Parish Rate (Administration) (Jersey) Law, 1946. ______
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1 Jersey Law 5/1946 PARISH RATE (ADMINISTRATION) (JERSEY) LAW, 1946. ___________ A LAW to provide for the mode of levying rate in the parishes of the Island, for the assessment of rental values, for the making and collection of the rate, and in general for the due administration of matters relative thereto, sanctioned by Order of His Majesty in Council of the 6th day of NOVEMBER, 1946. ____________ (Registered on the 23rd day of November, 1946). ____________ STATES OF JERSEY. ____________ The 25th day of June, 1946. ____________ THE STATES, subject to the sanction of His Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the following Law: - ARTICLE 1 DEFINITIONS In this Law, unless the context otherwise requires, – [“agricultural land” means any land used as arable, meadow or pasture ground only, land used for a plantation or a wood or for the growth of saleable underwood, land exceeding twenty perches in area used for the purpose of poultry or pig farming, market gardens, nursery grounds or orchards, but does not include land occupied together with a house as a park, gardens, 2 Jersey Law 5/1946 Parish Rate (Administration) (Jersey) Law, 1946 pleasure grounds or land kept or preserved mainly or exclusively for sport or recreation, or land under glass;]1 “draft list” has the meaning assigned to it in Article 12 (4); [“land” means any land capable of actual occupation and, except in the definition of agricultural land, includes any houses, buildings and structures thereon or thereunder and land covered with water;]2 “occupier” means, in relation to any land, the person having the use of the land or, in the case of a person having such use as a servant or for the purpose of performing his duty to his employer, the employer of that person, and the expression “occupation” and references to parts of the verb “occupy” shall be construed accordingly; “owner” means, in relation to any land, the person having the enjoyment of the land, either as owner or usufructuary owner or in the exercise of rights of dower, “franc veuvage”, seignioralty or otherwise, or, where the land is let under a lease passed before the Royal Court, the lessee under the lease, and the expression “ownership” and references to parts of the verb “own” shall be construed accordingly; “parish assembly” means the assembly of principals and officers of the parish; “prescribed” means prescribed by order of the supervisory committee; “rate” means the foncier rate and the occupier’s rate and includes any supplementary rate; 1 Definition inserted by Parish Rate (Administration) (Amendment) (Jersey) Law, 1960 (Volume 1957–1960, page 611). 2 Definition substituted by Parish Rate (Administration) (Amendment) (Jersey) Law, 1960 (Volume 1957–1960, page 612). 3 Jersey Law 5/1946 Parish Rate (Administration) (Jersey) Law, 1946 “rate list” means the draft list as finally approved by the supervisory committee in pursuance of Article 16; “ratepayer” means a person liable to rate in respect of land entered in the rate list. ARTICLE 2 LEVY OF RATE TO MEET PAROCHIAL EXPENSES (1) Where any Law authorises a rate termed the “foncier rate” and a rate termed the “occupier’s rate”, or either of them to be made and levied in the parishes of the Island for any year, those rates, or that rate, as the case may be, shall be made and levied in accordance with the provisions of this Law. (2) The proceeds of the rate shall be applied in the payment of the general expenses of the parish in which it is made and levied and of expenses incurred in connexion with the relief and maintenance of the poor chargeable to that parish. (3) If the proceeds of the rate levied in any year are more than sufficient for the purposes to which they are applicable in that year under paragraph (2) of this Article the surplus or part thereof may, if the parish assembly so decides, be appropriated to a reserve fund which may be allowed to accumulate or used for such purposes as the parish assembly may at any time decide,]3 ARTICLE 3 PERSONS LIABLE FOR FONCIER RATE AND EXTENT OF LIABILITY (1) The persons liable to the payment of the foncier rate shall be the owners of the land in the parish and the liability of such person shall be determined in accordance with the rateable value of the 3 Paragraph inserted by Parish Rate (Administration) (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Law, 1971 (Volume 1970–1972, page 259). 4 Jersey Law 5/1946 Parish Rate (Administration) (Jersey) Law, 1946 land owned by him, assessed and computed in quarters in manner hereinafter provided. (2) For the purposes of this Law, the owner of any land at the beginning of any year shall be treated as the owner of that land for the whole of that year. (3) Where any land is unoccupied for any part of any year, the owner shall be entitled to recover from the parish such proportion of the total amount of the foncier rate paid by him in respect of that land for that year as the number of days during which that land is unoccupied bears to the total number of days in that year: [Provided that repayment under this paragraph may be withheld unless the owner proves to the satisfaction of the Constable that the right to occupy the land has not been unreasonably refused to any other person.]4 (4) Where the character of any land has been so altered by the occupier thereof in such a manner as to increase the rental value thereof, the owner shall be entitled to recover from the occupier the difference between the amount of the foncier rate paid by him in respect of that land and the amount thereof which would have been payable by him if the character of the land had not been so altered as aforesaid. (5) Where the ownership of any land is transferred during any year, the transferor shall be entitled to recover from the transferee such proportion of the total amount of the foncier rate paid by him in respect of that land for that year as the number of days from the date of transfer to the end of that year bears to the total number of days in that year. (6) In the payment of any interest or other amount due in respect of any charge on any land, the payor shall be entitled to deduct and retain five per centum of such interest or other amount: 4 Proviso inserted by Parish Rate (Administration) (Amendment) (Jersey) Law, 1960 (Volume 1957– 1960, page 612). 5 Jersey Law 5/1946 Parish Rate (Administration) (Jersey) Law, 1946 Provided that no such deduction shall be made in the case of rentes due to His Majesty, to any public or parochial authority or to the Don Baudains. ARTICLE 4 PERSONS LIABLE FOR OCCUPIER’S RATE AND EXTENT OF LIABILITY (1) The persons liable to the payment of the occupier’s rate shall be the occupiers of land in the parish and the liability of each such occupier shall be determined in accordance with the rateable value of the land occupied by him, assessed and computed in quarters in manner herinafter provided: [Provided that, in the case of a house or part of a house let at a rent which includes payment for the use of furniture, the person by whom the right of occupation is granted to the occupier shall be liable for the payment of the occupier’s rate, but that person shall be entitled to recover from the occupier the amount of the occupier’s rate or such part thereof as may be agreed between them.]5 (2) For the purposes of this Law, the person being the first in occupation of any land in any year shall be treated as the occupier of that land for the whole of that year. (3) Where any land is unoccupied for any part of any year the occupier shall be entitled to recover from the parish such proportion of the total amount of the occupier’s rate paid by him in respect of that land for that year as the number of days during which that land is unoccupied bears to the total number of days in that year. 5 Proviso inserted by Parish Rate (Administration) (Amendment) (Jersey) Law, 1960 (Volume 1957– 1960, page 612). 6 Jersey Law 5/1946 Parish Rate (Administration) (Jersey) Law, 1946 ARTICLE 5 EXEMPTIONS FROM FONCIER RATE (1) The following land shall be exempt from foncier rate – (a) churches, district churches, chapels, meeting houses and other premises exclusively appropriated to public religious worship, and cemetries; (b) presbyterial houses and lands; (c) dwelling-houses, with the buildings and land appertaining thereto, owned by religious bodies and occupied exclusively by officiating ministers or caretakers of churches or chapels; (d) land owned by His Majesty; (e) land owned by any department of His Majesty’s Government and used exclusively in His Majesty’s service; (f) land owned by any public or parochial authority and used exclusively for public or parochial purposes; (g) land under the administration of the Public Instruction Committee; (h) land owned by the Don Baudains; (i) common land. (2) It shall be the duty of the owner of any land exempt from foncier rate under this Article, within the first fifteen days of each year, to deliver to the Constable of the parish in which that land is situate – 7 Jersey Law 5/1946 Parish Rate (Administration) (Jersey) Law, 1946 (a) a statement of the interest and other amounts due during the preceding year in respect of charges on that land from which a deduction is authorised under Article 3(6) of this Law; and (b) a remittance of the amount so authorised to be deducted.