen of the [48 & 49 Vict. c. 51.] Customs and Inland Revenue Act, 1885 (which relates to the power to assess duty according to accounts rendered, and to obtain other accounts), shall apply with respect to any account delivered under this section (with the exception of any provisions relating to appeals).

Undeveloped Land Duty.

16Duty on site value of undeveloped land.

(1)Subject to the provisions of this Part of this Act, there shall be charged, levied, and paid for the financial year ending the thirty-first day of March nineteen hundred and ten, and every subsequent financial year in respect of the site value of undeveloped land a duty, called undeveloped land duty, at the rate of one halfpenny for every twenty shillings of that site value.

(2)For the purposes of this Part of this Act, land shall be deemed to be undeveloped land if it has not been developed by the erection of dwelling-houses or of buildings for the purposes of any business, trade, or industry other than agriculture (but including glasshouses or greenhouses), or is not otherwise used bonâ fide for any business, trade, or industry other than agriculture:

Provided that—

(a)Where any land having been so developed or used reverts to the condition of undeveloped land owing to the buildings becoming derelict, or owing to the land ceasing to be used for any business, trade, or industry other than agriculture, it shall, on the expiration of one year after the buildings have so-become derelict or the land ceases to be so used, as the case may be, be treated as undeveloped land for the purposes of undeveloped land duty until it is again so developed or used ; and

(b)Where the owner of any land included in any scheme of land development shows that he or his predecessors in title have, with a view to the land being developed or used as aforesaid, incurred expenditure on roads (including paving, curbing, metalling, and other works in connexion with roads) or sewers, that land shall, to the extent of one acre for every complete hundred pounds of that expenditure, for the purposes of this section, be treated as land so developed or used although it is not for the time being actually so developed or used, but, for the purposes of this provision, no expenditure shall be taken into account if ten years have elapsed since the date of the expenditure, or if after the date of the expenditure the land having been developed reverts to the condition of undeveloped land, and in a case where the amount of the expenditure does not cover the whole of the land included in the scheme of land development, the part of the land to be treated as land developed or used as aforesaid shall be determined by the Commissioners as being the land with a view to the development or use of which as aforesaid the expenditure has been in the main incurred.

(3)For the purposes of undeveloped land duty, the site value of undeveloped land shall be taken to be the value adopted as the original site value or, where the site value has been ascertained under any subsequent periodical valuation of undeveloped land for the time being in force, the site value as so ascertained :

Provided that where increment value duty has been paid in respect of the increment value of any undeveloped land, the site value of that land shall, for the purposes of the assessment and collection of undeveloped land duty, be reduced by a sum equal to five times the amount paid as increment value duty.

(4)For the purposes of undeveloped land duty undeveloped land does not include the minerals.

17Exemptions from undeveloped land duty, and allowances.

(1)Undeveloped land duty shall not be charged in respect of any land where the site value of the land does not exceed fifty pounds per acre.

(2)In the case of agricultural land of which the site value exceeds fifty pounds per acre, undeveloped land duty shall only be charged on the amount by which the site value of the land exceeds the value of the land for agricultural purposes.

(3)Undeveloped land duty shall not be charged—

(a)On the site value of any parks, gardens, or open spaces which are open to the public as of right; or

(b)On the site value of any woodlands, parks, gardens, or open spaces reasonable access to which is enjoyed by the public or by the inhabitants of the locality (including access regularly enjoyed by any of the naval or military forces of the Crown for the purpose of training or exercise) where, in the opinion of the Commissioners, that access is of public benefit; or

(c)On the site value of any land where it is shown to the Commissioners that the land is being kept free of buildings in pursuance of any definite scheme, whether framed before or after the passing of this Act, for the development of the area of which the land forms part, and where, in the opinion of the Commissioners, it is reasonably necessary in the interests of the public, or in view of the character of the surroundings or neighbourhood, that the land should be so kept free from buildings; or

(d)On the site value of any land which is bonâ fide used for the purpose of games or other recreation where the Commissioners are satisfied that the land is so used under some agreement with the owner which, as originally made, could not be determined for a period of at least five years, or where, in the opinion of the Commissioners, other circumstances render it probable that the land will continue to be so used.

Where any land kept free from buildings in pursuance of any definite scheme has received the benefit of an exemption from undeveloped land duty by virtue of this section, that land shall not be built upon unless the Local Government Board give their consent, on being satisfied that it is desirable in the interests of the public that the restriction on building should be removed; and any such consent may be given subject to such conditions as to the mode in which the land is to be built upon as the Local Government Board think desirable under the circumstances.

The opinion of the Commissioners as to matters which are expressed to be matters for the opinion of the Commissioners under this subsection shall be final and not subject to any appeal.

(4)Undeveloped land duty shall not be charged on the site value of any land not exceeding an acre in extent occupied together with a dwelling-house or on the site value of any land being gardens or pleasure grounds so occupied when the site value of the gardens and pleasure grounds together with the site value of the dwelling-house does not exceed twenty times the annual value of the gardens, pleasure grounds, and dwelling-house as adopted for the purpose of income tax under Schedule A.:

Provided that the exemption under this provision shall not apply so as to exempt more than five acres, and where the land, gardens, or pleasure grounds occupied together with a dwelling-house exceed five acres in extent, those five acres shall be exempted which are determined by the Commissioners to be most adapted for use as gardens or pleasure grounds in connexion with the dwelling-house.

Where the dwelling-house, gardens, and pleasure grounds are valued for the purpose of income tax under Schedule A, together with other land, the total annual value shall be divided between the dwelling-house, gardens, and pleasure grounds and the other land in such manner as the Commissioners may determine.

(5)Where agricultural land is at the time of the passing of this Act held under a tenancy originally created by a lease or agreement made or entered into before the thirtieth day of April nineteen hundred and nine, undeveloped land duty shall not be charged on the site value of the land during the original term of that lease or agreement while the tenancy continues thereunder. Provided that where the landlord has power to determine the tenancy of the whole or any part of the land, the tenancy of the land or that part of the land shall not be deemed for the purposes of this provision to continue after the earliest date after the commencement of this Act at which it is possible to determine the tenancy under that power.

18Exemption of small holdings from undeveloped land duty.

Undeveloped land duty shall not be charged on the site value of any agricultural land, occupied and cultivated by the owner thereof, where the total value of that land, together with any other land belonging to the same owner, does not exceed five hundred

For the purposes of this provision the expression "owner includes a person who holds land under a lease which was originally granted for a term of fifty years or more.

19Recovery of undeveloped land duty.

Undeveloped land duty shall be assessed by the Commissioners and shall be payable at any time after the first day of January of the year for which the duty is charged, and any such duty for the time being unpaid shall be recoverable from the owner of the land for the time being as a debt due to His Majesty, and shall be borne by that owner notwithstanding any contract to the contrary.

If at any time undeveloped land duty is not assessed within the year for which it is charged, owing to there being no value either shown in the provisional valuation or finally settled on which the duty can be assessed, or for any other reason, the duty may be assessed at any time, and shall be payable at any time after the expiration of two months from the date of the assessment, so, however, that no such duty shall be assessed more than three years after the expiration of the year for which it is charged.

Mineral Rights Duty and Provisions as to Minerals.

20Mineral rights duty.

(1)There shall lie charged, levied, and paid for the financial year ending the thirty-first day of March nineteen hundred and ten and every subsequent financial year on the rental value of all rights to work minerals and of all mineral way leaves, a duty (in this Act referred to as a mineral rights duty) at the rate in each case of one shilling for every twenty shillings of that rental value.

(2)The rental value shall be taken to be—

(a)Where the right to work the minerals is the subject of a mining lease, the amount of rent pt" 1 by the working lessee in the last working year in respect of that right ; and

(b)Where minerals are being worked by the proprietor thereof, the amount which is determined by the Commissioners to be the sum which would have been received as rent by the proprietor in the last working year if the right to work the minerals had been leased to a working lessee for a term and at a rent and on conditions customary in the district, and the minerals had been worked to the same extent and in the same manner as they have been worked by the proprietor in that year :

Provided that the Commissioners shall cause a copy of their valuation of such rent to be served on the proprietor; and

(c)In the case of a mineral wayleave, the amount of rent paid by the working lessee in the last working year in respect of the wayleave:

Provided that if in any special case it is shown to the Commissioners that the rent paid by a working lessee exceeds the rent customary in the district, and partly represents a return for expenditure on the part of any proprietor of the minerals which would ordinarily have been borne by the lessee, the Commissioners shall substitute as the rental value of the right to work the minerals or the mineral wayleaves, as the case may be, such rent as the Commissioners determine would have been the rent customary in the district if the expenditure had been borne by the lessee.

(3)Every proprietor of any minerals and every person to whom any rent is paid in respect of any right to work minerals or of any mineral wayleave shall, upon notice being given to him by the Commissioners requiring him to give particulars as to the amount received by him in respect of the right or wayleave, as the case may be, and where the proprietor is working the minerals, particulars as to the minerals worked, make a return in the form required by the notice, and within the time, not being less than thirty days, specified in the notice, and in default shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds to be recovered in the High Court.

(4)Mineral rights duty shall be assessed by the Commissioners and shall be payable at any time after the first day of January in the year for which the duty is charged, and any such duty for the time being unpaid shall be recoverable as a debt due to His Majesty from the proprietor of the minerals, where the proprietor is working the minerals, and in any other case from the immediate lessor of the. working lessee. As between the immediate lessor and the working lessee, the duty shall be borne by the immediate lessor, notwithstanding any contract to the contrary, whether made before or after the passing of this Act.

(5)Mineral rights duty shall not be charged in respect of common clay, common brick clay, common brick earth, or sand, chalk, limestone, or gravel.

21Deduction of duty in case of intermediate leases of minerals.

(1)Any immediate lessor who under this Act pays any mineral rights duty, and is himself a lessee of the right to work the minerals or of the wayleave in respect of which the duty is paid, shall be entitled to deduct from the rent paid by him in respect of the right to work the minerals or the wayleave, as the case may be, to his lessor a sum equal to the mineral rights duty on a rental value of the same amount as the rent payable; and any person from whose rent any such deduction is made may make a similar deduction from any rent paid by him in respect of the right to work the minerals or in respect of the wayleave, as the case may be.

(2)Any person in receipt of rent from which a deduction. may be made under this section shall allow the deduction, and the person making the deduction shall be discharged from the payment of an amount of rent equal to the amount deducted, and any contract for the payment of rent without allowing such a deduction shall be void.

(3)If any person refuses to allow a deduction which he is required to allow under this section, he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds to be recovered in the High Court.

(4)Where in any special case mineral rights duty has been charged on a rental value based on a rent which has been substituted under the provisions of this Act for the rent actually payable by the working lessee, or where in any special case the rental value with reference to which increment value duty is charged has been reduced under the provisions of this Act for the purposes of the collection of that duty, the Commissioners shall, on the application of any lessor from whose rent a deduction may be made in respect of mineral rights duty or increment value duty, as the case may be, make a corresponding substitution or reduction as regards that rent, if they consider that the grounds for the substitution or reduction, as the case may be, are applicable in the case of the rent with respect to which the application is made.

22Special provisions as to increment value duty and reversion duty in the case of minerals worked or leased.

(1)No reversion duty shall be charged on the determination of a mining lease, and no increment value duty shall be charged on the occasion of the grant of a mining lease or in respect of minerals which are comprised in a mining lease, or are being worked, except as a duty payable annually in manner provided by this Act.

(2)Increment value duty shall not be charged in the case of any minerals which were, on the thirtieth day of April nineteen hundred and nine, either comprised in a mining lease or being worked by the proprietor, so long as the minerals are for the time being either comprised in a mining lease, or being worked by the proprietor:

Provided that the exemption under this section shall continue to apply in the case of any minerals, although they cease for a temporary period to be comprised in a mining lease or to be worked, so long as the period does not exceed two years.

(3)Increment value duty in respect of the increment value of minerals which are comprised in a mining lease or are being worked shall, where that duty is chargeable, be charged annually; and the increment value shall, instead of being estimated as a capital sum, be taken to be the sum (if any) by which, in each year during which the lease continues or the minerals are being worked, as the case may be, the rental value on which mineral rights duty is charged in respect of the right to work the minerals exceeds the annual equivalent of the original capital value of the minerals, or the capital value of the minerals on the last preceding occasion on which increment value duty has been collected otherwise than as an annual duty, if increment value duty has been so collected before the minerals have become comprised in a mining lease or have commenced to be worked ; and the annual equivalent of any such capital value of the minerals shall be taken to be two twenty-fifth parts of that capital value.

(4)If in any case it is shown to the Commissioners that the rental value on which mineral rights duty is charged represents in part a return for money expended within fifteen years by a lessor in boring or otherwise proving the minerals, the rental value shall be reduced for the purposes of the collection of increment value duty by the amount which represents that return.

(5)Increment value duty payable annually under this section shall, instead of being collected as provided by this Act in other cases, be recoverable in the same manner as mineral rights duty, with the same right of deduction.

(6)Any proprietor or lessor of any minerals who pays increment value duty in pursuance of this provision shall be entitled to be relieved in any year from the payment of mineral rights duty, as such proprietor or lessor, up to the amount paid by him in that year in respect of increment value duty.

For the purposes of this provision, a deduction of any amount from the rent payable to a lessor on account of mineral rights duty shall be deemed to be a payment of that duty, and the relief may be given either by allowance or repayment or both of those means, as the occasion may require.

(7)Where minerals cease to be comprised in a mining lease or to be worked within the meaning of this section, the capital value of the minerals at the time shall be specially ascertained in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and the capital value as so ascertained shall be treated as the original capital value of the minerals.

(8)Nothing in this section shall apply to minerals which are exempt from mineral rights duty under this Act.

23Application of provisions as to total and site value to minerals.

(1)For the purposes of this Part of this Act, the total value of minerals means the amount which the fee simple of the minerals, if sold in the open market by a willing seller in their then condition, might be expected to realise, and the capital value of minerals means the total value, after allowing such deduction (if any) as the Commissioners may allow for any works executed or expenditure of a capital nature incurred bonâ fide by or on behalf of any person interested in the minerals for the purpose of bringing the minerals into working, or where the minerals have been partly worked, such deduction as is, in the opinion of the Commissioners, proportionate to the amount of minerals which have not been worked.

(2)For the purposes of valuation under this Part of this Act, all minerals shall be treated as a separate parcel of land; but, where the minerals" are not comprised in a mining lease or being worked, they shall be treated as having no value as minerals, unless the proprietor of the minerals, in his return furnished to the Commissioners, specifies the nature of the minerals and his estimate of their capital

Minerals which are comprised in a mining lease or are being worked shall be treated as a separate parcel of land, not only for the purposes of valuation, but also for the purpose of the assessment of duty under this Part of this Act.

(3)The provisions of this Part of this Act with respect to valuation shall not apply to minerals which were, on the thirtieth day of April, nineteen hundred and nine, either comprised in a mining lease or being worked by the proprietor, so long as they are for the time being either comprised in a mining lease or being worked by the proprietor, nor shall such provisions apply to any minerals which cease for a temporary period to be comprised in a mining lease or to be worked so long as the period does not exceed two years.

(4)Except where the context otherwise requires, any references in this Part of this Act to the site value of land shall, in cases where the land consists solely of minerals, or comprises minerals, be construed, so far as respects the minerals, as a reference to the capital value of the minerals.

24Definitions for purpose of mineral provisions.

For the purpose of the provisions of this Act as to minerals—

• The expression " proprietor " means the person for the time being entitled in possession to the minerals, or to the rents and profits thereof, or any part of those rents and profits, but does not include a person entitled as lessee other than a person entitled to the possession of land comprised in a lease for any long term of years to which section sixty-five of the [44 & 45 Vict. c. 41.] Conveyancing and Law of Property Act, 1881, applies;

• The expression " rent " includes yearly or other rent, and shall, in addition to the meaning assigned to it for the general purposes of this Part of this Act, be construed as including any fine, premium, or foregift, and any payment, consideration, or benefit in the nature of a fine, premium, or foregift;

  Where any rent is paid or rendered otherwise than in money or money's worth, the amount of the rent shall be taken to be such sum as the Commissioners consider to be the value thereof;

• The expression " mining lease " means a lease for mining purposes, that is, for searching for, winning, working, getting, making merchantable, carrying away, or disposing of, mines and minerals, or purposes connected therewith, and includes an agreement for such lease, or any tenancy Or licence, whether by deed, parol, or otherwise for mining purposes, and the expressions "lessor" and " lessee " shall in addition to the meaning assigned to them for the general purposes of this Part of this Act be construed so as to include respectively a licensor and a licensee;

• The expression " working lessee " means as respects the right to work minerals the lessee who is actually working the minerals, or who would have the right actually to work the minerals if the minerals were worked, and as respects mineral way-leaves the lessee who is in actual enjoyment of the way-leave, and the expression "immediate lessor" shall be construed accordingly;

• The expression " working year " means the year ending the thirtieth day of September, or such other day as may in any case be approved by the Commissioners; and the expression " last working year " means the working year completed immediately before the first day of January in any financial year for which the duty is paid ;

• The expression " mineral way-leave " means any Way-leave, air-leave, water-leave, or right to use a shaft granted to or enjoyed by a working lessee, whether above or under ground, for the purpose of access to or the conveyance of the minerals, or the ventilation or drainage of his mine or otherwise in connexion with the working of the minerals.

  Where any minerals are at any time being worked by means of any colliery, mine, quarry, or open working, all the minerals which belong to the same proprietor, if the minerals are being worked by the proprietor, or which the lessee has power to work if the minerals are being worked by a lessee, and which would, in the ordinary course of events, be worked by the same colliery, mine, quarry, or open working, shall be deemed to be minerals which are being worked at that date.

  Minerals which are being won for the purpose of being immediately worked shall be deemed to be minerals which are being worked.

  Minerals shall be deemed to be comprised in a mining lease if the right to work the minerals is the subject of a mining lease, or if the minerals are being worked under the terms of such a lease, although the lease has expired.

  Where the circumstances of a district are such that in the opinion of the Commissioners it is impracticable to fix any sum which satisfactorily represents a rent customary in the district, the rent which would be paid under similar circumstances and ordinary conditions elsewhere than in the district shall be substituted for the rent customary in the district.

Valuation for Purposes of Duties on Land Values.

25Definition of values of land.

(1)For the purposes of this Part of this Act, the gross value of land means the amount which the fee simple of the land, if sold at the time in the open market by a willing seller in its then condition, free from incumbrances, and from any burden, charge, or restriction (other than rates or taxes) might be expected to realise.

(2)The full site value of land means the amount which remains after deducting from the gross value of the land the difference (if any) between that value and the value which the fee simple of the land, if sold at the time in the open market by a willing seller, might be expected to realise if the land were divested of any buildings and of any other structures (including fixed or attached machinery) on, in, or under the surface, which are appurtenant to or used in connection with any such buildings, and of all growing timber, fruit trees, fruit bushes, and other things growing thereon.

(3)The total value of land means the gross value after deducting the amount by which the gross value would be diminished if the land were sold subject to any fixed charges and to any public rights of way or any public rights of user, and to any right of common and to any easements affecting the land, and to any covenant or agreement restricting the use of the land entered into or made before the thirtieth day of April nineteen hundred and nine, and to any covenant or agreement restricting the use of the land entered into or made on or after that date, if, in the opinion of the Commissioners, the restraint imposed by the covenant or agreement so entered into or made on or after that date was when imposed desirable in the interests of the public, or in view of the character and surroundings of the neighbourhood, and the opinion of the Commissioners snail in this case be subject to an appeal to the referee, whose decision shall be final.

(4)The assessable site value of land means the total value after deducting—

(a)The same amount as is to be deducted for the purpose of arriving at full site value from gross value; and

(b)Any part of the total value which is proved to the Commissioners to be directly attributable to works executed, or expenditure of a capital nature (including any expenses of advertisement) incurred bonâ fide by or on behalf of or solely in the interests of any person interested in the land for the purpose of improving the value of the land as building land, or for the purpose of any business, trade, or industry other than agriculture; and

(c)Any part of the total value which is proved to the Commissioners to be directly attributable to the appropriation of any land or to the gift of any land by any person interested in the land for the purpose of streets, roads, paths, squares, gardens, or other open spaces for the use of the public; and

(d)Any part of the total value which is proved to the Commissioners to be directly attributable to the expenditure of money on the redemption of any land tax, or any fixed charge, or on the enfranchisement of copyhold land or customary freeholds, or on effecting the release of any covenant or agreement restricting the use of land which may be taken into account in ascertaining the total value of the land, or to goodwill or any other matter which is personal to the owner, occupier, or other person interested for the time being in the land ; and

(e)Any sums which, in the opinion of the Commissioners, it would be necessary to expend in order to divest the land of buildings, timber, trees, or other things of which it is to be taken to be divested for the purpose of arriving at the full site value from the gross value of the land and of which it would be necessary to divest the land for the purpose of realising the full site value.

Where any works executed or expenditure incurred for the purpose of improving the value of the land for agriculture have actually improved the value of the land as building land, or for the purpose of any business, trade, or industry other than agriculture, the works or expenditure shall, for the purpose of this provision, be treated as having been executed or incurred also for the latter purposes.

Any reference in this Act to site value (other than the reference to the site value of land on an occasion on which increment duty is to be collected) shall be deemed Jo be a reference to the assessable site value of the land as ascertained in accordance with this section.

(5)The provisions of this section are not applicable for the purpose of the valuation of minerals.

26Valuation of land for purposes of Act.

(1)The Commissioners shall, as soon as may be after the passing of this Act, cause a valuation to be made of all land in the United Kingdom, showing separately the total value and the site value respectively of the land, and in the case of agricultural land the value of the land for agricultural purposes where that value is different from the site value. Each piece of land which is under separate occupation, and, if the owner so requires, any part of any land which is under separate occupation, shall be separately valued, and the value shall be estimated as on the thirtieth day of April nineteen hundred and nine.

(2)Any owner of land and any person receiving rent in respect of any land shall, on being required by notice from the Commissioners, furnish to the Commissioners a return containing such particulars as the Commissioners may require as to the rent received by him, and as to the ownership, tenure, area, character, and use of the land, and the consideration given on any previous sale or lease of the land, and any other matters which may properly be required for the purpose of the valuation of the land, and which it is in his power to give, and, if any owner of land or person receiving any rent in respect of the land is required by the Commissioners to make a return under this section, and fails to make -such a return within the time, not being less than thirty days, specified in the notice requiring a return, he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds to be recoverable in the High Court.

(3)Any owner of land may, if he thinks fit, furnish to the Commissioners his estimate of the total value or site value or both of the land, and the Commissioners, in making their valuation, shall consider any estimate so furnished.

27Ascertainment of the original site value of land.

(1)The Commissioners shall cause a copy of their provisional valuation of any land to be served on the owner of the land, and, unless objection is taken to the provisional valuation in manner provided by this section, the values shown-in the provisional valuation shall be adopted as the original total value and the original site value respectively for the purposes of this Part of this Act.

(2)If the owner considers that the total or site value, as stated in any provisional valuation, is not correct, he may, with a view to an amendment of the provisional-valuation, within sixty days of the date on which the copy of the provisional valuation is served, or such extended time as the Commissioners may in any special case allow, give to the Commissioners notice of objection to the provisional valuation, stating the grounds of his objection and the amendment he desires, and, if the Commissioners amend the provisional valuation so as to be satisfactory to all persons making objections, the total and site value as stated in the amended valuation shall he adopted as the original total and the original site value for the purposes of this Part of this Act.

(3)The Commissioners may amend any provisional valuation, whether objected to or not, before it is finally settled, and the amended provisional valuation shall be deemed to be a provisional valuation for the purposes of this section.

(4)If the provisional valuation is not amended by the Commissioners so as to be satisfactory to any objector, that objector may give a notice of appeal under this Act with respect to the valuation, but, if no such notice is given, the total and site value as stated in the provisional valuation, subject to such amendments as may be made by the Commissioners in order to meet objections, shall be adopted as the original total and the original site value respectively for the purposes of this Part of this Act.

(5)Any person interested in the land, not being an owner, may apply to the Commissioners for a copy of the provisional valuation of the land before it is finally settled, and shall then have the same right of giving notice of objection and of appealing as the owner.

(6)Where the value to be adopted as the original total or the original site value of any land for the purposes of this Part of this Act has not been finally settled at the time when any duty under this Part of this Act becomes leviable, any duty under this Part of this Act shall be assessed as if the values as shown in the provisional valuation, or, if the provisional valuation has been amended by the Commissioners, as shown in the valuation as so amended, were the values adopted as the original total and site values for the purposes of this Part of this Act, and, on the values to be adopted being finally settled, if it is found that the amount which should have been paid as duty exceeds that actually paid, the excess shall be deemed to be arrears of the duty, except so far as any penalty is incurred on account of arrears, and, if it is found that the amount which should have been paid as duty is less than that actually paid, the difference shall be repaid by the Commissioners.

(7)Where a lessee is the owner of the land within the meaning of this Act, this section shall apply as if any person entitled to the fee simple reversion or to a leasehold reversion for a term of years exceeding twenty-one were the owner as well as the lessee.

28Periodical valuation of undeveloped land.

For the purpose of obtaining a periodical valuation of undeveloped land the Commissioners shall, in the year nineteen hundred and fourteen and in every subsequent fifth year, cause a valuation to be made of undeveloped land showing the site value of the land as on the thirtieth day of April in that year, and, for the purpose of ascertaining the value at that time, the provisions of this Act as to the ascertainment of value shall apply for the purpose of ascertaining value on any such periodical valuation as they apply for the purpose of ascertaining the original value :

Provided that if on any such periodical valuation the valuation of any undeveloped land which is liable to undeveloped land duty is for any reason begun but not completed in the year of valuation, the Commissioners may complete the valuation after the expiration of the year of valuation, subject to an appeal under this Act.

29Assessment of duty on separate parcels of land and apportionment of valuation.

(1)Any duty under this Part of this Act may be assessed on or in respect of any such pieces of land whether under separate occupation or not, as the Commissioners think fit.

(2)The Commissioners shall make such apportionments and re-apportionments of any original site value or any site value fixed on a periodical valuation as they consider necessary for the purpose of the collection or assessment of increment value duty or undeveloped land duty, or which they may be required at any time to make on the application of any person entitled to the fee simple of any land or to an interest in any land.

On any such apportionment or re-apportionment for the purpose of the collection of increment value duty on the occasion of the transfer on sale of the fee simple of the land or any interest in the land, or on the occasion of the grant of any lease of the land, the consideration for the transfer, or for the grant of the lease, shall be treated as one of the matters to which regard must be had in making the apportionment or re-apportionment.

(3)The provisions relating to the procedure on the valuation of land for the purposes of this Part of this Act shall apply with respect to the apportionment or re-apportionment of site value under this section as they apply with reference to the ascertainment of the original site value of land.

(4)The value attributed on any such apportionment or re-apportionment to each part of the land shall, for the purposes of this Part of this Act, be treated as the original site value or the site value of the land, as the case may be.

30Duties of Commissioners as to keeping records and giving information.

(1)The Commissioners shall record particulars of all valuations, apportionments, re-apportionments, and assessments made by them under this Part of this Act, and of any deductions allowed in determining any value, and of the amount of any duty paid under this Part of this Act in respect of any land.

(2)The Commissioners shall furnish to any person interested in any land, or to any person authorised by any person so interested, on his application and on payment of such fee, not exceeding two shillings and sixpence, as the Commissioners, may fix with the approval of the Treasury, copies of any particulars so recorded by them relating to the land, certified, if required, by a Secretary or Assistant Secretary to the Commissioners.

31Information as to names of owners of land.

(1)Every person who pays rent in respect of any land, and every person who as agent for another person receives any rent in respect of any land, shall, on being required by the Commissioners, furnish to them within thirty days the name and address of the person to whom he pays rent or on behalf of whom he receives rent, as the case may be.

(2)For the purpose of the exercise of their powers or the performance of their duties under this Part of this Act in reference to the valuation of land, the Commissioners may give any general or special authority to any person to inspect any land and report to them the value thereof, and the person having the custody or possession of that land shall permit the person so authorised, on production of the authority of the Commissioners in that behalf, to inspect it at such reasonable times as the Commissioners consider necessary.

(3)If any person wilfully fails to comply with the provisions of this section, he shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds to be recoverable in the High Court.

(4)Any notice requiring a return for the purpose of valuation, any copy of a provisional valuation, and any other notice or document which is required to be given or sent to an owner or a person interested in land under this Part of this Act by the Commissioners shall be sufficiently given or sent if sent by post to the address of the owner or person interested furnished to the Commissioners under the powers given by this section, or, if the address cannot be so ascertained, by leaving the notice or a copy of the document addressed to the owner or person interested with some occupier of the land, or, if there is no occupier, by causing it to be put up in some conspicuous place on the land.

32Determination of value of consideration.

(1)Where the value of any consideration for a transfer or lease is to be determined for the purposes of this Part of this Act, that value shall, so far as the consideration consists of the payment of a capital sum, be taken to be the amount of that capital sum, and, so far as the consideration consists of a periodical money payment, be taken to be such sum as appears to the Commissioners to be the capital value of that payment.

(2)If the Commissioners are satisfied that any covenant or undertaking, or liability to discharge any incumbrance, or, in cases where a nominal rent only has been reserved, any covenant or undertaking to erect buildings, or to expend any sums upon the property, has formed part of the consideration, the Commissioners shall allow such sum as they think just in respect thereof as an addition to the value of the consideration.

(3)Where it is necessary to apportion any consideration for the purposes of this, Part of this Act a between properties included in any transfer or lease, the consideration shall be apportioned by the Commissioners in such manner as they determine.

Appeals.

33Appeals to referees.

(1)Except as expressly provided in this Part of this Act, any person aggrieved may appeal within such time and in such manner as may be provided by rules made under this section against the first or any subsequent determination by the Commissioners of the total value or site value of any land ; or against the amount of any assessment of duty under this Part of this Act; or against a refusal of the Commissioners to make any allowance or 'to make the allowance claimed, where the Commissioners have power to make such "an allowance under this Part of the Act; or against any apportionment of the value of land or of duty or any assessment or apportionment of the consideration on any transfer or lease made by the Commissioners under this Part of this Act; or against the determination of any other matter which the Commissioners are to determine or may determine under this Part of this Act:

Provided that—

(a)an appeal shall not lie against a provisional valuation made by the Commissioners of the total or site value of any land except on the part of a person who has made an objection to the provisional valuation in accordance with this Act; and

(b)the original total value and the original site value and the site value as ascertained under any subsequent valuation shall be questioned only by means of an appeal against the determination by the Commissioners of that value where there is an appeal under this Act, and shall not be questioned in any case on an appeal against an assessment of duty.

(2)An appeal under this section shall be referred to such one of the panel of referees appointed under this Part of this Act as may be selected in manner provided by rules under this section, and the decision of the referee to whom the matter is so referred shall be given in the form provided by rules under this section and shall, subject to appeal to the Court under this section, be final.

(3)The referee shall determine any matter referred to him in consultation with the Commissioners and the appellant, or any persons nominated by the Commissioners and the appellant respectively for this purpose, and may, if he thinks fit, order that any expenses incurred by the appellant be paid by the Commissioners, and that any such expenses incurred by the Commissioners be paid by the appellant.

Any order of the referee as to expenses may be made a rule of the High Court.

(4)Any person aggrieved by the decision of the referee may appeal against the decision to the High Court within the time and in the manner and on the conditions directed by Rules of Court (including conditions enabling the Court to require the payment of or the giving of security for any duty claimed); and subsections two, three, and four of section ten of the [57 & 58 Vict. c. 30.] Finance Act, 1894, shall apply with reference to any such appeal:

Provided that where the total or site value as alleged by the Commissioners of the property in respect of which the dispute arises does not exceed five hundred pounds, the appeal under this section may be to the county court for the county or place in which the appellant resides or the property is situate, and this section shall for the purpose of the appeal apply as if such county court were the High Court, and in every such case any party shall have a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal.

(5)Provision shall be made by rules under this section with respect to the time within which and the manner in which an appeal may be made to a referee under this section, and with respect to the mode in which the referee to whom any reference is to be made is to be selected, and with respect to the form in which any decision of a referee is to be given, and with respect to any other matter for which it appears necessary or expedient to provide in order to carry this section into effect.

Those rates shall be made by the Reference Committee, subject to the approval of the Treasury.

The Reference Committee for England shall consist of the Lord Chief Justice of England, the Master of the Rolls, and the President of the Surveyors' Institution.

The Reference Committee for Scotland shall consist of the Lord President of the Court of Session, the Lord Justice Clerk, and the Chairman of the Scottish Committee of the Surveyors' Institution.

The Reference Committee for Ireland shall consist of the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, the Master of the Rolls in Ireland, and the President of the Surveyors' Institution.

The President of the Surveyors' Institution may, if he thinks fit, appoint any person, being a member of the council of that institution and having special knowledge of valuation in Ireland, to act in his place as a member of the Reference Committee in Ireland.

34Appointment of referees to hear appeals.

(1)Such number of persons, being persons who have been admitted Fellows of the Surveyors' Institution, or other persons having experience in the valuation of land as may be appointed for England, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively, by the Reference Committee, shall form a panel of persons to act as referees for the purposes of this Part of this Act in England, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively, and persons having experience in the valuation of minerals shall be included in each panel.

(2)There shall, be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament to every referee appointed under this section such fees or remuneration as the Treasury direct.

Supplemental.

35Exemption for land held by rating authorities.

(1)No duty under this Part of this Act shall be charged in respect of any land or interest in land held by or on behalf of a rating authority, or any statutory combination representative of two or more local or rating authorities, and any increment value duty in respect of any such land which would have been collected from the authority (whether on the occasion of the transfer on sale of the land, or any interest in the land, or the grant of a lease of the land, or on the periodical occasions provided in this Act) shall, for the purposes of the provisions of this Act as to the collection of increment value duty, be deemed to have been paid.

(2)For the purposes of this section the expression " rating authority " means any body who have power to raise a rate or administer money raised by a rate ; and the expression " rate " means a rate the proceeds of which are applicable to public local purposes, and which is leviable on the basis of an assessment in respect of the yearly value of property, and includes any sum which, though obtained in the first instance by a precept, certificate, or other instrument, requiring payment from some authority or officer, is or can be ultimately raised out of a rate as before defined.

36Deduction from increment value of sum paid to rating authority in respect of increase in value.

Where in pursuance of any public general or local Act any capital sum or any instalment of a capital sum has been paid to any rating authority in respect of the increased or enhanced value of any land due to any improvements made or other action taken by the authority, the amount of that capital sum or instalment shall be deducted from any increment value of the land for the purposes of the collection of increment value duty and from the site value of the land for the purposes of the collection of undeveloped land duty, and from the value of the benefit accruing to the lessor for the purposes of reversion duty, and in the case of increment value duty the duty on the amount deducted shall be deemed to have been paid.

37Special provision for land held for charitable purposes, &c.

(1)No reversion duty or undeveloped land duty under this Part of this Act shall be charged in respect of land or any interest in land held by or on behalf of any governing body constituted for charitable purposes while the land is occupied and used by such a body for the purposes of that body, and increment value duty shall not be collected on any periodical occasion in respect of the fee simple of or any interest in any land held for the purposes of such a body, whether it is occupied or used by that body or not, without prejudice, however, to the collection of the duty on any other occasion.

The expression " governing body constituted for charitable purposes " includes any person or body of persons who Lave the right of holding, or any power of government of, or management over, any property appropriated for charitable purposes (including property appropriated for the purpose of any of the naval or military forces of the Crown), and includes any corporation sole and all universities, colleges, schools, and other institutions for the promotion of literature, science, or art.

(2)This section shall apply to the fee simple of, or any interest in, any land held by a registered society or by a company within the meaning of the [8 Edw. 7. c. 69.] Companies (Consolidation) Act, 1908, or any body of persons incorporated by special Act, if that company or body are by their memorandum or Act precluded from dividing any profit amongst their members, as if the purposes of the society, company, or body of persons were charitable purposes.

In this provision the expression " registered society " means any society or body of persons who are registered, or whose rules are certified or registered, by a registrar of friendly societies in pursuance of any Act of Parliament, and who by their rules make provision for the benefits set out in section eight, subsection one, of the [59 & 60 Vict. c. 25.] Friendly Societies Act, 1896, and where the contract between the society and the member is of a permanent character.

38Special provision for statutory companies.

(1)Neither increment value duty, reversion duty, nor undeveloped land duty shall be charged in respect of any land whilst it is held by a statutory company for the purposes of their undertaking and cannot be appropriated by the company except to those purposes ; but nothing in this provision shall prevent the collection of increment value duty when any such land is sold or ceases to be so held.

This provision shall not be construed so as to exclude from the benefit thereof land held by a statutory company which is intended to be ultimately appropriated for the purpose of works forming or to form part of the company's undertaking, but, pending the carrying out of those works, is used for other purposes.

(2)The Commissioners shall not require a statutory company to make any returns with respect to any such land for the purpose of the provisions of this Part of this Act as to valuation other than as to the actual cost to the company of the land, and that cost shall, for the purposes of this Part of this Act, be substituted for the original site value of the land.

(3)For the purposes of the Lands Clauses Acts, as incorporated with any special Act, the amount (if any) payable by the transferor as increment value duty shall not be treated as part of the costs or expenses of a conveyance of land, and shall not be taken into account in assessing the compensation to be paid to the transferor.

(4)For the purposes of this section the expression " statutory company " means any railway company, canal company, dock company, water company, or other company who are for the time being authorised under any special Act to construct, work, or carry on any railway, canal, dock, water, or other public under taking, and includes any person or body of persons so authorised ; and the expression " special Act " includes any Provisional Order or order having the force of an Act of Parliament.

39Power to charge duty on land in certain cases.

(1)Where the fee simple of any land, or any interest in land, in respect of which increment value duty or reversion duty is charged, is settled land within the meaning of the [45 & 46 Vict. c. 38.] Settled Land Act, 1882, or is vested in a trustee, and the tenant for life, or persons having the powers of a tenant for life, or the trustee, is the person who is liable to pay any sums on account of either of these duties, he shall be entitled to charge by deed upon the land or interest in land any amount paid by him, or which he may then be or may thereafter become liable to pay, in respect of either of these duties, and the amount of any expenditure which he may have reasonably incurred in connection with the valuation, and the benefit of any such charge, may be transferred in like manner as a mortgage.

(2)In the case of settled land a deed executed for the purposes of this section shall not take effect until notice thereof has been given to the trustees of the settlement for the purposes of the Settled Land Act, 1882.

(3)Sections fifty-nine, sixty, and sixty-two of the Settled Land Act, 1882 (which relate to the exercise of powers on behalf of infants and lunatics), shall apply to the exercise of the power under this section in the same manner as they apply to the exercise of the powers of a tenant for life under that Act.

(4)Where the fee simple of any land, or any interest in land in respect of which increment value duty or reversion duty is charged, is vested in a mortgagee who is liable to pay any sum on account of either of those duties, he shall be entitled to add to his security the sum for which he is so liable, including any costs or expenses properly incurred by him in respect of the payment of the duty.

(5)In Scotland, where any person, having a limited interest in the land or interest in land in respect of which any .duty under this Part of this Act is charged, is the person who is liable to pay any sums on account of the duty, he shall be entitled to charge such land or such interest in land by means of a bond and disposition or bond and assignation in security in his own favour which he is hereby authorised to grant.

40Application of Part I to copyholds.

The following provisions shall have effect with respect to the application of this Part of this Act to copyholds, including customary freeholds:—

(1)In the case of copyholds of inheritance, and copyholds held for a life or lives or for years where the tenant has a right of renewal, and customary freeholds—

(a)The total and site values of the land shall be ascertained as if the land were freehold land, subject to a deduction of such an amount as is proved to the Commissioners to be equal to the amount which it would cost to enfranchise the land;

(b)References to the fee simple of land shall be treated as references to the whole copyhold or customary interest or estate;

(c)In the definition of " owner, " a reference to the person entitled to the rents and profits of the land as tenant by copy of court roll or customary tenure shall be substituted for the reference to the person entitled to the rents and profits of the land in virtue of an estate of freehold :

(2)In the case of copyhold land held for a life or lives, or for years where the tenant has not a right of renewal, this Part of this Act shall have effect as if the land were freehold land and the copyhold interest were a leasehold interest.

41Definitions.

In this Part of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

• The expression " land " does not include any incorporeal hereditament issuing or granted out of the land ;

• The expression " rentcharge " means tithe or tithe rentcharge, or other periodical payment or rendering in lieu of or in the nature of tithe, or any fee farm rent, rent seek, quit rent, chief rent, rent of assize, or any other perpetual rent or annuity granted out of land;

• The expression " rent " has the same meaning as in the [44 & 45 Vict. c. 41.] Conveyancing and Law of Property Act, 1881, and does not include a rentcharge;

• The expression " lease " includes an under-lease and an agreement for a lease or under-lease, but does not include a term of years created solely for the purpose of securing money until the term becomes vested in some person free from any equity of redemption ;

• The term of a lease shall, where the lease contains an obligation to renew the lease, be deemed to include the period for which the lease may be renewed, and, in the case of a lease for life or lives, shall be deemed to be a number of years equal to the mean expectation of life of the person for whose life the lease is granted, or, in the case of a lease granted for lives, of the youngest of the persons for whose lives the lease is granted, and a lease renewed in pursuance of such an obligation shall not on its renewal be deemed to be determined ;

• The expression " interest " in relation to land includes any undivided share in a fee simple in possession and includes a reversion expectant on the determination of a lease, but does not include any other interest in expectancy or an incumbrance as defined by this Act or any fixed charge as defined by this Act or any purely incorporeal hereditament or any leasehold interest under a lease for a term of years not exceeding fourteen years or any tenancy which is, or is deemed to be, subject to statutory conditions under the Land Law (Ireland) Acts;

• The expression " incumbrance " includes a mortgage in fee or for a less estate, and a trust for securing money, and a lien, and a charge of a portion, annuity, or any capital or annual sum, but does not include a fixed charge' as defined by this Act;

• The expression " fixed charge " means any rentcharge as defined by this Act, and any burden or charge (other than rates or taxes) arising by operation of law or imposed by any Act of Parliament, or imposed in pursuance of the exercise of any powers or the performance of any duties under any such Act, otherwise than by a person interested in the land or in consideration of any advance to any person interested in the land ;

• The expression " fee simple " means the fee simple in possession not subject to any lease, but does not include an undivided share in a fee simple in possession;

• The expression " owner " means the person entitled in possession, to the rents and profits of the land in virtue of any estate of freehold, except that where land is let on lease for a term of which more than fifty years are unexpired, the lessee under the lease or if there are two or more such leases the lessee under the last created under-lease shall be deemed to be the owner instead of the person entitled to the rents and profits as aforesaid;

• The expressions " lessor " and " lessee " include an under-lessor and under-lessee; and the expression " lessor " includes the person for the time being entitled to the reversion, whether freehold or leasehold, expectant on the determination of the lease ; and the expression " lessee " includes executors, administrators, and assigns of the lessee;

• The expressions " transferor " and " lessor " do not include any persons who join in the execution of the instrument by which the transfer or lease is effected, or agreed to be effected, for the purpose only of conveying any estate vested in them as trustees or incumbrancers, or of acknowledging the receipt of the consideration money, or of giving consent, and sections fifty-nine, sixty, and sixty-two of the [45 & 46 Vict. c. 38.] Settled Land Act, 1882 (which relate to the exercise of powers on behalf of infants and lunatics), shall apply to the exercise of the powers of an owner under this Part of this Act in the same manner as they apply to the exercise of the powers of a tenant for life under that Act ;

• The expression " agriculture " includes the use of land as meadow or pasture land or orchard or osier or woodland, or for market gardens, nursery grounds, or allotments; and the expression "agricultural land " shall be construed accordingly.

42Application of Part I to Scotland.

In the application of this Part of this Act to Scotland, unless the context otherwise requires,—

• The expression " land " does not include teinds, titles or offices of honour, or any. servitude, superiority, casualty, feu duty, or ground annual, or any incorporeal heritable right;

• The expression " rent " includes yearly or other rent, toll, duty, royalty, or other reservation by the acre, the ton, or otherwise ; and, for the purpose of section thirty-one of this Act, includes feu-duty and ground annual;

• The expression " rent charge " includes feu duty and ground annual;

• The expression " interest " in relation to land includes the landlord's right of reversion to the subjects let on the determination of the lease, but does not include teinds, servitudes, superiorities, any interest in expectancy, whether vested or not, heritable securities, bonds of provision, jointures, annuities, or other capital or annual sums, or other debts secured upon heritage, or any sporting right, or any lease thereof ;

• The expression " owner " means the fiar of the land, except that where land is let on lease for a term of which more than fifty years are unexpired, the tenant under the lease shall be deemed to be the owner, and includes an institute or heir of entail in possession;

• The expression " freeholder " includes " fiar, " " life-renter " of land settled within the meaning of the Finance Act, 1894, and " institute or heir of entail in possession, " and the expression " freehold " shall be construed accordingly;

• The expression " incumbrance " includes any heritable security, or other debt or payment secured upon heritage, and the expression "incumbrancer" shall be construed accordingly;

• " Servitudes " shall be substituted for " easements and shall be deemed to include public rights;

• " Local Government Board for Scotland " shall be substituted for " Local Government Board " ;

• The expression " borough or urban district " means a royal, parliamentary or police burgh;

• A reference to an appeal to quarter sessions shall not apply;

• " Court of Session " shall be substituted for " High Court " : Provided that, for the purposes of appeals from the decisions of referees, the judges of the Court of Session named for the purpose of hearing appeals under the Valuation of Lands (Scotland) Acts shall be substituted for the High Court, subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by Act of Sederunt, and the appeal from such judges shall be to the House of Lords, and in subsections (2), (3), and (4) of section ten of the [57 & 58 Vict. c. 30.] Finance Act, 1894, as applied with reference to any such appeal the said judges shall be substituted for the High Court. " Sheriff Court " shall be substituted for " County Court, " and there shall be an appeal from the sheriff court to the said judges, whose decision in such case shall be final.

(2)Any order of a referee as to expenses shall be enforceable as a recorded decree arbitral.

(3)Subsection (2) of section two of this Act shall be construed as if after paragraph (d) thereof the following paragraph were added (that is to say):—

(e)where the occasion is the grant of any feu of the land or the creation of any ground annual thereon, the value of the fee simple of the land calculated on the basis of the value of the consideration for such grant or creation, by way of feu duty, ground annual, or otherwise.

Where increment value duty falls to be collected on a feu contract or feu charter or a contract of ground annual, it shall be paid by the person by whom or on whose behalf the feu is granted or the ground annual is created, and, for the purposes of this Part of this Act, that person shall be deemed to be the transferor or the transferor on sale and the .contract or charter to be the instrument, and the expressions " transfer" and " transfer on sale " shall be construed accordingly.

The expressions " lessor " and " lessee " include a sublessor and sub-lessee and the heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns of a lessor and lessee respectively.

(4)Where arrangements are made under section four of this Act for dispensing with the presentation of any instrument or particulars thereof, it shall be the duty of the keeper of the general register of sasines, and of the respective keepers of burgh or other local registers, to furnish to the Commissioners particulars of instruments presented for registration or registered in their respective registers as may be prescribed by regulations of the Commissioners, and in such case the provisions of subsection (3) of section four shall not apply.