Property Tax (Amendment) Ordinance

Bill No. 214/1963

Read the first time on 24th July 1963.

An Ordinance to amend the Property Tax Ordinance, 1960 (No. 72 of 1960).

Be it enacted by the Yang di-Pertuan Negara with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Singapore, as follows: —

Short title and commencement

1.—(1) This Ordinance may be cited as the Property Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 1963, and, with the exception of section 2 thereof, shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of July 1963.

(2) Section 2 of this Ordinance shall be deemed to have come into operation on the 1st day of January 1963.

New section 6A

2. The Property Tax Ordinance, 1960 (hereinafter in this Ordinance referred to as the “principal Ordinance”) is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 6 thereof the following new section: —

“Refund on unoccupied buildings

6A.—(1) Where tax has been paid under the provisions of this Ordinance in respect of any building the Comptroller shall, subject to the provisions of subsections (2) and (3) of this section, refund a part of such tax proportionate to any period during which the building is unoccupied:

Provided that no refund shall be allowed in respect of any unbroken period of less than thirty days.

(2) No refund shall be made under this section, unless the person claiming the refund shall have given written notice to the Comptroller of such vacancy within fourteen days from the commencement of the period in respect of which the refund is claimed and shall have claimed payment thereof in writing not later than one month after the expiration of the half year in respect of which the claim is made:

Provided, however, that the Comptroller may make a refund under this section to the extent of the whole or any part thereof, although the claim therefor has not been made within the prescribed time, if he is satisfied as to the reasons for the failure to make such claim within the prescribed time, but no refund shall be made unless the claim therefor is received not later than six months after the expiration of the half year in respect of which such claim is made.

(3) No refund shall be allowed in respect of any building, unless the owner satisfies the Comptroller —

(a)	that such building is in good repair and fit for occupation;
(b)	that every reasonable effort to obtain a tenant has been made;
(c)	that the rent demanded is a reasonable one; and
(d)	that the building has been vacant during the whole of the period in respect of which refund is claimed:

Provided that where a refund is claimed in respect of a period during which the building has been undergoing repairs for the purposes of rendering it fit for occupation, it shall not be necessary to prove in respect of such claim, the matters specified in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this subsection.”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 11

3. Section 11 of the principal Ordinance is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —

“Notice of objection to Valuation List

11.—(1) Any owner aggrieved by the inclusion in the Valuation List of any property or by the annual value ascribed thereto or by any other statement made in or by any omission from the Valuation List may, at any time within the period allowed for inspection of the Valuation List, apply to the Chief Assessor by written notice of objection in the prescribed form, to amend the Valuation List accordingly.

(2) Such application shall state precisely the grounds on which the objection is made and the amendments desired to remove the objections.

(3) The Chief Assessor shall consider the objection and may either disallow it, or allow it either wholly or in part, and shall serve the owner by post or otherwise with written notice of his decision.

(4) Any owner dissatisfied with the decision made by the Chief Assessor under this section may, within twenty-one days after such service, appeal to the Valuation Review Board in the manner provided in section 25 of this Ordinance.”.

Amendment of section 12

4. Section 12 of the principal Ordinance is hereby amended —

(a)

by deleting subsection (1) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(1) The Chief Assessor shall at the end of the period allowed for inspection cause the proposed Valuation List for the ensuing year to be amended by deleting therefrom all properties in respect of which notice of objection under subsection (1) of section 11 of this Ordinance has been given and, after such amendment has been made, shall authenticate the List, as amended, by signing his name thereon. Such List, as authenticated, shall come into operation on the 1st day of January then next ensuing and notice of such authentication shall forthwith be published in the Gazette:

Provided that such authenticated List may be amended from time to time as provided in this Ordinance and such amendment may be made retrospective to the date of the coming into operation of the List.”;

(b)

by deleting subsections (3) and (4) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(3) Upon the determination by the Chief Assessor of any objection in respect of any of the properties deleted from the Valuation List pursuant to subsection (1) of this section —

(a)	if no notice of appeal is lodged within the prescribed time the Chief Assessor shall cause the authenticated Valuation List to be amended to include such property in accordance with his decision upon the objection;
(b)	if a notice of appeal is lodged within the prescribed time, the Chief Assessor shall cause the authenticated Valuation List to be amended to include such property in accordance with the direction of the Valuation Review Board.

Any amendment made pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection shall be authenticated by the signature of the Chief Assessor and whether made before or after the date of the coming into operation of the Valuation List, shall be effective from such date.

(4) Notice of authentication of every such amendment shall forthwith be given to every owner who shall have given to the Chief Assessor notice of objection in accordance with subsection (1) of section 11 of this Ordinance.”.

Amendment of section 16

5. Subsection (4) of section 16 of the princpal Ordinance is hereby deleted and the following substituted therefor: —

“(4) When any building is erected or when any building is re-built, enlarged, altered or improved or where any building which has been vacant is re-occupied the owner of such building shall, within fifteen days, give notice thereof in writing to the Chief Assessor.”.

Amendment of section 17

6. Section 17 of the principal Ordinance is hereby amended by deleting subsections (3), (4), (5) and (6) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(3) Any owner who desires to object to such amendment may, within twenty-one days of the service of such notice, give to the Chief Assessor notice of objection in the manner provided in section 11 of this Ordinance.

(4) Any owner dissatisfied with the decision made by the Chief Assessor under this section may, within twenty-one days after such service appeal to the Valuation Review Board in the manner provided in section 25 of this Ordinance.

(5) Where notice of proposal to amend has been given by the Chief Assessor pursuant to subsection (2) of this section —

(a)	if no notice of objection is lodged within the prescribed time the Chief Assessor shall cause the Valuation List to be amended to include the property in accordance with the notice of proposed amendment;
(b)	if a notice of objection is lodged within the prescribed time the Chief Assessor shall, if no subsequent notice of appeal is lodged, cause the Valuation List to be amended to include the property in accordance with his decision upon the objection;
(c)	if a notice of appeal is lodged within the prescribed time, the Chief Assessor shall cause the Valuation List to be amended to include the property in accordance with the decision of the Valuation Review Board.

Any amendment made pursuant to paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this subsection shall be authenticated by the signature of the Chief Assessor and shall be effective from the date contained in the notice of proposal to amend.”.

Amendment of section 18

7. Section 18 of the principal Ordinance is hereby amended by deleting subsection (1) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(1) Where any new building is erected or where any building is re-built, enlarged, altered or improved and no action is taken in respect thereof for any reason whatsoever to amend the Valuation List for the year in which the work of erecting, re-building, enlarging, altering or improving such building was completed, the tax in respect of such building shall, notwithstanding that such Valuation List has not been duly amended under the provisions of section 17 of this Ordinance, be payable from the date of completion of the work of erecting, re-building, enlarging, altering or improving such building and such tax shall be calculated on the basis of the annual value or revised annual value, as the case may be, subsequently ascribed to such building in a subsequent Valuation List.”.

Amendment of section 19

8. Section 19 of the principal Ordinance is hereby amended by deleting subsection (1) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(1) For the purpose of hearing appeals from the decisions of the Chief Assessor of which notice has been given under section 11 or section 17 of this Ordinance in the manner hereinafter provided there shall be a Valuation Review Board, hereinafter referred to as the “Board”, consisting of a Chairman and not more than six other members all of whom shall be appointed by the Minister.”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 25

9. Section 25 of the principal Ordinance is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —

“Notice of appeal

25.—(1) Any owner who desires to appeal pursuant to section 11 or section 17 of this Ordinance shall lodge with the Clerk to the Board, within the time allowed therefor, a written notice of appeal in duplicate in the prescribed form.

(2) Every such notice of appeal shall state —

(a)	the grounds on which the appeal is based;
(b)	the amendments desired; and
(c)	whether the appellant desires to be heard thereon in person or by an agent authorised by him in writing.

(3) A notice of appeal shall state an address to which communications in reference thereto may be sent.”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 26

10. Section 26 of the principal Ordinance is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —

“Copy of notice to be sent to the Chief Assessor

26. On receipt of a notice of appeal the clerk shall forthwith forward one copy thereof to the Chief Assessor who shall —

(a)	in the case of an appeal made under subsection (4) of section 11 of this Ordinance, cause the property concerned to be deleted from the Valuation List; and
(b)	in the case of an appeal made under subsection (4) of section 17 of this Ordinance, defer the making of the proposed amendment to the Valuation List until such time as the appeal has been decided upon by the Board.”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 29

11. Section 29 of the principal Ordinance is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —

“Board may direct amendment of Valuation List

29. The Board, after hearing an appeal, may dismiss such appeal or direct that such amendment as it thinks proper shall be made to the Valuation List.”.

Repeal of section 30

12. Section 30 of the principal Ordinance is hereby repealed.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 32

13. Section 32 of the principal Ordinance is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —

“Appeals to High Court

32.—(1) Any owner dissatisfied with the decision made by the Board may, within twenty-one days of the date of such decision appeal to the High Court. Any such appeal shall be by way of rehearing.

(2) The Chief Assessor may, within twenty-one days of the date of the Board’s decision, appeal to the High Court from the decision of the Board upon any question of law or of mixed law and fact.

(3) Until such appeal has been determined by the Court the tax in respect of the property concerned shall be payable and continue to be payable and recoverable in the manner hereinafter provided.

(4) Such appeals shall be brought in the manner provided by the Rules of the Supreme Court.

(5) The Court, after hearing an appeal, may dismiss the appeal or direct that such amendment as it thinks proper shall be made to the Valuation List.

(6) Any amendment directed by the Court to be made to the Valuation List shall be authenticated in the manner provided by subsection (3) of section 12 or subsection (5) of section 17 of this Ordinance, as the case may be, and notice thereof shall forthwith be published in the Gazette.”.

Miscellaneous amendments

14. The amendments specified in the second column of the Schedule to this Ordinance shall be made in the respective sections of the principal Ordinance set out opposite thereto in the first column of the said Schedule.

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