Chapter X Chapter X

All amounts on account of taxes, fees or penalties imposed or as may hereafter be imposed by or under this Act or rules or bye-laws made thereunder and all amounts on account of contract, auction, lease, or any money claimable under this Act or under the rules or bye-laws made thereunder shall, save as otherwise provided, be recoverable in the manner provided in this Chapter.

Presentation of Bill for sums due to Council and discount for prompt payment. (1) When any amount becomes due to the Council under this Act or the rules or bye-laws made thereunder, the Chief Officer shall, with the least practicable delay, cause to be presented to the person liable for the payment thereof, a bill for the sum claimed as due. (2) Every such bill shall specify the period for which, and the property, occupation or thing in respect of which the sum is claimed and shall also give notice of the liability incurred in default of payment and of the time within which an appeal may be preferred as hereinafter provided against such claim. (3) If a person to whom such bill is presented pays, within fifteen days from the presentation thereof, the whole sum claimed as due, then a discount equal to one per cent of such sum shall be paid by the Council to him in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed.

When notice of demand issued. If the person to whom a bill has been presented as provided under the last preceding section does not, within fifteen days from the presentation thereof, either— (a) pay the sum claimed due as in the bill, or (b) show cause to the satisfaction of the Chief Officer why he is not liable to pay the same, or (c) prefer an appeal in accordance with the provisions of section 164 against the claim, the Chief Officer may cause to be served upon the person liable for the payment of the said sum a notice of demand in the form of Schedule IV or to the like effect.

When warrant may issue. If the person on whom a notice of demand has been served under the last preceding section, does not, within fifteen days from the service of such notice, pay the sum demanded in the notice, such sum with all costs of the recovery may be levied under a warrant signed by the Chief Officer in the form of Schedule V or to the like effect, by distress and sale of the movable or immovable property of the defaulter: Provided that, where any measures precautionary or otherwise, have been taken in respect of any such property for the recovery of any sum claimed by the Government, any proceedings under this Chapter in respect of such property shall abate.

(a) Where the property is in the municipal area, the warrant issued under the last preceding section shall be addressed to an officer of the Council; (b) Where the property is in another municipal area, the warrant shall be addressed to the Chief Officer of that area; (c) Where the property is in a Cantonment, the warrant shall be addressed to the Executive Officer of the Cantonment; (d) Where the property is not within the limits of a municipal area or a Cantonment, the warrant shall be addressed to a Government Officer not lower in rank than a Mamlatdar: Provided that such Chief Officer or Government Officer may endorse such warrant to a subordinate Officer.

Power of entry by force under special order. It shall be lawful for any officer to whom a warrant issued under section 147 is addressed or endorsed, if the warrant contains a special order authorising him in this behalf, to break open at any time between sunrise and sunset any outer or inner door or window of a building, in order to make any distress directed in the warrant, if he has reasonable grounds for believing that such building contains property which is liable to seizure under the warrant and if after notifying his authority and purpose and duly demanding admittance he cannot otherwise obtain admittance: Provided that such officer shall not enter or break open the door of any apartment appropriated for women until he has given three hours' notice of his intention and has given such women an opportunity to remove.

Warrant how to be executed. It shall also be lawful for any such officer if authorized by the warrant to distrain, wherever it may be found, any movable property or attach any immovable property of the person named in the warrant issued under section 147 as defaulter, subject to the following conditions, exceptions and exemptions, namely:— (a) the following property shall not be distrained:— (i) the necessary wearing apparel and bedding of the defaulter, his wife and children, (ii) the tools of artisans, (iii) when the defaulter is an agriculturist, his implements of husbandry and such cattle and seed-grain as may be necessary to enable the defaulter to earn his livelihood; (b) the property distrained shall be as nearly as possible equal in value to the amount recoverable under the warrant; and if any property has been distrained which, in the opinion of the Chief Officer or the person to whom the warrant was addressed, should not have been so distrained, it shall forthwith be returned to the defaulter; (c) the officer shall, on distraining or attaching the property, forthwith make an inventory thereof and give to the person in possession thereof at the time of distraint or attachment a written notice in the form of Schedule VI; (d) (i) when the property is immovable, the attachment shall be made by an order prohibiting the defaulter from transferring or charging the property in any way and all persons from taking any benefit from such transfer or charge; (ii) the order shall be proclaimed at some place on or adjacent to the property by beat of drum or other customary mode, and a copy of the order shall be fixed on a conspicuous part of the property and then upon the notice board of the municipal office and also, when the property is land paying revenue to the Government, in the office of the Collector of the district in which the land is situated; (e) any transfer of or charge on the property attached or of any interest therein made without the written permission of the Chief Officer shall be void as against all claims of the Council enforceable under the attachment.

Sale of property distrained or attached; application of proceeds of sale. (1) When the property seized is not subject to speedy and natural decay, the property (1) distrained or attached, or in the case of immovable property a sufficient portion thereof, may, unless the warrant is suspended by the Chief Officer or the sum due by the defaulter together with all costs incidental to the notice, warrant, and distress or attachment and detention of the property, is paid, be, on the expiry of the time specified in the notice served by the officer executing the warrant, sold by public auction under the orders of the Chief Officer, and the proceeds or such part thereof as shall be requisite, shall be applied firstly in discharge of any sum due to the Government in respect of such property and secondly in discharge of the sum due and of all such incidental costs as aforesaid. Where the sum due to the Council together with the cost and a sum equal to five per cent., of the purchasemoney for payment to the purchaser is paid by the defaulter, before the confirmation of the sale, the attachment if any, of immovable property shall be deemed to have been removed and movable property seized shall be returned to the defaulter. Sales of movable and immovable property under this section shall be held in the manner laid down in the rules framed in that behalf. (2) After sale of the property by auction as aforesaid the Chief Officer shall put the person declared to be the purchaser in possession of the same and shall grant him a certificate to the effect that he has purchased the property to which the certificate refers. (3) It shall be lawful for the Council to offer a nominal bid in the case of any immovable property put up for auction, provided that the previous approval of the Director obtained to such bidding.

Surplus, if any, how dealt with. The surplus, if any, remaining after the sale of property under the last preceding section, shall be forthwith credited to the municipal fund, notice of such credit being given at the same time to the person in whose possession the property was at the time of distraint or attachment; if such person claims the surplus by written application to the Chief Officer within three years from the date of the notice given under this section, the Chief Officer shall refund the surplus to such person. Any sum not claimed within three years from the date of such notice shall be the property of the Council.

Where the warrant is addressed outside the municipal area under section 148, the Chief Officer may by endorsement direct the officer to whom the warrant is addressed to sell the property distrained or attached; in such case it shall be lawful for such officer to sell the property and to do all things incidental to the sale in accordance with the provisions of sections 150, 151 and 152 and to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the Chief Officer under sections 151 and 152, in respect of such sale except the power of suspending the warrant. Such officer shall, after deducting all costs of recovery incurred by him and after confirmation of the sale remit the amount recovered under the warrant to the Chief Officer by whom it was issued who shall dispose of the same in accordance with the provisions of sections 151 and 152.

Fees for every notice, issued under section 146, every warrant issued under section 147 or distress or attachment made under section 150 and the maintenance of any livestock seized under the said section shall be chargeable at the rates respectively specified in that behalf in the bye-laws of the Council and shall be included in the costs of recovery.

Summary proceedings may be taken against person about to leave municipal area. (1) If the Chief Officer shall at any time have reason to believe that any person from whom any sum recoverable under the provisions of this Chapter is due or is about to become due, is about forthwith to remove from the municipal area, the Chief Officer may direct the immediate payment by such person of the sum so due or about to become due by him and cause a bill for the same to be presented to him. (2) If, on presentation of such bill, the said person does not forthwith pay the sum due or about to become due by him, the amount shall be leviable by distress and sale of the movable property or the attachment and sale of the immovable property of the defaulter in the manner hereinbefore prescribed, except that it shall not be necessary to serve upon the defaulter any notice of demand and the Chief Officer’s warrant for distress and sale may be issued and executed without any delay.

Sales in other cases by whom to be ordered and the manner of making and confirming them. The Government may make rules for prescribing such supplemental or incidental provisions as it deems fir for ordering and holding and confirming sales by public auction of any property or class of property distrained or attached under this Act.

Liability of lands, buildings, etc., for taxes. All sums due on account of any tax on lands or buildings or both shall, subject to the prior payment of land revenue, if any, due to the Government there-upon, be a first charge upon the building or land, in respect of which such tax is leviable and upon the movable property, if any, found within or upon such building or land, and belonging to any person liable for such tax: Provided that no arrears of any such tax shall be recovered from any occupier who is not the owner if such arrears have been due for more than one year for a period during which such occupier was not in occupation.

Receipts to be given for all payments. For all sums paid on account of any tax under this Act, a receipt stating the amount, and the tax on account of which it has been paid, shall be tendered by the person receiving such payments.

Certain amounts to be recovered as arrears of land revenue. Where any amount referred to in section 144 has become due and cannot be recovered under the foregoing provisions of this Chapter by reason of the person liable for the payment thereof being outside the State of Goa or his not having any or sufficient property in the State of Goa, and such person has property outside the State of Goa, then such amount shall be recoverable as an arrear of land revenue and the provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act, 1890 or any other law in force in the State of Goa in this behalf shall apply to the recovery thereof.

Stay orders on warrants by whom to be issued. When a warrant is issued under section 147, no authority other than the Chief Officer who issued the warrant shall have the power to hold back the execution of the warrant: Provided that the appellate authority to whom an appeal has been preferred under section 164 or the authority to whom a revision application is made under section 166, may issue a stay order if the circumstances of the case so demand, only after the appeal or application for revision is duly admitted, and after recording the reasons for making such order.

Interest payable on dues for taxes. If a person on whom a notice of demand has been served under section 146 does not, within fifteen days from the service of such notice, pay the sum demanded in the notice, he shall be liable to pay by way of interest, in addition to the sum and other charges due,— (a) one-half per cent. of the sum due for each complete month for the first six months, from the date of the expiry of the period of fifteen days aforesaid; and (b) one per cent. of the sum due for each complete month thereafter, during the time he continues to make default in the payment of the sum due. The amount of interest shall be recovered in the same manner as the sum due is recoverable: Provided that the Chief Officer may, in such circumstances as may be prescribed, and an appellate, authority or the authority to whom revision application is made may, remit the whole or any part of the interest payable in respect of any period.

Subject to the approval of the Director and subject to such rules as the Government may make in this behalf, a Council may write off any tax, fee or other amount due to it which in its opinion is irrecoverable: Provided that no amount shall be written off unless a resolution to that effect is passed by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the total number of Councillors: Provided further that no approval of the Director need be obtained if the sum to be written off, not being a sum under a contract, is not more than Five thousand rupees in any case.

Appointment of Recovery Officer. (1) Notwithstanding any other mode of recovery provided by this Act, any arrears of any tax, or any amount due to the Council under a contract, agreement, lease, auction, security or indemnity bond or any other money due to the Council under this Act or the rules or bye-laws made thereunder, together with any sum on account of process fees, interest and other costs, shall be recoverable by the Recovery Officer to be appointed for the purpose by the Director: Provided that no such Recovery Officer shall be appointed unless the Council by a resolution passed at a special meeting for that purpose, makes a written request to the Director. (2) In case the arrears of all kinds due to a Council as on the 31st Day of December; are in excess of fifty per cent. of the total of such arrears as at the close of the previous financial year, the Director may, without reference to the Council, order appointment of a Recovery Officer. (3) In either case, the expenses on the salary and allowances of the Recovery Officer and such other subordinate staff as the Director may appoint to assist the Recovery Officer shall be paid by the Council. (4) The Recovery Officer so appointed shall have all the powers of a Revenue Officer under the corresponding law for the time being in force, but only for the purposes of recovery of municipal arrears recoverable under this Act as arrears of land revenue.

Appeals to Magistrates. Appeals against any claim for taxes or other dues included in a bill presented to any person under section 145 or any other provisions of this Act may be made to any Judicial Magistrate by whom under the direction of the Sessions Judge such class of cases is to be tried.

Procedure in Appeal. No appeal under the last preceding section shall be entertained unless— (a) the appeal is brought within fifteen days next after the presentation of the bill complained of; and (b) an application in writing stating the grounds on which the claim of the Council is disputed, has been made to the Council in the case of a tax on buildings or lands or both within the time fixed in the notice given under section 115 or 119 of the assessment or alteration thereof, according to which the bill is prepared; and (c) the amount claimed from the appellant has been deposited by him in the municipal office.

The decision of the Magistrate in any appeal made under section 164 shall, at the instance of either party, be subject to revision by the Court to which appeals against the decision of such Magistrate ordinarily lie.

Bar of other proceedings. No objection shall be taken to any valuation, assessment or levy nor shall the liability of any person to be assessed or taxed be questioned, in any other manner or by any other authority than is provided in this Act.