Chapter III PROVISIONS RELATING TO COLLECTION OF TAX ON LANDS AND BUILDINGS

The following lands and buildings shall be exempted from payment of the tax on lands and buildings, that is to say :-

1. (a) lands and buildings vesting in the Central Government ;
2. (b) lands and buildings vesting in the State Government or belonging to a municipality, a Zilla Parishad or Cantonment Board and used exclusively for public purposes, and not used or intended to be used for purposes of profit ;
3. (c) building and lands vesting in the Trustees of the Port of Bombay, and not used or intended to be used for the purposes of profit ;
4. (d) wharves, docks, piers, railways and lighthouses (as defined in the Bombay Port Trust Act, 1879 (Bom. VI of 1879), vesting in the Trustees of the Port of Bombay, and used as such, and such other properties vesting in the said Trustees as the State Government may notify in this behalf ;
5. (e) lands and buildings or portions thereof belonging to a public trust registered under the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950 (Bom. XXIX of 1950) 1[or a wakf registered under the Wakf Act, 1954 (XXIX of 1954)] and exclusively occupied for public worship or for charitable purposes ;
6. (f) lands and buildings, the annual letting value of which is less than seventy-five rupees :
7. (g) open lands (other than those within the limits of greater Bombay and The Cities of Poona, 2[Sholapur, Kolhapur] and Nagpur). Explanation.- For the purposes of this section-

1. (1) the following lands and buildings or portions thereof shall not be deemed to be exclusively occupied for public worship or for charitable purposes, namely :-
   • (a) those in which trade or business is carried on ; and
   • (b) those in respect of which rent is derived, whether rent is or is not applied exclusively to religious or charitable purposes ;
2. (2) where any portion of any land or building is exempt from the tax by reason of its being exclusively occupied for public worship or for charitable purposes, such portion shall be deemed to be a separate property;
3. (3) "open land" means land which is not built upon or enclosed.

1. (1) If the actual occupier of any land or building is the owner thereof or holds it on a building or other lease granted by or on behalf of Government or on a building or other lease from any person or local authority, then the tax shall be leviable primarily on the actual occupier.
2. (2) In any other case, the tax shall be leviable primarily as follows, that is to say-
   • (a) if the land or building is let, upon the lessor;
   • (b) if the land or building is sub-let, upon the superior lessor;
   • (c) if the land or building is unlet, upon the person in whom the right to let vests.

1. (1) The tax shall be collected- "1(a) in Cantonments by the Collector of the district; and"
   • (b) in other municipal area, by the municipality.
2. (2) The collection of the tax (including any penalty) under this Act shall be made-
   • (a) in the Cantonments 2* * * as an arrear of land revenue;
   • (b) in any other municipal area, in the same manner in which the property tax is collected in that area under the relevant municipal law : Provided that, if in any municipal area, the property tax is not levied by the municipality, the tax shall be collected in such manner as may be prescribed.
3. (3) The collection of the tax and the recovery of penalty under this Act on behalf of any municipality shall be made by the appropriate municipal authority appointed to collect the property tax on behalf of such municipality under the law under which the municipality is constituted.
4. (4) The municipality shall, in respect of the cost of collection of the tax, be entitled to such rebate as may be prescribed, and different rates of rebate may be provided for different municipal areas.

1. (1) If any person, on being served with a notice of demand for the collection of tax in pursuance of the provisions of section 9, fails to pay within the period mentioned in the notice, any amount due from him on account of tax, the municipality or, as the case may be, the Collector 1* * , on being satisfied that such person has wilfully failed to pay the tax, may, subject to the general or special orders of the State Government, recover from him as penalty a sum not exceeding one-tenth of the amount of the tax so unpaid, in addition to the amount of tax payable by him.
2. (2) Sums recoverable under this section shall be recovered in the manner provided in section 9 for the collection of tax.

Notwithstanding anything contained in any law and notwithstanding any rights arising out of any contract or otherwise howsoever, all sums due as tax or penalty, in respect of any land or building shall, subject to prior payment of the land revenue (if any), thereon, due to the State Government be a first charge-

1. (a) in the case of any land or building held immediately from the Government, upon the interest in such land or building of the person liable for such tax or penalty, and upon the goods and other moveable property, if any, found within or upon such land or building and belonging to such person; and
2. (b) in the case of any other land or building, upon such land or building and upon the goods and other moveable properties, if any, found within or upon such land or building and belonging to the person liable to pay such tax or penalty.

On the failure to recover any sum due on account of tax from the person primarily liable therefor, there may be recovered from the occupier of any part of the land or building in respect of which the tax is due, such portion thereof as bears to the total amount of the tax due the same ratio which the rent annually payable by such occupier bears to the aggregate amount of the annual letting value thereof.

1. (1) If any person from whom under the provisions of section 8 the tax is leviable pays the tax in respect of any land or building, he shall if he is not himself in occupation thereof during the period for which he has paid the tax, be entitled to receive the amount of the tax from the person, if any, in actual occupation of such land or building for the period aforesaid.
2. (2) If any building in respect of which the tax is paid consists of more than one tenement, and the tax in respect of that building is paid by the person referred to in the last preceding sub-section or by any person acting in his behalf, then such person shall be entitled to recover the amount of the tax pro rata from the occupiers of the tenements for the period for which the tax is payable in proportion to the amount of rent for which each such tenement is let: Provided that, if-
   • (a) any of the tenements is in occupation of such person or any person acting on his behalf, or
   • (b) by the terms of the tenancy, such person has agreed to pay the tax for an occupier of the tenement, the amount payable pro rata in respect of such tenements shall not be recovered from the occupiers of other tenements.
3. (3) The recovery of any amount of tax from an occupier under this section shall not be deemed to be an increase for the purposes of section 7 of the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947 (Bom. LVII of 1947), or any law corresponding thereto - in force in any part of the State. Explanation.- In this section "tenement" means a room or group of rooms rented or offered for rent as a unit.

1. (1) If any land or building assessed to tax is lot, and the rateable value thereof exceeds the amount of rent payable in respect thereof to the person from whom, under the provisions of section 8, the tax is leviable, that person shall be entitled to receive from his tenant the difference between the amount of the tax levied upon him and the amount which would be leviable upon him if the tax were calculated on the amount of rent payable to him.
2. (2) If the land or building is sub-let and its rateable value exceeds the amount of rent payable in respect thereof to the tenant by his sub-tenant, or the amount of rent, payable in respect thereof to a sub-tenant by the person holding under the sub-tenant the tenant shall be entitled to receive from his sub-tenant or as the case may be, the sub-tenant shall be entitled to receive from the person holding under him, the difference between any sum recovered under the preceding sub-section from such tenant or sub-tenant and the amount of tax which would be leviable in respect of the said land or building if the rateable value thereof were equal to the difference between the amount of rent which such tenant or sub-tenant receives and the amount of rent which he pays.

Any person entitled to receive any sum under section 13 or 14 shall have for the recovery thereof the same rights and remedies as if such sum were rent payable to him by the person from whom he is entitled to receive the same.

1. (1) Where any land or building is assessed to tax, and if in respect of such land or building or portion thereof a draw-back (if any) or remission or refund of property tax is sanctioned or granted on or after the 1st day of October 1962 under the relevant municipal law, then the municipality, or as the case may be, the Collector shall remit or refund such portion of the tax, in such manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.
2. (2) Where any building assessed to tax is situated in Greater Bombay or in the [Cities of Poona, Sholapur and Kolhapur or in the City] of Nagpur and if such building or any portion thereof is demolished or removed otherwise than by order of the Municipal Commissioner and notice in respect of such demolition or removal has been given to the Commissioner under the relevant municipal law, the municipal corporation constituted under such law shall remit or refund such portion of the tax in such manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.
3. (3) The burden of proving the facts entitling any person to claim relief under this section shall lie upon him.

1. (1) If any municipality makes default in the collection or payment to the State Government of any sum due in respect of the tax on lands, buildings under this Act, the State Government may, after holding such inquiry as it thinks fit, fix a period for the collection or payment of such sum.
2. (2) If the collection or payment of the sum is not made within the period so fixed the State Government may, notwithstanding anything contained in any law relating to the funds vesting in such municipality or any other law for the time being in force, direct any bank in which any moneys of the municipality are deposited or the person in charge of the Government treasury or of any other place of security in which the moneys of such municipality are deposited, to pay such sum from such moneys as may be standing to the credit of the municipality in such bank, or as may be, in the hands of such person or as may from time to time be received from or on behalf of the municipality by way of deposit by such bank or person; and such bank or person shall be bound to obey such order.
3. (3) Every payment made pursuant to an order under sub-section (2) shall be a sufficient discharge to such bank or person from all liability to the municipality in respect of any sum so paid by it or him out of the moneys of that municipality so deposited with such bank or person.