PUNJAB LAND REVENUE (SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS) RULES, 1958

PART A PRELIMINARY

Rule 1. Short title.

These Rules may be called the Punjab Land Revenue (Special Assessment) Rules, 1958.

Rule 2. Definitions.

In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires, -

(i)       "Act" means the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887;

(ii)      "Form" means a form appended to these rules;

(iii)     "site" means apiece of land, whether built upon or not, liable to special as­sessment under the Act;

(iv)    "block" means a sub-division of an assessment circle;

(v)      "potential building site" means a site lying vacant and out of use.

Rule 3. Unit of assessment.

(1)     The unit of special assessment shall be either assess­ment circle or a block.

(2)     The Revenue Officer in charge of assessment may divide assessment circle into blocks having regard to the following factors :-

(i)       Importance of situation;

(ii)      extent of development;

(iii)     categories of land; and

(iv)    density of population.

PART-B METHOD OF SPECIAL ASSESSMENT

Rule 4. Division of sites into categories.

For the purposes of assessment of land reve­nue, sites in a block or assessment circle shall be divided into the following categories:-

(1)     Land that has been put to a use different from that for which an assessment is in force;

(2)     Land that has been put to the following non-agricultural uses, whether al­ready assessed to land revenue or not :

(a)      Cinemas;

(b)      Hotels or Restaurants;

(c)      Petrol pumps;

(d)      Factories;

(e)      Shops;

(f)       Shop-cum-residences;

(g)      Residential houses;

(h)     Residential bungalows;

(i)       Cart, tonga, motor or other stands or landing grounds;

(j)       Brick-kilns and land from which earth is taken for bricks;

(k)      other non-agricultural uses.

(3)     Potential building sites.

Rule 5. Categories of sites to be grouped into classes.

(1)     All sites under each cate­gory in a block or assessment circle may be classified as follows:-

Class I. Sites situated in exceptionally good localities and fetching exception­ally high rent.

Class II. Sites situated in good localities and fetching good rent.

Class III. Sites situated in good localities and fetching medium rent.

Class IV. Sites in bad localities and fetching low rent.

Class V. Sites situated in exceptionally backward localities and fetching ex­ceptionally low rent.

(2)     Sites of various categories, wholly under the possession of the owners or of which the alleged rent is found to be collusive or otherwise not reliable, shall be clas­sified under sub-rule (1) according to the localities and their own importance.

(3)     The Tahsildar or Naib-Tahsildar, incharge of the block or assessment circle, as the case may be, will be responsible for the preliminary classification of sites. The Revenue Officer-in-charge of assessment will finalise this classification and, in doing so, will personally verify at least five per cent sites of each Class.

Rule 6. Net letting value to be calculated on the basis of selected representative sites.

(1)     Not more than six representative sites of each class of a category in the block or assessment circle, as the preliminary classification of sites. The Revenue Officer-incharge of assessment and the net letting value of every such site shall be calculated in the manner hereinafter described.

(2)     The average net letting value of the representative sites shall be applied to all the sites of that class of the category in the block or assesstilerit circle, as the case may be.

Rule 7. Factors to be considered in calculating net letting value.

(1)     In calculating the net letting value of a representative site, regard shall be had to the following factors :-

(a)      the present annual rent of the site;

(b)      the nature of the use to which the site has been put;

(c)      the capital investment on buildings, machinery, or other structures on the site.

(2)     The data required for the purposes referred to in sub-rule (1) may be collected in Forms I, III and VII.

Rule 8. Furnishing of information.

(1)     Every owner and lessee of a selected repre­sentative site shall, when required by the Revenue Officer-in-charge of assessment or a Tahsildar or a Naib-Tahsildar, furnish information in Forms V and VI in order to enable such officer to determine the net letting value thereof

(2)     The Revenue Officer-in-charge of assessment shall, by himself or through the Tahsildar or Naib-Tahsildar, verify the information received in Forms V and VI in such a manner as he deems fit and may also tally such information with the following documents:-

(a)      land records;

(b)      shopkeepers' books;

(c)      rent accounts of owners, lessees and tenants;

(d)      rents realised by the Court of Wards, Official Receiver, Local Authorities and other large proprietors;

(e)      figures accepted for similar localities in other blocks, assessment circles or towns;

(f)       property tax and house tax registers.

(3)     If after verification as required by sub-rule (2), the Revenue Officer-in-charge of assessment is satisfied that the information furnished in Forms V and VI is not un­reliable, he shall cause such information or such part of it as has been verified by him to be incorporated in Form VII.

(4)     If in respect of any selected representative site the information furnished in Forms V and VI is found to be not reliable by the Revenue Officer-in-charge of as­sessment or such information is not furnished at all he shall exclude such site from the list of representative sites.

Rule 9. Calculation of net letting value.

The net letting value of selected repre­sentative sites shall be the amount derived after making the following deductions from the present annual rent of such sites:-

(i)       fair remuneration at six per cent for the capital invested on building or machinery or both after deducting the depreciation on their value;

(ii)      house tax;

(iii)     property tax;

(iv)    maintenance charges not exceeding one month's gross rent.

Explanation - Where no reliable data regarding the cost of building and machinery on a site is forthcoming or is otherwise not available, valuation and depreciation shall be based on the standards of the Public Works Department of the Punjab/Haryana[1] State.

Rule 10. Determination of average market value of sites.

For purposes of sub- clause (ii) of clause (b) of section 48-A of the Act, the average market value of site in each class of category shall be, -

(a)      where data regarding the sale price of sites is available in a class, the average per marla, biswa, biswansi or sarsahi, according to the measure in force for the time being in the locality, of the sale price of such sites during the ten years immediately preceding the assessment;

(b)      where no data regarding the sale price of sites is available in a class, the av­erage per marla, biswa, biswansi or sarsahi, according to the measure in force for the time being in the locality, of the sale price of sites in a similar class, category and locality in the nearest block or assessment circle during the ten years immediately preceding the assessment; and

(c)      Category. where no data regarding the sale price of sites in a similar class, and locality in the nearest block of or assessment circle is available, the av­erage per marla, biswa, biswansi, or sarsahi, according to the measure in force for the time being in the locality, of the sale price of sites in the same class in all the categories of the same block or assessment circle in which the sites are situated, during the ten years immediately preceding the assess­ment.

Rule 11. Scale of special assessment.

The Revenue Officer-in-charge of special as­sessment or subsequent revision thereof will then work out the scale of levy of special assessment for each class in the block or assessment circle according to the scales laid down in section 48B of the Act.

Rule 12. Area to be assessed.

(1)     Where a part of a khasra number is liable to special assessment the area for special assessment shall be the area of that part during the har­vest in which the special assessment is made.

(2)     The total area to be specially assessed in a block or assessment circle, as the case may be, shall be the area that is liable to special assessment during the harvest in which the special assessment is made.

Rule 13. Inspection of certain estates.

Before making his proposals for special assess­ment the Revenue Officer-in-charge of assessment shall make a special inspection of every estate in which more than 25 khasra numbers are liable to special assessment and record a note of such inspection.

Rule 14. Preparation of special assessment reports.

(1)     A special assessment report shall be prepared and submitted to the Financial Commissioner through the Commis­sioner for preliminary approval separately for each assessment circle as soon as the necessary data has been collected.

(2)     The report shall, amongst other matters, state in respect of each block or assess­ment circle, -

(i)       the average net letting value of sites for each class under various categories;

(ii)      in the case of sites, the net letting value of which cannot be determined, the average market value of such sites for each class under various categories;

(iii)     the scale of special assessment proposed for each block in the assessment circle for each class under various categories.

(3)     The information referred to in sub-rule (2) shall also be given in Form IX.

Rule 15. Abstract of assessment report to be published after its preliminary ap­proval by Financial Commissioner, Section 60(b).

(1)     On receipt of the preliminary approval of the Financial Commissioner to his proposal contained in the special assessment report, the Revenue Officer-in-charge of assessment shall prepare brief abstract, in the language prevailing in the locality, of the report, as approved or modified by the Financial Commissioner, incorporating:-

(i)       the basic data on which the net letting value of sites has been calculated, deductions allowed and the value of land under various categories and belong­ing to different classes, as disclosed by sales;

(ii)      the total assessment and the average revenue rates proposed for each class under various categories with such brief explanations as may be necessary including the clear proviso that the rates proposed for any particular estate are liable to be varied before the special assessment is finalised;

(iii)     the general consideration on which the pitch and amount of, total actual as­sessment proposed, are based, namely, rise in prices, new development and greater return from the land.

(2)     Copies of this abstract shall be supplied by post to all Sarpanches, Lambardars, Organisations of landowners of the area concerned, members of the Lok Sabha, Ra­jya Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, State Legislative Council and Local Bodies representing the said area, with the intimation that representations against, or objections to, the proposed assessment should be sent to the Revenue Officer-in-charge of assessment within 15 days from the date of posting.

(3)     All such representations and objections will be considered by the Revenue Of­ficer-in-charge of assessment who shall forward them with his views and the final report to the Financial Commissioner [2][through the Commissioner.]

Rule 16. Deviation allowed.

The special assessment finally confirmed by the Financial Commissioners for each class and category in a block or assessment circle, as the case may be, shall be imposed by the Revenue Officer-in-charge of assessment within a margin of 5 per cent either way.

Rule 17. Distribution of special assessment over holdings.

(1)     Before making the distribution of fixed special assessment as finally sanctioned by the Financial Com­missioner over the several holdings of a class in a particular category in a block or assessment circle, as the case may be, the Revenue Officer-in-charge of assessment shall, in deciding the method of new distribution, enquire into the usage and the wishes of the land-owners concerned and shall have regard to that usage and wishes of the landowners so far as may be practicable and equitable. The Revenue Officer ­in-charge of assessment shall, for each estate, draw up an order setting forth the method of distribution holding-wise of the special assessment and shall direct that a record of the distribution of special assessment be prepared in Form VIII.

(2)     The record thus prepared shall be published by delivering a copy thereof to the headman of the estate and by posting another copy at a conspicuous place in the block or assessment circle, as the case may be; and as close to the estate as is feasible. A copy shall also be supplied to the Patwari.

(3)     Necessary notes regarding the new distribution will also be recorded in the-re­marks column of the Patwari's copy of the current jamabandi in red ink against the relevant khewats and khasra numbers for incorporation in the net quadrennial jamabandi.

PART C THE MANNER IN WHICH SPECIAL ASSESSMENT SHALL BE ANNOUNCED

Rule 18. Announcement of special assessment.

(1)     After the action taken under rule 17(2), a formal announcement of the special assessment imposed on each block or es­tate shall be made by the Revenue Officer-in-charge of assessment, at an appointed place and on a date specified, to which the headman and others persons interested of the estate shall be summoned.

(2)     The headman of each estate shall also be given a memorandum, showing the fu­ture special assessment of the block or estate and any additional particulars deemed necessary.

(3)     The harvest from which the new special assessment shall take effect shall be an­nounced to the headman and other persons interested and his fact shall be noted in the memorandum delivered to the headman.

PART D MISCELLANEOUS

Rule 19. Duration of special assessment.

Unless otherwise directed by the Financial Commissioner in any specific case, the special assessment in a district shall ordinar­ily last for a period of ten years and shall remain in force till a new one in made.

Rule 20. Power of Settlement Officer to incorporate additional necessary informa­tion in the prescribed forms.

The information required for special assessment shall be collected in Forms Ito IX but the Revenue Officer-in- charge of assessment will be entitled to incorporate in these Forms any additional information that he deems necessary.

Rule 21. Area to be measured in case of doubt.

In case of doubt, the area under spe­cial assessment in any khasra number shall be properly measured and then recorded.

Rule 22. Scales of special assessment to be applied to new land put to non- agricul­tural use during the currency of the special assessment.

During the period for which the special assessment remains in force the new sites of land or potential build­ing sites put to non-agricultural uses mentioned in rule 4(2)(a) to (k) from harvest to harvest shall be classified by the Collector into the five classes of each category in the block or assessment circle, as the case may be, and the scale of special assessment of the class in that category shall be enforced on those sites in lieu of the land revenue payable at that time.