Oath of allegiance to be taken by councilors

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Oaths Act, 1969 (Central Act 44 of 1969) every person who is elected to be a councillor shall, before taking his seat, make at a meeting of the corporation, an oath or affirmation of his allegiance to the Constitution in the following form namely:- "I.A.B., having been elected a councilor of this corporation do swear in the name of God / solemnly affirm that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India, and that I will faithfully discharge the duty upon which I am about to enter". (2) Any person who having been elected to be a councilor fails to make, within three months of the date on which his term of office commences or at one of the first three meetings held after the said date, whichever is later the oath or affirmation laid down in subsection (1) shall cease to hold his office and his seat shall be deemed to have become vacant. (3) Any person who has been elected to be a councillor shall not take his seat at a meeting of the corporation or do any act as such councillor unless he has made the oath or affirmation as laid down in sub-section (1). (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3), a Mayor or Deputy Mayor or the chairman or a member of a standing-committee, who has not made the oath or affirmation as a councillor shall not be entitled to act as such Mayor, Deputy Mayor, Chairman or member. In the Principal Act, in section 144,- (i) in sub-section (1), for the words “taxable annual value”, the words “taxable capital value” shall be substituted. (ii) for sub-section (5), the following shall be substituted namely:- “(5) The property tax shall be levied by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike by a resolution passed at such percentage not more than ten percent of the taxable capital value of a building, vacant land or both. The taxable capital value of a building, vacant land or both shall be calculated by multiplying the corresponding “unit area value” with the total built-up area of a building, vacant land or both for ten months, minus the depreciation of three percent per year depending on the age of a building. The property tax assessed and levied under this section, once notified by the Government, shall stand revised as and when the property, building or land value is revised by a notification under section 45B of the Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957 (Karnataka Act 34 of 1957) by the Government. Explanation: For the purpose of this section, “Unit Area Value” means the guidance value of the property or the land published under section 45B of the Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957 (Karnataka Act 34 of 1957) and with respect to the building standing on a plot it shall mean the value of building as may be assessed based on the per square foot construction cost minus the depreciation at the time of assessment: Provided that, no such “unit area value” shall come into force unless it is previously published in the official Gazette for the information of the persons likely to be affected and an opportunity is provided to make representation or suggestions, if any, in this regard: Provided further that, subject to such condition and in such circumstances as may be notified, the Chief Commissioner, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, may, in lieu of the tax under sub-section (2), fix any lumpsum amount as annual tax, irrespective of zonal classification, in respect of,- (a) a built-up area having less than 300 sq.ft., in a slum area declared as such by the Karnataka Slum Clearance Board or the Chief Commissioner, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike; (b) an area used as parking area in a non-residential building and being charged for its use by the owner or the occupier: and (c) any other class of building or structure as he deems fit. Provided also that, the depreciation shall be capped at a maximum of sixty percent. Provided also that, the vacant land shall be assessed at a rate not less than 0.025 percent (Rs. 25 per lakh) and not more than five percent of the taxable capital value of the land. Provided also that, after the taxable capital value based property tax system is brought into force and there is no revision of the values of the properties or land under section 45B of the Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957 (Karnataka Act 34 of 1957) in a year, the property tax shall stand enhanced by five percent every such year. Provided also that, as and when the Government notifies value of land and building under section 45B of Karnataka Stamp Act, 1957 (Karnataka Act 34 of 1957) the revised property tax rates based on the new revised value of properties or land shall be calculated and compared with the prevailing property tax rates and the higher of the two shall be adopted.” (iii) in sub-section (8), the third proviso shall be omitted. (iv) in sub-section (11), the words “unit area value and” shall be omitted. (v) in sub-section (12), the word, “random” shall be omitted. (vi) in sub-section (13), the word, “random” shall be omitted. (vii) in sub-section (15),- (a) the word, “random” shall be omitted; and (b) for clause (b), the following shall be substituted, namely:- “(b) if any property or land is liable to pay property tax but remains un-assessed and outside the taxable property records list or upon In the Principal Act, in section 150,- (i) for the words “three years”, the words “five years” shall be substituted. (ii) the following proviso shall be inserted at the end, namely:- “Provided that no such limitation shall apply in case such a wrongful or incorrect entry is made with respect to a Government land or a land belonging to any local body, any statutory body or an organization owned or controlled by the Government.”