RATING ACT

to provide for the levying of rates; provide for the assessment of rateable property, plant and machinery; provide for the appointment and powers of valuation surveyors; provide for the continuation of the Rating Valuation Tribunal and revise its composition, jurisdiction and powers; repeal the Rating Act, 1997; and provide for matters connected with, or incidental to, the foregoing.

[22nd February, 2019]

Act 21 of 2019,

SI 12 of 2019.

PART I
PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

1. Short title

This Act may be cited as the Rating Act.

2. Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

"agriculture" includes the use of land or buildings for, or in connection with, animal husbandry, fish farming, breeding and keeping of livestock, hatcheries, irrigation, tillage, horticulture, vegetable growing, fruit or seed growing, mushroom growing, silviculture, afforestation, forestry, plantation or conservation, but does not include tourism, green grocership, meat processing, or the use of a property for the purpose of ecotourism, trading in or hunting of game;

"agricultural land and buildings" means land used primarily for the purpose of agriculture situated in areas previously designated as Reserves and Trust lands provided for in the Laws repealed in the schedule to the Lands Act but does not include—

(a) an accommodation establishment provided for under the Tourism and Hospitality Act, 2015;

(b) a bar provided for under the Liquor Licensing Act, 2011;

(d) cultivable land whether cleared or not of less than 2.02 hectares or 5 acres;

(e) land and buildings that are used exclusively as office accommodation and not connected to agricultural activities;

(f) dwelling houses let to a tenant or occupied by a person who is not engaged in or connected to the carrying on of agriculture;

(g) land and buildings used for processing and manufacturing purposes; and

(h) land and buildings used for growing flowers, vines and ornamental plants for commercial purposes;

"authorised officer" means a person authorised to exercise the powers of a principal officer as specified under this Act;

"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Tribunal appointed under section 27;

"council" has the meaning assigned to the word in the Constitution;

"council certificate of title" means a certificate of title to land issued in accordance with the Urban and Regional Planning Act, 2015;

"date of valuation" means—

(a) in relation to a main roll, the date of a resolution by a rating authority appointing a Valuation Surveyor to prepare the main roll; or

(b) in relation to a supplementary roll, the date of valuation of the main roll which the supplementary roll forms part of under this Act;

"developed" in relation to land, means land which has improvements on it;

"effective date" means—

(a) in relation to a main roll, the date of commencement of the next rate period following the date on which the main roll is approved by the Tribunal subject to the exception referred to in section 12; and

(b) in relation to a supplementary roll, the date on which the supplementary roll is approved by the Tribunal subject to the exception referred to in section 12;

"head of mission" has the meaning assigned to the words in the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act;

"improvement" means—

(a) the whole or any part of a building or structure of whatever material constructed, which is capable of beneficial use or occupation and of a sufficiently permanent nature;

(b) any work done, services provided, or materials used, on land by the expenditure of money or labour; or

(c) carrying out any building, engineering or other operation in, on, over, or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of any building or land, but does not include any machinery or plant other than rateable machinery or plant;

"Improvement Area" has the meaning assigned to the words in the Urban and Regional Planning Act, 2015;

"information and communication technology" has the meaning assigned to the words in the Information and Communication Technologies Act, 2009;

"leaseholder" means a person—

(a) in whom a state lease, sublease or underlease is vested and who has privity of estate with the reversioner entitled to the reversion immediately on the determination of that term; or

(b) who has, subject to the conditions laid down in section 13, received and accepted an offer letter from the Commissioner of Lands, a council or any person in authority over land;

"main transmission of power" means transmission of power from the generation plant or point of supply in, or on, any rateable property up to and includes—

(a) in the case of electrical power, all transformers in any circuit or, where there is no transformer, the first distribution board;

(b) in the case of transmission by shafting or wheels, any shaft or wheel driven directly from the prime mover;

(c) in the case of hydraulic or pneumatic power, the point where the main supply ceases, excluding any branch service piping connected with such main supply; or

(d) in the case where, without passing beyond the limits of the main transmission of power, power is transmitted to another rateable property, the point at which the power passes from the first rateable property;

"member" means a member of the Tribunal;

"occupier" means leaseholder, tenant, caretaker or any other person in occupation of any property within a rateable area, or any leaseholder of vacant property;

"operational purpose" means the actual carrying out of the technical functions forming the primary purpose of a public utility undertaking, including the maintenance of plant and machinery, but does not include any purpose concerned with the administration, management or financing of that undertaking;

"premises of a mission" means the building or parts of buildings and the land ancillary thereto, used for the purposes of the mission including the residence of the head of the mission;

"primary transformation of power" means any transformation of electrical power by means of a transformer at any point in the main transmission of power;

"principal officer" has the meaning assigned to the words in the Local Government Act;

"property" includes land on statutory lease, sublease, underlease or offer letter with or without any improvement on it;

"public premises" means property owned by Government or a local authority;

"rate" means a levy on property;

"rate period" means the period starting on 1st January and ending on 31st December of each year for which rates are levied following the passing of a resolution under section 19;

"rateable area" means any area declared as a rateable area under section 6;

"rateable machinery or plant" means—

(a) machinery and plant, together with the shafting, pipes over cap cables, wires and other appliances and structures, accessory to the machinery and plant, unless exempted under section 7, for the purpose of—

(i) generating, storing, primary transformation or main transmission, of power in, or on, any rateable property; or

(ii) heating, cooling, ventilation, lighting, drainage or supply of water to the rateable property or the protection of the rateable property from fire;

(b) lifts or elevators in a building;

(d) in the case of mining and mineral processing, unless exempted under section 7, includes—

(i) equipment used in mineral ore processing and includes but is not limited to, apparatus, conduits and machinery with moving or static parts used in;

(ii) size reduction and control such as crushing in the primary and secondary crushers, grinding, screening, classification in the grinding mills;

(iii) ore enrichment by way of washing, gravity separation, floatation, magnetic separation or leaching;

(iv) upgrading through sedimentation, mechanical dewatering, thermal drying or processing that may include flocculation, clarifier sizing or thickeners;

(v) material handling by way of unloading, storing feeding, conveying and all accessories;

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