Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the property tax shall be levied on lands and buildings in New Delhi and shall consist of not less than ten and not more than thirty per cent of the rateable value of lands and buildings:

provided that the Council may, when fixing the rate at which the property tax shall be levied during any year, determine that the rate leviable in respect of lands and buildings or portions of lands and buildings in which any particular class of trade or business is carried on shall be higher than the rate determined in respect of other lands and buildings or portions of other lands and buildings by an amount not exceeding one-half of the rate so fixed:

Provided further that the tax may be levied on graduated scale, if the Council so determines.

Explanation. - Where any portion of a land or building is liable to a higher rate of the tax such portion shall be deemed to be a separate property for the purpose of municipal taxation.

The Council may exempt from the tax lands and buildings of which the rateable value does not exceed one thousand rupees.

Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the property tax shall be levied in respect of all lands and buildings in New Delhi except-

Lands and buildings or portions thereof shall not be deemed to be exclusively occupied and used for public worship or for a charitable purpose within the meaning of clause (a) of sub-section (1) if any trade or business is carried on in such lands and buildings or portions thereof or if in respect of such lands and buildings or portions thereof, any rent is derived.

Where any portion of any land or building is exempt from the property tax by reason of its being exclusively occupied and used for public worship or for a charitable purpose such portion shall be deemed to be a separate property for the purpose of municipal taxation.

The rateable value of any lands or buildings assessable to any property taxes shall be the annual rent at which such land or building might reasonably be expected to let from year to year less a sum equal to ten per cent of the said annual rent which shall be in lieu of all allowances for cost of repairs and insurance, and other expenses, if any, necessary to maintain the land or building in a state to command that rent:

Provided that in respect of any land or building the standard rent of which has been fixed under the Delhi Rent Control Act, 1958 (59 of 1958) the rateable value thereof shall not exceed the annual amount of the standard rent so fixed.

The rateable value of any land which is not built upon but is capable of being built upon and of any land on which a building is in process or erection shall be fixed at five per cent of estimated capital value of such land.

All plant and machinery contained or situate in or upon any land or building and belonging to any of the classes specified from time to time by public notice by the Chairperson with the approval of the Council, shall be deemed to form part of such land or building for the purpose of determining the rateable value thereof under sub-section (1) but save as aforesaid no account shall be taken of the value of any plant or machinery contained or situated in or upon any such land or building.

A charge shall be leived for the water supplied to any land or building by measurement at such rate as shall from time to time be prescribed by the Council in this behalf.

The Council may prescribe such conditions as it may think fit regarding the use of the water and regarding the charges to be paid for water consumed whilst a meter is out of order or under repair;

Provided that no condition prescribed under this sub-section shall be inconsistent with this Act or with any bye-law made thereunder.

Any sum payable by a person, who is charged for water supplied, and not paid when it becomes due shall be recoverable as an arrear of tax under this Act.

In prescribing charges for water supplied by measurement under sub-section (1), it shall be lawful for the Council to prescribe different rates in respect of different classes of lands and buildings.

Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this Chapter, lands and buildings being properties of the Union shall be exempt from the property tax specified in section 61:

Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall prevent the Council from levying property tax on such lands and buildings to which immediately before the 26th January, 1950, they were liable or treated as liable, so long as that tax continues to be levied by the Council on other lands and buildings.

Where the possession of any land or building, being property of the Union, has been delivered in pursuance of section 20 of the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954 (44 of 1954) to a displaced persons, or any association of displaced person, whether incorporated or not, or to any other person [hereafter in this sub-section and the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 66 referred to as the transferee], the property tax specified in section 61 shall be leviable and shall be deemed to have been leviable in respect of such land or building with effect from the 7th day of April, 1958 or the date on which possession thereof has been delivered to the transferee, whichever is later, and such property tax shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this Act, be recoverable with effect from that day or date, as the case may be.

The property tax shall be primarily leviable as follows: -

Provided that the property tax in respect of land or building, being property of the Union, possession of which has been delivered in pursuance of section 20 of the Displaced

Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954 (44 of 1954) shall be primarily leviable upon the transferee.

If any land has been let for a term exceeding one year to a tenant and such tenant has built upon the land, the property tax assessed in respect of that land and building erected thereon shall be primarily leviable upon the said tenant, whether the land and building are in the occupation of such tenant or a sub-tenant of such tenant.

The liability of the several owners of any buildings which is, or purports to be, severally owned in parts or flats or rooms, for payment of property tax or any instalment thereof payable during the period of such ownership shall be joint and several.

If any land or building assessed to property tax is let, and its rateable value exceeds the amount of rent payable in respect thereof to the person upon whom under the provision of section 66 the said tax is leviable, that person shall be entitled to receive from his tenant the difference between the amount of the property tax levied upon him and the amount which would be leviable upon him if the said tax was calculated on the amount of rent payable to him.

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 the sub-tenant shall be entitled to receive from the person holding under him, as the case may be, the difference between any sum recovered under this section from such tenant or sub-tenant and the amount of property tax which would be liable 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 this section shall have, for the recovery thereof, he 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.

On the failure to recover any sum due on account of property tax in respect of any land or building from the person primarily liable therefore under section 66, the Chairperson shall recover from every occupier of such land or building by attachment, in accordance with section 108 of the rent payable by such occupier,a portion of the total sum due which bears,as nearly as may be ,the same proportion to that sum as the rent annually payable by such occupier bears to the total amount of rent annually payable in respect of the whole of the land or building.

An occupier from whom any sum is recovered under sub-section (1) shall be entitled to be reimbursed by the person primarily liable for the payment, and may in addition to having recourse to other remedies that may be open to him, deduct the amount so recovered from the amount of any rent from time to time becoming due from him to such person.

in the case of any land or building held immediately from the Council or Government or Central Government, upon the interest in such land or building of the person liable for such tax and upon the goods and other movable properties, if any, found within or upon such land or building and belonging to such person; and

in the case of any other land or building, upon such land or building and upon the goods and other movable properties, if any, found within or upon such land or building and belonging to the person liable for such tax.

Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the Council shall cause an assessment list of all lands and buildings in New Delhi to be prepared in such form and manner and containing such particulars with respect to each land and building as may be prescribed by bye-laws.

When the assessment list has been prepared the Chairperson shall give public notice thereof and of the place where the list or a copy thereof may be inspected, and every person claiming to be the owner, lessee or occupier of any land or building included in the list and any authorized agent of such person, shall be at liberty to inspect the list and to take extracts therefrom free of charge.

The Chairperson shall, at the same time, give public notice of a date, not less than one month thereafter, when he will proceed to consider the rateable values of lands and buildings entered in the assessment list; and in all cases in which any land or building is for the first time assessed, or the rateable value of any land or building ids increased, he shall also give written notice thereof to the owner or to any lessee or occupier of the land or building.

Any objection to a rateable value or any other matter as entered in the assessment list shall be made in writing to the Chairperson before the date fixed in the notice and shall state in what respect the rateable value, or other matter is disputed, and all objections so made shall be recorded in a register to be kept for the purpose.

The objections shall be inquired into and investigated, and the persons making them shall be allowed an opportunity of being heard either in person or by authorised agent, by the Chairperson or by any officer of the Council authorised in this behalf by the Chairperson.

When all objections have been disposed of, and revision of the rateable value has been completed, the assessment list shall be authenticated by signature of the Chairperson or, as the case may be, the officer authorised by him in this behalf, who shall certify that except in the cases, if any in which amendments have been made as shown therein, no valid objection has been made to the rateable value or any other matter entered in said list.

The assessment list so authenticated shall be deposited in the office of the council and shall be open, free of charge during office hours to all owners, lessees and occupiers of lands and buildings comprised therein or the authorised agents of such persons, and a public notice that it is so open shall forthwith be published.

Provided that no person shall by reason of any such amendment become liable to pay any tax or increase of tax in respect of any period prior to the commencement of the year in which the notice under sub-section (2) is given.

Before making any amendment under sub-section (1) the Chairperson shall give to any person affected by the amendment, notice of not less than one month that he proposes to make the amendment and consider any objection which may be made by such person.

Whenever the title of any person primarily liable for the payment of property tax on any land or building is transferred, the person whose title is transferred and the person to whom the same is transferred shall within three moths after the execution of the instrument of transfer or after registration, if it is registered, or after the transfer is effected, if no instrument is executed, give notice of such transfer in writing to the Chairperson.

In the event of the death of any person primarily liable as a aforesaid, the person on whom the title of the deceased devolves, shall give notice of such devolution to the Chairperson within six months from the date of the death of the deceased.

The notice to be given under this section shall be in such form as may be determined by bye-laws made under this Act, and the transferee or the other person on whom the title devolves shall, if so required, be bound to produce before the Chairperson any document evidencing the transfer or devolution.

Every person who makes a transfer as aforesaid without giving such notice to the Chairperson shall, in addition to any penalty to which he may be subjected under the provisions of this Act, continue to be liable for the payment of property tax from time to time payable in respect of the land or building transferred until he gives such notice or until the transfer has been recorded in the chairperson's book but nothing in this section shall be held to affect the liability of the transferee for the payment of the said tax.

The Chairperson shall record every transfer or devolution of title notified to him under this section in his books and in the assessment list.

On a written request by the Chairperson, the registrar or sub-registrar of New Delhi appointed under the Registration Act, 1908 (16 of 1908), shall furnish such particulars regarding the registration of instruments of transfer of immovable properties in New Delhi, as the Chairperson may from time to time require.

Such information shall be furnished as soon as may be after the registration of an instrument of transfer is effected or, if the Chairperson so requests, by periodical returns at such intervals as the Chairperson may fix.

To enable him to determine the rateable value of any land or building and the person primarily liable for the payment of property tax leviable in respect thereof, the Chairperson may require the owner or occupier of such land or building, or of any portion thereof to furnish him within such reasonable period as the Chairperson fixes in this behalf, with information or with a written return signed by such owner or occupier -

Every owner or occupier on whom any such requisition is made shall be bound to comply with the same and to give true information or to make a true return to the best of his knowledge or belief.

Whoever omits to comply with any such requisition or fails to give true information or to make a true return to the best of his knowledge or belief, shall, in addition to any penalty to which he may be liable, be precluded from objecting to any assessment made by the Chairperson in respect of such land or building of which he is the owner or occupier.

The Chairperson may, if he thinks fit, employ one of more competent persons to give advice or assistance in connection with the valuation of any land or building, and any person so employed shall have power, at all reasonable times and after giving due notice, and on production, if so required, of authorisation in writing in that behalf from the Chairperson, to enter on, survey and value any land or building which the Chairperson may direct him to survey and value.

No person shall willfully delay or obstruct any such person in the exercise of any of his powers under this section.