In this Act, if not inconsistent with the context,—

The system of rating (whether on the annual, the capital, or the unimproved value) which is in force in each district on the coming into operation of this Act shall continue until altered under the provisions of this Act.

The local authority of any district (other than a district wherein the system of rating on the unimproved value is in force) may at any time by resolution determine whether the system of rating on the annual value or the capital value shall in future be in force in the district, and any such resolution may from time to time be rescinded and a new resolution passed.

For the purpose of adopting in a district the system of rating on the unimproved value, or of discontinuing that system in a district where for the time being it is in force, the provisions of sections thirty-nine to forty-seven hereof shall apply.

Where a district, other than a district as defined by section thirty-nine hereof, includes more than one or parts of more than one district as so defined the following provisions shall apply:—

Where the whole of such first-mentioned district is contained within a district as defined by the said section thirty-nine, the rates made and levied by such first-mentioned district shall be made and levied on the system of rating in force in the district in which it is contained.

The River Boards Act, 1908, the Land Drainage Act, 1908, the Water-supply Act, 1908, and every other Act, whether general, special, or local, creating or authorizing the creation of districts other than districts as defined by section thirty-nine hereof, shall be read as if this section were contained therein; and where any provision of any such Act is at variance with or inconsistent with this section, such provision shall not have effect to prevent full force and effect being given to this section.

On the union of two or more boroughs the rating system in force in the borough having the largest population shall, in the absence of any agreement to the contrary made between the Councils of the uniting boroughs, be observed throughout the united borough.

This section shall apply to any united borough whether so united before or after the passing of this Act.

Where the system of rating on the capital value or on the unimproved value is in force, the valuation roll from time to time supplied by the Valuer-General under the Valuation of Land Act, 1925, shall be the valuation roll for the district:

Provided that nothing in this Act shall be held to be binding on the Valuer-General in so far as it limits the date for transmitting the roll to the local authority.

For the purposes of every such valuation roll the provisions of sections nine to fourteen hereof shall, with the necessary modifications, apply.

Where the system of rating on the annual value is in force, a valuation roll shall be made, either annually or triennially at the option of the local authority, in the manner hereinafter appearing.

For the purposes of such valuation roll the local authority may from time to time appoint one or more fit persons to be called “Valuers,” and may assign and pay them such salaries or emoluments out of the district fund as the local authority thinks fit.

Every such Valuer shall, before entering on the duties of his office, make and subscribe in the presence of a Justice a statutory declaration in the form numbered (1) in the First Schedule hereto.

Such declaration shall be kept by the Clerk of the local authority.

On or before the fifteenth day of January in every year when an annual valuation is made, and in every third year when the valuation is triennial, the Valuers for the district shall prepare and sign, and transmit to the local authority, a valuation list in the form numbered (2) in the First Schedule hereto, setting forth the rateable value, according to the best of their skill and judgment, of all rateable property in the district, and the names of the occupiers and owners thereof, and all other particulars indicated in the said Schedule.

Where a district is divided into subdivisions, a separate valuation list shall be made of all the rateable property in each subdivision, instead of one such fist for the whole district.

In the exercise of his duties as aforesaid any Valuer may enter at any time during the day upon any land or premises for the purpose of valuing the same, and may put to the occupier or owner thereof any questions he thinks fit touching any of the particulars he is required to furnish in the valuation list.

Every person is liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds who obstructs a Valuer in the performance of his duty herein, or refuses or wilfully neglects to answer any such question, or wilfully gives a false answer to any such question.

Where the owner of any property is also the occupier, his name shall be entered in the valuation list in the column of occupiers as well as in that of owners.

Where any property is occupied by more than one person with different degrees of interest therein, a separate valuation shall be made of the interest of each such occupier, and his name entered in the column of occupiers in the valuation list.

Where any property is let for a term of less than three months the owner shall be deemed to be the occupier, and shall be primarily liable for the rates, and his name shall be entered in the column of occupiers in the valuation list.

Any tenant for a term of not less than three months may, at any time during the period in which the valuation list of a borough is open for public inspection, and on or before the last day appointed for making objections thereto, apply to the Council of such borough to have his name substituted for that of his landlord in the valuation list as the occupier of the property; and if he at the same time delivers to the Council the written consent of the landlord to such substitution of names, then the name of the tenant shall be inserted in the valuation list, and the tenant in such case shall be primarily liable for the rates.

If the said tenant, however, vacates the premises at any time after such valuation list is confirmed, and the valuation roll based thereon is in force, then the landlord may apply at any time to the Council to have his name substituted on the roll in the place of the name of the tenant who has parted with his qualification; and the Council, if satisfied of the facts of the case, may make such substitution of names, and the landlord shall then be primarily liable for the rates on the property.

Any bank, joint-stock or other company, firm, copartners, or joint tenants occupying any property may, by notice in writing delivered to the Valuer before the valuation list is made up, nominate some member or officer of such bank, company, or firm, or any one of such copartners or joint tenants, who shall be deemed to be and shall be entered in the valuation list as the occupier of such property.

In default of such nomination the manager of such bank or company, or the person whose name is ordinarily used as the first or leading name in such firm, copartnership, or tenancy, shall be deemed to be and shall be so entered as occupier.

But any proceedings for the recovery of rates may notwithstanding be taken either against such bank, company, or firm or against such nominal occupier as the local authority thinks fit.

The last preceding section is hereby extended so as to apply to any society or association of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate, in the same manner as it applies to companies.

In default of nomination of a person to be entered in the valuation list as the occupier of the property of any society or association as aforesaid, the chairman or the secretary thereof shall be deemed to be and shall be so entered as occupier.

Where the name of an owner cannot after due inquiry be ascertained, it shall be entered in the valuation list as “the owner,” and he shall be liable to be rated under such designation.

The local authority shall forthwith cause the valuation list so sent to it to be deposited at some convenient place to be publicly notified, and to lie open for the inspection of all persons interested therein until the fifteenth day of February; and shall once in each week during such period give public notice, in the form numbered (3) in the First Schedule hereto, that such list is open for inspection, and of the place where it is deposited, and of the manner in which objections thereto may be made, as provided by this Act.

Notice of any valuation made by a Valuer shall be given, in the form numbered (4) in the First Schedule hereto, to every person whose name appears in the valuation list; but the omission to give such notice shall not invalidate any valuation.

Every ratepayer or other person interested therein may inspect such list, and may take copies of any part thereof, at all reasonable hours until the said fifteenth day of February inclusive; and every person in charge of such fist who refuses or obstructs the inspection thereof is liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

The local authority of the district in which the system of rating on the annual value is in force may, by its Chairman or Clerk, or other officer appointed by the local authority in writing for that purpose, object to any particular valuation or to any matter inserted in or omitted from such list.

If the local authority objects to the whole of the valuation list, it shall give public notice of its objection thereto, in the form numbered (5) in the First Schedule hereto, on or before the seventh day of February.

Any owner or occupier who considers himself aggrieved by reason of the unfairness or incorrectness of any rateable value in the valuation fist, or by reason of the insertion or incorrectness of any matter therein, or the omission of any matter therefrom, may object as herein provided.

Any ratepayer of the district may object to any valuation appearing on the valuation list in the same manner as the owner or occupier of property in respect of which such valuation has been made can object.

Every objection shall be in writing under the hand of the objector, or of his solicitor or duly authorized agent, and shall be as near as may be in the form numbered (6) in the First Schedule hereto, and shall be addressed to and delivered at the place of sitting of the Assessment Court hereinafter mentioned on or before the fifteenth day of February.

Every objector (other than the local authority) shall, not less than ten days before the sitting of the said Court, send to the local authority a copy of every such objection made by him.

If any person objects to any entry in or omission from the valuation list, or to any value therein, affecting the interests of any other person than the objector, the Clerk of the local authority shall send to the person so affected a copy of such objection.

Such objection shall be delivered to the person affected, or left at his last known place of abode or business, not less than five clear days before the sitting of the Assessment Court.

For each district in which the system of rating on the annual value is in force there shall be an Assessment Court (hereinafter called the Court) for the purpose of hearing and determining all objections to the valuation list for such district.

The Magistrate exercising jurisdiction within such district shall be the Judge of the Assessment Court for such district; but in the unavoidable absence of the Magistrate the Governor-General may from time to time appoint any other fit person to be the Judge of such Court, or remove such person.

Where there are more Magistrates than one exercising jurisdiction within the district, the Judge of the Court shall be such one of them as the Governor-General appoints.

The Governor-General may from time to time, on the application of any local authority, appoint two persons to be members of the Assessment Court, in addition to the Judge thereof mentioned in section twenty-five hereof.

One of such persons shall be appointed on the recommendation of the local authority.

A member of the local authority shall not be appointed to act as a member of the Assessment Court.

The two members so appointed, as aforesaid shall be paid by the local authority such reasonable fees and allowances as may be fixed by the local authority.

The production of a copy of any public notice or advertisement stating the names of the members of whom the Court will be constituted shall be prima facie proof that the members of the Court so constituted are duly appointed and qualified.

The Court shall hold its sittings at such convenient time and place in the district as the Judge appoints, and not less than ten days’ notice shall be given of every such sitting.

The Court may adjourn from time to time as it thinks fit, and on any day appointed for the sitting of the Court, if the Judge fails to attend, the Court shall stand adjourned till the following day, and so from day to day till the Judge attends.

Clerks of Magistrates’ Courts shall be Clerks of the Assessment Court in all cases where it is convenient, and in respect of Courts where it is not convenient Clerks shall be appointed by the Governor-General.

The Court shall have all the powers to summon witnesses and examine them on oath, and to compel their attendance and the answering of questions and the production of papers, and for all other purposes touching the hearing of matters before the Court, which by any law for the time being in force may be exercised by a Magistrate.

The Court may, in its discretion, order the payment by either party of all reasonable costs and charges as to the Court seems fit, and the payment of the amount specified in such order may be enforced in like manner as a sum of money recovered by judgment in a Magistrate’s Court in an action for debt.

The Clerk or other person duly appointed by and on behalf of the local authority, and all Valuers and Collectors of Rates for the district, shall attend the sittings of the Court, and shall produce all the books and papers relating to their respective offices which the Court requires to be produced.

The Court shall hear and determine all objections delivered as above provided, and may alter the valuation list in respect of anything objected to, by correcting any value therein, or by inserting any matter therein, or erasing any matter therefrom, which it is proved to the satisfaction of the Court ought to be altered, inserted, or erased, as the case may be.

If it is proved to the Court that no valuation list has been prepared as required by this Act, the Court shall appoint a Valuer or Valuers to make such list, and shall fix and publicly notify the days for the completion and public inspection thereof, and for delivering objections thereto, and for hearing such objections; and the Court shall sit on the days so publicly notified, and shall revise the valuation list as provided by the last preceding section.

All the cost of making such valuation list shall be fixed by the Court, and shall be charged upon the district fund.

The Judge shall initial all the alterations, insertions, and erasures (if any) made in the valuation list, and shall sign the same.

The valuation list so signed, or so corrected and signed, shall be the valuation roll for the district, and shall remain in force until a fresh roll is made.

The valuation roll so signed shall be conclusive evidence of the contents thereof, and that the same has been made in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

The Court shall deliver over the valuation roll to the Clerk of the local authority; and the local authority shall keep the same in its office or usual place of business, to be inspected by all persons interested therein at all reasonable hours.

The decision of the Court on all objections coming before it shall be final, and no proceeding of such Court shall be removed into any superior Court by certiorari or otherwise.

The local authority of a district in which the system of rating on the annual value is in force may, while the valuation roll remains in force, alter the same—

Nothing herein shall authorize the alteration of any rateable value except when such rateable value has been affected by the addition or removal of buildings, and then only to the extent to which the rateable value has been so affected.

If such alteration is in the nature of a division of any rateable property, the rateable values of each division of the property so divided may be altered; provided that the rateable value of all such divisions equals in the whole the rateable value of the property as on the roll prior to such alteration unless where buildings have either been added or removed, in which case the new aggregate value may be increased or diminished only to the extent of the value of such buildings.

Any such alteration, on being initialled by the Chairman, shall be deemed thenceforth to form part of the valuation roll, but without releasing any person from liability for any rates due at the time of the making of such alteration.

Every person affected by any alteration made in a valuation roll by a local authority under any powers authorizing it in that behalf shall be entitled to object by lodging an objection with the local authority, and to have the objection heard before a Magistrate, who for the purposes of this section shall have all the powers and authorities of an Assessment Court.

All notices and other proceedings prescribed with respect to original valuations, and the objections against the same, and the hearing thereof before an Assessment Court, shall, with the necessary modifications, apply with respect to the alterations in a valuation roll, objections, and the hearing thereof before a Magistrate under this section.

The valuation roll made by the Council of any borough or county rating on the annual value shall be the standard roll from which the valuation rolls of all the local authorities rating on that value within such borough or county shall be framed, except as hereinafter mentioned, that is to say:—

New rolls.

Town Board may make separate roll for local rates.

Separate rolls for special rates.

For the purposes of sections thirty-nine to forty-seven hereof, if not inconsistent with the context,—

The following proportion of the ratepayers on the valuation roll of a district, that is to say,—

may, by writing under their hands delivered to the Chairman of the local authority, demand that a proposal to adopt the system of rating on the basis of the unimproved value be submitted to the ratepayers’ vote.

Thereupon the votes of the ratepayers shall be taken upon such proposal on a day to be fixed by the Chairman, being not less than twenty-one nor more than twenty-eight clear days after the delivery of such demand, and such day shall be forthwith notified in a newspaper published or circulating in the district: Provided—

On such day a poll shall be taken in the same manner as is prescribed by the Local Bodies’ Loans Act, 1913, in the case of a proposal to raise a loan in the district.

Such of the provisions of the aforesaid Act as are necessary for the poll hereunder are hereby incorporated, with the necessary modifications, with this Act.

The voting-papers for the purposes of such poll shall be printed in the following form:—

Such proposal shall not be deemed to be carried unless affirmed by a majority of the valid votes recorded.

Within twenty-one days after the result of the poll has been ascertained the Chairman of the local authority shall cause a notice of the number of votes recorded for and against the proposal, as hereinbefore provided, to be published in the Gazette, and also in one or more newspapers circulating in the district; and in such notice he shall declare the proposal to be carried or rejected, as the case may be.

If the adopting proposal is carried, then, from and after the thirty-first day of March succeeding the date of the gazetting of the Chairman’s notice of the result of the poll, all rates made and levied by the local authority of the district, or by any other local authority therein, shall be made and levied on the unimproved value under this Act.

The adopting proposal may be rescinded in the manner and subject to the conditions, with the necessary modifications, prescribed by this Act for the carrying thereof, and for the purposes of the poll the voting-papers shall be printed in the following form:—

The Chairman shall publish the result of the poll within the time and in the manner hereinbefore prescribed in the case of an adopting proposal.

If such rescinding proposal is carried in any district, then, from and after the thirty-first day of March succeeding the date of the gazetting of the Chairman’s notice of the result of the poll, rates shall cease to be made and levied on the unimproved value, and shall be made and levied in the manner in which they were made and levied before the adopting proposal was carried.

Where an adopting or rescinding proposal has been carried as the result of the poll in any district, no new proposal (either for rescission or adoption, as the case may be) shall be submitted to the ratepayers until the expiration of at least three years from the date of the gazetting of the notice of the result of that poll.

If either proposal is rejected in any district, such proposal shall not be again submitted to the ratepayers until the expiration of at least three years from the date of such rejection.

As soon as conveniently may be after an adopting proposal is carried in any district, a valuation roll of the rateable property in the district shall, for the purposes of rating on the unimproved value, be prepared and supplied by the Valuer-General as provided by section six hereof:

Provided that, in addition to setting forth the capital value, the roll and all notices of assessment shall set forth the value of improvements, and the unimproved value of all rateable property in the district; and the rates when made and levied shall be made and levied on the unimproved value in accordance with this Act.

Any person authorized to object to the assessment of the capital value may in like manner, with the necessary modifications, object to the value of improvements or the unimproved value, or all or any of them; and if, on objection as aforesaid, any assessment is reduced the capital value of the reduced assessment shall be adjusted to equal the value of improvements plus the unimproved value.

All mining property held by an occupier in any borough, town district, or county within a mining district in the South Island shall be liable to be rated by the local authority in like manner as other rateable property in the district of such local authority is rated, but subject to the special provisions of this Act relating to mining property.

Where the system of rating on the unimproved value is in force, mining property which is rateable shall be rated on its unimproved value.

For the purposes of the rating of mining property every local authority of a borough, town district, or county in a mining district in the South Island shall on some day in the month of January in every year cause to be made a valuation list, in the form numbered (2) in the First Schedule hereto or to the like effect, of all mining property in the district of such local authority.

Such valuation list shall be prepared by a Valuer or Valuers to be appointed from time to time by the local authority, who shall determine what, in his or their opinion, is the rateable value of all mining property in the district.

On or before the first day of February in each year the Valuer or Valuers shall give notice of the rateable value so determined by him or them, in the form numbered (4) in the First Schedule hereto or to the like effect, to each occupier, by posting the same to such occupier’s last known place of abode in New Zealand.

It shall not be necessary in any valuation list, roll, or rate-book relating to mining property to insert the name of the “owner”; and the “occupier” shall be deemed to be the owner for the purposes of liability for rates on such property.

All the provisions of this Act relating to the powers of a Valuer, the valuation list, and the valuation roll in a district where the system of rating on the annual value is in force shall (except where otherwise expressly provided) extend and apply to the valuation list to be made for the purposes of this section, and to the valuation roll to be prepared and completed thereon, and every occupier shall have the like right of objection to the rateable value of his mining property as he would have under those provisions.

The Warden of the district in which the mining property is situated, having jurisdiction under the Mining Act, 1908, shall be the Judge of the Assessment Court; and all the provisions of this Act relating to the powers, duties, and authorities of a Magistrate as Judge of the Assessment Court shall extend and apply to such Warden accordingly, who shall for the purposes of this section have all such jurisdiction and authority as he would have in respect of any matter within his jurisdiction under the Mining Act, 1908, and as fully as if the duties hereby imposed upon him were expressly set forth in that Act.

In addition to the powers given to a Valuer under the provisions referred to in subsection five hereof, every Valuer appointed under this section shall have power to examine any person on oath or affirmation in relation to any matter or thing necessary to enable such Valuer to ascertain the true value of the mining property held by any occupier, and may put questions in writing, and require the same to be answered in writing by the person to whom they are put.

For the purposes of the last preceding subsection every such Valuer shall be deemed to have power to administer an oath or take an affirmation, and every person who wilfully makes a false answer in any material particular to any question so put to him, whether orally or in writing, commits perjury.

The form of valuation roll, rate-book, and of every instrument or proceeding required or that may be made or taken under the provisions referred to in subsection five hereof may be modified or varied so as to give effect to this section.

The valuation roll and rate-book made under this section shall be deemed to be in addition to any other valuation roll and rate-book made under any Act in force in the district, and shall be deemed to be a part thereof; and every person whose name appears upon a valuation roll made under this section shall have the like rights as to being placed on a voters roll (however designated) and of voting at elections of members of the local authority as he would have under the law constituting such authority.

For the purposes of assessment and rating the minimum rateable value of every mining property liable to the provisions of this section shall be not less than twenty pounds:

Provided that, in case two or more persons are interested in the same property, the interest of each and every person therein shall be assessed separately:

Provided also that the local authority of any district may by special resolution reduce the minimum rateable value to any sum not being less than ten pounds.

All rates levied, recovered, or received under this or the last preceding section by any local authority shall be deemed to form part of the revenues of such authority, and shall be dealt with accordingly.

A copy of every special resolution passed under this section shall be sent to the Minister of Finance, with a certificate thereon, signed by the Chairman of the local authority passing the resolution, that such copy is a true copy.

For the purposes of this section a special resolution shall be passed in the manner required by the law for the time being regulating the procedure of the local authority passing the same; and if there is no such law, then no such resolution shall be passed till at least seven days’ notice of the intention to propose the same has been given or sent to each member of such authority.

Nothing in the two last preceding sections shall be deemed to apply to any mining property used or occupied by or on behalf of His Majesty.

The two last preceding sections shall not have operation within any part of the North Island of New Zealand.

Every rate made by a local authority shall be made subject to the following conditions:—

The particulars of every rate shall be transcribed in a rate-book in the form numbered (7) in the First Schedule hereto or to the like effect, and, if the local authority so desires, columns may be added to such form so as to allow of more than one rate being dealt with in the same rate-book, or to show what rates are at any time in arrear.

The names and other particulars as to occupiers or owners, and property, and the rateable values, and otherwise, as the nature of the rate may require, shall be taken from the valuation roll.

All alterations lawfully made in the valuation roll shall be transcribed into the rate-book, and initialled by the Chairman and by the Clerk of the local authority.

Where a local authority makes more than one rate on the basis of the same rateable value, the total amount of all such rates may be entered in the rate-book, instead of each such rate being separately entered therein.

Not less than fourteen days before making any rate the local authority shall publicly notify its intention to make such rate, the period for which it is made, the days on which it is to become payable, and that the valuation roll is open for inspection as herein provided.

The rate-book shall be signed by two members of the local authority, and shall be kept in some place, to be publicly notified, for inspection without fee by all ratepayers at such times and hours as the local authority fixes.

Any ratepayer may appeal to the local authority against the rate-book on any of the following grounds:—

The local authority may correct any such errors in the ratebook, and every such correction shall be initialled by two members thereof; but, except as above provided, no appeal shall be allowed against any part of the rate.

The local authority may from time to time correct any errors in the rate-book although no appeal in respect thereof has been made, and notwithstanding that a demand for rates may have been previously made, and in the latter case the local authority may make an amended demand for any rates in substitution for the original demand.

The rate-book so signed, with corrections (if any) so initialled, shall be conclusive evidence in all Courts of the correctness of the contents thereof without proof of such signatures, and that the same has been duly made.

Any ratepayer who feels aggrieved by the making of any proposed separate rate may, within two months of the making of such rate, appeal to the Assessment Court against such rate, on the ground that his property will not be benefited or will be only partially benefited by the proposed work, or that the property of any ratepayer is wholly or partially omitted from the operation of such separate rate; and the Assessment Court shall decide thereon in the manner provided for objections to assessments.

All rates levied under this Act shall be recoverable in manner hereinafter provided.

Where in any Act or Ordinance it is provided that proceedings may be taken for the recovery of rates, such provision shall be taken to mean that such proceedings shall be taken under this Act.

All rates levied on the unimproved value shall for the purpose of recovery be deemed to be charged on the capital value of the land and not on the unimproved value only.

A demand for any rate due shall be made in writing in the form numbered (8) in the First Schedule hereto or to the like effect, purporting to be signed by any person duly appointed by the local authority to collect rates, and delivered to the person liable either personally, or by leaving the same at his last known abode or place of business, or on the premises in respect of which such rate is due, or by sending the same through the post addressed to the person liable at his last known place of abode or place of business.

A signature to a demand for rates shall be deemed a sufficient signature under this section although printed, typewritten, lithographed, stamped, or produced by any other artificial means.

Any two or more local authorities may agree to appoint one Collector to collect the rates levied by each of them, and such Collector may include all such rates due from one person in one demand as hereinafter mentioned.

All rates shall be payable at the office of the local authority, or at some place publicly notified for the payment thereof.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act or any other Act, a local authority may, by resolution, decide to allow to every ratepayer a rebate not exceeding five per centum of so much of the amount of rates payable by him as is paid before the expiration of thirty days after the due date thereof.

Such resolution may apply generally to all rates made and levied by the local authority, or to such rates only as may be specified in the resolution, and shall take effect according to the tenor thereof.

The resolution shall be publicly notified, and the purport thereof shall be printed on the face of every demand for rates to which it applies, when the resolution has been arrived at previously to the the demand.

If any person fails, for fourteen days after demand thereof, to pay any rate for which he is liable, the local authority may recover the same as a debt in any Court of competent jurisdiction.

Any person authorized by a resolution or under the seal of the local authority to collect rates may sue for the same in the name of the local authority, and for that purpose may make all affidavits or declarations, and do all other acts, deeds, matters, and things, which the plaintiff is required to do in the Court in which he is suing.

The invalidity of any rate as a whole shall not avail to prevent the recovery of the rate appearing in the rate-book to be payable by any person, unless such invalidity is on the ground that such rate is a rate at a greater amount in the pound than the local authority levying the same is empowered to levy.

The occupier shall be primarily liable for all rates becoming due while his name appears in the rate-book as such.

Where a rate is payable by instalments, if the occupier ceases to actually occupy the premises in respect of which the rate is payable, he may recover from the incoming tenant if any, and, if not, from the owner, all instalments coming due after he has ceased so to occupy as aforesaid and paid by him, notwithstanding that the alteration of the name of the occupier has not been made in the rate-book.

Every owner or occupier of rateable property who sells or otherwise transfers the same or any part thereof shall, within one month after such sale or transfer, give notice in writing thereof, together with the name and address of the purchaser or transferee, to the local authority in whose district the property is situate; and until he gives such notice he shall remain liable for all rates payable in respect of such property.

Such notice shall not release him from liability to pay any rates due at the time such notice is given.

In every case where—

then such person shall be liable to pay only half the amount which would otherwise be payable for the year’s rates in respect of such dwellinghouse or other building, and shall be entitled to a refund of whatever sum he may have paid in excess of such half.

Any rate or part thereof due by an occupier may also, at the option of the local authority or of any person authorized to collect rates as aforesaid, be recovered from the owner, or from any person owing any interest, including an interest as first mortgagee, in the rateable property in respect of which such rate is payable, or from any person actually in occupation of the premises in respect of which such rate is payable.

If an owner or any such person as aforesaid pays any rate due by an occupier, then, unless such owner or other person has agreed with the occupier to pay the rates, the amount of rates so paid shall be deemed to be a debt due and owing from and after the time of paying the same by the occupier to the owner or other person paying the same.

Where a mortgagee is compelled to pay any rates under this section in respect of any rateable property under mortgage to him, the amount of such rates so paid by him shall, as from the date of paying the same, be deemed to form part of the principal moneys secured by the mortgage, and shall be chargeable with interest accordingly; though at the option of the mortgagee the same shall be recoverable by him either from the mortgagor or the occupier immediately after payment thereof by the mortgagee.

Where any person other than the owner has been compelled to pay any rates under this section, then, unless such person has agreed with the owner to pay the same, or has already recovered such rates from the occupier, the amount so paid shall be deemed to be a debt due and owing from and after the time of paying the same by the owner to such person, and any such payment by an owner under this provision shall be deemed to be a payment by him under subsection two of this section.

No rates shall be recoverable from any tenant of rateable property, not being an occupier within the meaning of this Act, to a greater extent than the rent payable or to be payable by him for such property at the time of making the demand for the same upon him, and any such rate so paid by him may be deducted from his rent.

Nothing herein shall be construed to affect any contract now or hereafter made between any persons as to the liability for the payment of rates as between the parties to such contract; and in any case where, as between themselves, the owner has contracted to pay the rates, the occupier or any tenant of the rateable property may pay the same if the owner has not paid them, and deduct the same from any rent payable by him to the owner.

In all cases where it is necessary to fix the rateable value of any portion of a building, or where there are two or more occupiers of a building and it is necessary to apportion the amount of rates payable by each occupier, the same shall be determined as follows:—

Any such occupier may object to such apportionment, and such objection shall be heard and determined by the appropriate Assessment Court under this Act or the Valuation of Land Act, 1925, as the case may be, in the manner provided for objections to assessments.

If any person liable for any rate is absent from New Zealand, a service of summons upon his agent or attorney shall be a sufficient service.

If an owner liable for rates has no known agent in New Zealand, or is unknown, or cannot after due inquiry be found, a public notification of the summons, with or without posting such summons upon a conspicuous part of the property in respect of which such rates are payable, or on some public road near thereto, shall be a sufficient service, and the cost of such notification shall be recoverable from such person in addition to the rates.

Judgment for the amount of rates due may be given in any Court of competent jurisdiction against such owner by name, or, if he is unknown, under the designation of “the owner” of such property, on the Court being satisfied that such owner is absent or unknown, or cannot after due inquiry be found, and upon proof of service of summons as above provided.

On the petition of any person praying for a remission of rates on the ground of extreme poverty, arising from accident or continued illness, or other cause beyond the control of such person, the local authority may, if it thinks fit, on being satisfied after full inquiry that the allegations in such petition are true, remit the payment of any rates by the petitioner, either wholly or in part, or for such time as the local authority thinks fit.

The power given by this section to local authorities to remit rates may be exercised in the case of any charitable institution (not being an institution, or separate institution, within the meaning of the Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Act, 1909) founded for the free maintenance or relief of orphans, or of the aged, infirm, sick, or needy, and which is in receipt of assistance by way of subsidy from the public funds:

Provided that this subsection shall not apply to any charitable institution occupying an area of land greater than one acre if within a borough, or three acres if outside the bounds of a borough.

The power to remit rates given by the last preceding section may be exercised in the case of rates on showgrounds vested in or under the control of a registered agricultural and pastoral society, and in the case of rates in respect of land held by any body of persons exclusively for the purposes of any outdoor sport and not for profit or gain.

An additional charge of ten per centum may be added to all rates unpaid at the expiration of six months and fourteen days from the demand thereof, and shall be payable and recoverable accordingly; but such additional charge of ten per centum shall not be recoverable until a local authority has publicly notified that the same will be added.

No judgment for the amount of any rates due shall be given or signed after three years from the time when such rates first became due:

Provided, however, that judgment for rates due in respect of Native land may be given against any owner or occupier of that land at any time within four years from the time when the rates first became due.

Where judgment for any rates is recorded against any land, whether by means of a charging-order or otherwise, no further instrument shall be registered against such land until such judgment is satisfied.

If any judgment for rates is not satisfied, with costs of suit, within six months thereafter, the local authority may forward to the Registrar of the Supreme Court in the Supreme Court district wherein is situate the property in respect whereof the rates are in arrear and the judgment obtained (hereinafter referred to as the Registrar) a certificate in the form numbered (9) in the First Schedule hereto, together with a fee of one pound.

On receipt of such certificate the Registrar shall immediately give notice, in the form numbered (10) in the First Schedule hereto, to all persons whom he believes to have any interest in the property in respect of which the rates for which judgment was obtained are payable, that such property will be sold or leased after six months from the date of such notice unless the amount of such judgment and costs is paid in the meanwhile.

Such notice may be served personally, or it may be left at or posted to the last known place of abode or business of any such person as aforesaid, or, if the whereabouts of any such person is then unknown to the Registrar, it may be posted on some conspicuous part of the property, or on some public road adjoining thereto, or it may be publicly notified.

After the said six months the Registrar may cause the said property, or such part thereof as may be necessary, to be sold or leased, unless the amount of such judgment and costs, and all expenses incurred in recovering the same, including the cost of a notification as provided by the last preceding subsection, together with interest at the rate of ten pounds per centum per annum on the amount of such rate from the day on which judgment was obtained for the same, and all rates due in respect of the said property up to the date of payment, and any charges which the Registrar is entitled to make upon the sale or leasing of property, are paid prior to such sale.

In respect of every sale under this section the Registrar shall charge a fee of two and a half per centum of the amount of the purchase-money where the purchase-money does not exceed two hundred pounds, and, where the purchase-money exceeds two hundred pounds, shall charge a fee of five pounds, together with an amount equal to one and a quarter per centum of the excess over two hundred pounds, save that in no case shall the fee be less than one pound or more than twenty pounds.

The proceeds of such sale or letting shall be applied, first, in payment of such judgment, interest, costs, and expenses; next, in payment of any other rate due at the date of the sale in respect of the same property (including, in the case of a letting, all rates which may become due on such property from the person on whose behalf he has let during the time that the Registrar is in receipt of the rents of the same); next, in payment of any encumbrance on the said property; and the balance, if any, shall be paid into the Public Trust Office, and shall be paid by the Public Trustee, on the order of a Judge of the Supreme Court (which order may be made upon a summons in Chambers), to such persons as may be entitled thereto, together with reasonable interest thereon not exceeding four pounds per centum per annum.

For the purposes of this and the next succeeding section, in districts wherein the system of rating on the unimproved value is in force, “property” includes the land, together with the buildings and improvements thereon.

With respect to any such sale or letting the following provisions shall apply:—

On conditions being complied with Registrar may execute transfer, &c.

Purchaser not affected by impropriety, &c., in sale.

Any instrument under the Land Transfer Act, 1915, executed for the purpose of carrying into effect any such sale or letting shall be registered by the District Land Registrar of the district in which the land dealt with thereby is situate without the production of the duplicate certificate or other document of title relating to the land, or interest in land, dealt with by such instrument, if the Registrar is unable to produce the same.

No public reserve or any part of a public reserve, whether Crown-granted or not, or in whomsoever vested, shall be sold for the non-payment of rates due in respect thereof; but the local authority to which the rates for such reserve are payable may lease the same from year to year, or so much thereof as is required to produce a yearly rental equivalent to the amount of rates payable in respect of the whole reserve, together with five per centum added to such amount for expenses.

All rates payable in respect of any public reserve or any part thereof shall be a first charge on the property of the persons who may be trustees thereof as such trustees, or society, body, or corporation in or to whom such reserve is vested or granted, and may be recovered from the said persons as such trustees, society, body, or corporation as a debt due to the local authority to which such rates are payable.

No Crown lands held under the Land Act, 1924, or under any Land Act heretofore in force, under any tenure other than freehold, shall be capable of being sold for non-payment of rates by the occupier thereof; but proceedings may be taken for the recovery of such rates in the manner provided in section one hundred and one of the Land Act, 1924.

The Council of any county may from time to time, by special order, direct that any general, separate, or special rates it is authorized by law to make and levy shall be collected on its behalf by the Road Boards and Town Boards within the county.

So long as any such special order remains in force, when a rate is made by the County Council it shall send to each Road Board and Town Board within the county a copy of the order making the rate, and a notice specifying the amount of the rate required to be collected within the road district or town district, as the case may be.

Every such Board shall forthwith proceed to make, levy, and collect such rate in its district in the same manner and with the same powers of recovery as if the rate were to be levied therein by the Board for its own purposes.

The same proceedings shall, with the necessary modifications, be had for making, levying, collecting, and recovering any separate or special rate within any portion of a county as are hereinbefore provided for making, levying, collecting, and recovering general rates within the whole county.

If any Board as aforesaid refuses or neglects to make and levy and to take all necessary steps to collect and recover any such rate as aforesaid, every member thereof at the time of such neglect or refusal shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, to be recovered in a summary way before any two or more Justices.

All such rates shall be held by every Board as aforesaid as trustee for the County Council, and shall be handed over to the Council as collected:

Provided that every such Board shall be entitled to retain all reasonable costs and expenses incurred in and about making, levying, collecting, and recovering the same, and a reasonable remuneration for clerical and other work; and if any dispute arises as to the amount so to be retained, or otherwise in relation thereto, the same shall be decided by such person as the Governor-General may appoint for the purpose.

When and so often as any local authority fails to pay at the proper time and place for so paying any sum either of principal or interest which it ought to pay, and the payment of which is secured upon any rate levied by it, then immediately or at any time thereafter any person to whom such sum is owing may apply ex parte by petition in a summary way to a Judge of the Supreme Court for relief under this Act, and the Judge may, if satisfied of the truth of the matters alleged in such petition, appoint, upon such terms as to security and remuneration as he thinks fit, a Receiver of such rate.

Such rate shall from the date of the said order, and upon its being publicly notified by the Receiver, vest in the Receiver, and shall cease to be vested in the local authority.

All powers for the recovery of such rate shall, after the appointment of the Receiver, and upon such appointment being publicly notified, cease to be exercised by the local authority, and shall be exercised by the Receiver.

All moneys received by the Receiver shall be applied—

And the Receiver shall account for all such moneys in such manner as the Judge directs.

When all the sums then overdue are paid, or at any time by an order of a Judge of the Supreme Court, on the application of the local authority, if such Judge thinks fit to make such order, the powers of the Receiver shall cease, and he shall forthwith pay any moneys in his hands to the local authority, who shall again be capable of exercising the powers of which the appointment of the Receiver had deprived it.

Any local authority, for the purpose of collecting any rate, either on its own behalf or on behalf of another local authority, may make an adjustment thereof so as to admit of its being collected either under the system of rating on the annual value or the capital value, whichever system is in force in the district of the local authority collecting the same, upon the basis that one shilling in the pound on the annual value shall be deemed to be equivalent to three-farthings in the pound on the capital value of any property, or that the annual value for any rateable property shall be the sum equal to six pounds per centum on the capital value of such property, and vice versa respectively.

In all cases where by any Act or Provincial Ordinance a limit of rating-power is imposed upon any local authority, and in all cases of special and annually recurring rates, or of any rates the amount of which is fixed for any definite period of time, the following provisions shall apply:—

Where rating changed from one system to another.

Notwithstanding anything in the last preceding section, it is hereby declared as follows:—

Proviso as to water, gas, and other fixed rates.

Where under any Act or Provincial Ordinance the number of votes which a ratepayer of any district is entitled to exercise is proportioned to the rateable value of his property in the said district or to its value on a valuation roll, then for the purposes of voting, in case and so often as the system of rating is altered in such district, and notwithstanding anything in the aforesaid Act or Ordinance, an adjustment shall be made to determine the number of votes to which such ratepayer is entitled under the altered system of rating, on the basis that every five pounds of annual value shall be deemed to be equal to one hundred pounds of capital value, and vice versa respectively.

Where on the taking of a poll in any district the system of rating on the unimproved value is adopted, the system shall apply to water rates, gas rates, electric-light rates, sewerage rates, and hospital and charitable-aid rates, as well as to other rates leviable under this Act.

In any district in which the said system is in force on the commencement of this Act a poll shall, on receipt of a petition signed by fifteen per centum of the ratepayers, be taken on the proposal that the said system shall apply to the said rates. Such poll shall be taken in the same manner as a poll for the adoption of the system, and the provisions of sections forty and forty-two of this Act shall extend and apply accordingly.

Notwithstanding the repeal of section one hundred and three of the Rating Act, 1908, by the Rating Amendment Act, 1911, that section shall continue in force in any district in which the system of rating on the unimproved value was in force on the commencement of the Rating Amendment Act, 1911, except in any such district where the proposal mentioned in subsection two of section two of that Act has been carried at a poll taken pursuant to that subsection, until the proposal mentioned in the last preceding subsection has been carried at a poll taken pursuant to that subsection.

Whenever under any Act any contribution is authorized to be levied upon any local authority in whose district the system of rating on the unimproved value is in force, and such contribution is to be proportioned to the rateable value of property as defined by paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition of that term in section two of this Act, then such contribution shall be proportioned to the capital value of such property as defined by this Act.

No Judge, Magistrate, or Justice shall, solely on account of his liability to pay rates, be deemed to be interested in any case in which he is judicially concerned.

If at any time a part of any district is severed therefrom, whether for the purpose of forming another local-governing area or of joining one that already exists, it shall be the duty of the local authority of such district to deliver a copy of the valuation roll of such severed part to the local authority of such new or already existing local-governing area, as the case may be.

If the local authority fails through misadventure or accident, or from any reason whatever, to do anything required by this Act to be done within a fixed time, or does anything irregularly in matter of form, the Governor-General may from time to time as occasion requires, by Order in Council gazetted and publicly notified, extend the time for doing such thing, or validate anything which may have been irregularly done in matter of form, so that the intent and purpose of this Act may have effect.

Notwithstanding anything in this Act, it is hereby declared that the repeal of the Crown and Native Lands Rating Act, 1882, and the Crown and Native Lands Rating Act 1882 Amendment Act, 1883, shall not—

Such of the duties as are required to be performed by the Commissioner of Taxes under the Crown and Native Lands Rating Act, 1882, shall be performed by the Valuer-General and not by the Commissioner of Taxes.

In this Part of this Act, unless a contrary intention appears, the terms “European land,” “Native land,” “customary land,” “Native freehold land,” “Native,” and “Court” have the same meanings respectively as in the Native Land Act, 1909; “Maori Land Board” means the Maori Land Board for the district in which the land affected is situated; and “Registrar” means the Registrar of the Native Land Court for any such district.

Save in so far as otherwise provided by this Part of this Act, Native land shall be liable for rates in the same manner as if it were European land.

In addition to the exceptions from the definition of the term “rateable property” as defined in section two of this Act the following classes of Native land shall be exempt from liability to rates, namely:—

The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, exempt any Native land liable to rates from all or any specified part of such rates, and such Order in Council may apply either to any specified land on account of the indigent circumstances of the occupiers or for any other special reason, or to any specified class of lands.

No such exemption shall affect any rate theretofore made by any local authority.

Any such exemption may be at any time varied or cancelled by Order in Council.

All similar exemptions heretofore granted by the Governor-General in Council and in force at the passing of this Act shall continue in full force and effect, and may be varied or cancelled by Order in Council under this Act.

Where Native land is vested in trust in a Maori Land Board, or the Native Trustee, or the East Coast Commissioner, the following provisions shall apply:—

Where Native land is owned by one owner the name of such owner shall be inserted as owner in the column of owners in the valuation roll.

Where Native land is owned in common and is vested in a Maori Land Board, the Native Trustee, or the East Coast Commissioner, the name and designation of the trustee shall be inserted in the owner’s column.

Where Native land is owned in common and is vested in a corporate body constituted under Part XVII of the Native Land Act, 1909, or any other statute enabling Native owners to become incorporated, the name of the corporate body shall be inserted in the column of owners.

Where Native land is owned in common and is not vested in any trustee or corporate body as aforesaid, the word “Natives” shall be entered in the column of owners.

Where at any election or at a poll on any proposal any person is entitled to vote in respect of any land, such vote may, in cases where the land is held in trust by the Maori Land Board, or the Native Trustee, or the East Coast Commissioner, be exercised by the President of the Board, the Native Trustee, or the East Coast Commissioner, as the case may be, or by some person appointed in writing for that purpose by the person entitled to exercise the vote.

Where a corporate body is entitled to vote in respect of any land as aforesaid, such vote may be exercised by the chairman of the committee of management or by some person appointed in writing by the committee of management in that behalf.

Where Native land (not being land to which the foregoing provisions of this section apply) is owned by two or more owners in common, a Judge or Commissioner of the Native Land Court, or if a Judge or Commissioner is not available, then the Registrar may appoint a person having an interest in such land to exercise any vote in respect of that land, and the person so appointed shall be entitled to exercise the vote accordingly.

The name of the person so appointed under the last preceding subsection shall be entered in the column of occupiers, and such person shall receive notice of all claims for rates in respect of such land.

Rates due in respect of Native land by a Maori Land Board, the Native Trustee, or the East Coast Commissioner shall be demanded in the ordinary way, and if not paid within nine months shall become a debt due by the beneficial owners of the land upon which they are levied, and be recoverable in the same manner as other rates due on Native land.

With regard to rates due on Native land where it is sought to recover the rates from the owners or beneficial owners thereof, then as soon as it is convenient after the rate is levied, but not later than two years thereafter, a claim for rates against the land shall be lodged With the Registrar.

Such claims shall thereupon be treated as applications for charging-orders, and be notified for hearing at the first convenient sitting of the Court as a claim upon the land affected for the rates so levied.

The Court shall proceed to hear all objections to the rate, and all defences open to an ordinary ratepayer shall be open to any one or more of the owners or beneficial owners of the land, or to the Maori Land Board, the Native Trustee, or the East Coast Commissioner, as the case may be.

If, after hearing the parties, the Court is satisfied that the rates are payable, it may make an order granting a charge over the land in favour of the local authority for the amount of the rates so payable and the costs of obtaining a charge. Such charge shall be filed and noted in the Court, and if the title has reached the Land Transfer Office may be registered against such title. If the title has not gone forward for registration, it shall be the duty of the Registrar to send such charge for registration contemporaneously with the title which it affects.

The Court, in dealing with any claim for rates, may, in cases where it thinks it necessary or expedient, transfer the liability for such rates or any part thereof to any other land, and may grant a charge accordingly. In special circumstances arising from hardship or indigency the Court may remit the whole or any part of any rate so levied, and thereupon such rates, or so much thereof as shall be so remitted, shall be deemed to be discharged.

A charge when granted may be enforced by the appointment of a Receiver in accordance with section thirty-one of the Native Land Act, 1909, and subsections three, four, five, and six of that section shall apply to any Receiver so appointed. Any instrument of alienation executed by the Receiver may be registered and dealt with notwithstanding the provision of any statute dealing with the limitation of area that any person may hold.

A charge granted hereunder shall have the effect of preventing any dealings by the owners thereof with the land affected by any charge without the leave of the Court or the consent of the local authority or person entitled to the charge until such charge is paid or secured. The charge shall remain effective against the land notwithstanding that the land may have become European land.

The charge in lieu of being made in favour of a local authority may be made in favour of any person paying the rates or any part thereof, and any charge may be assigned pro tanto according to the amount so paid.

The Court may apportion the liability under any such charge either amongst the individual beneficial owners or amongst various portions of the land so charged. Where prior charges have been granted in respect of the same land, the Court may consolidate the various charges into a single charge for the total amount due and vacate the previous charges.

Where any land is partitioned after a charge has been granted, the charge shall thereupon be deemed to be apportioned according to area among the various portions of the land, unless the Court, in its discretion, makes an order apportioning the charge in any other manner it thinks equitable.

Any lessee or mortgagee paying any such charge may deduct the amount so paid from any rent payable to the Native owners, provided that he shall not be entitled for this purpose to deduct in respect of any land more than one-half of the rent payable therefor in any one year, and the amount so deducted shall, as between the lessor and lessee, be deemed to have been paid on account of rent.

If a charge granted under this Act remains unpaid for one year after the same has been granted by the Court, the Court may upon report of the Receiver or upon being satisfied that it is not expedient in any case to appoint a Receiver, order that the land affected (whether it is then Native land or European land) shall, subject to the consent of the Native Minister, be vested in the Native Trustee for the purposes of sale for the payment of such charge; and such order may at any time, with the consent of the Native Trustee, be varied, cancelled, or superseded.

The Native Trustee may sell the whole or any part of the land so vested in him either by private contract or by public auction, and either in one or more lots, and subject to such terms and conditions as he shall think fit, including the condition that part of the consideration be left upon mortgage secured upon the said land; or the Native Trustee may, if he thinks it expedient, instead of selling the said land, raise money by way of mortgage upon it for the purpose of liquidating the charge.

All moneys received from the sale or mortgage of the land shall, after payment thereout of the costs, expenses, and remuneration of the Native Trustee, be applied in satisfaction of the charge, and the residue thereof (if any) shall be paid to the Maori Land Board, who shall see to its application, and if any doubt arises as to the person or persons entitled thereto the Board may apply to the Court to decide to whom the money shall be paid.

Where Native land is subject to section one hundred and five hereof, the trustee may, with the consent of the Native Minister, exercise powers similar to those conferred on the Native Trustee by the preceding subsections hereof.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Part I of this Act, a person, not being an owner of Native land, shall be deemed to be an occupier thereof if he is in actual occupation of such land or any part thereof, whether he occupies the land by virtue of a tenancy or for any fixed period or at will or otherwise howsoever, and whether his occupation thereof is lawful or unlawful.

It shall not be necessary to enter the name or other particulars relating to such person on the valuation roll or in the rate-book.

Such person is hereby made liable at the suit of the local authority or of the Maori Land Board for the payment of all rates and special rates due in respect of such land levied for the period he is in occupation in the same manner and to the same extent as if his name had been lawfully entered in the valuation roll and in the rate-book as the occupier of such land, and no formal demand for payment of such rates shall be necessary.

For the purposes of this section a person proved to be in actual occupation of any area for any period shall be deemed to have been in occupation of any larger area of which such area forms part for the whole of the rating-period, unless and until the contrary is shown, and in any such case the burden of proving that he was not so in occupation shall be upon the person charged.

The Court shall have the power to ascertain and determine if any person, whether an owner or not, is in such occupation, and the proportion (if any) of any rate levied that such person should pay, and may make an order accordingly. Such person shall thereupon become liable for so much of the said rates as is set out in the order, and the same may be recovered either by the local authority or by the Maori Land Board as a debt. Where money is so recovered by the local authority it shall be applied in satisfaction of the claim for rates. Where it is recovered by the Maori Land Board it shall be applied in payment of rates due, and any balance shall be held on behalf of the beneficial owners.

In any action for recovery of rates under this section the Court hearing such action may apportion the rates payable according to the value or the acreage of the area occupied and the period of the occupation, or in accordance with the order made under subsection five hereof (which shall be conclusive), and give judgment accordingly.

Where one or more of the owners in common of Native land has, prior to a charge being granted, paid to the local authority any amount on account of rates due in respect of that land, or on account of the costs of any proceeding for the recovery thereof, the Court may, upon proof of the facts, grant a charge in favour of such owner or owners, and such charge may be enforced as if it were a charge in respect of rates.

Without in any manner restricting the powers of a Receiver appointed in respect of any such charge, such Receiver may grant a lease of the land charged to any person entitled to the benefit of the charge.

This provision shall extend to rates so paid before the coming into operation of the Act, and also to rates which have been levied before the coming into operation of the Act but have been paid subsequently thereto.

Sections seventy-eight, seventy-nine, eighty, and eighty-one of this Act shall have no application to Native land or to rates payable in respect thereof.

A local authority may, if it thinks fit, remit the payment of any rates due on land owned or occupied by Natives or any additional charge thereon, either wholly or in part, or may postpone the payment of any such rates for such time as it thinks fit, or may compound therefor, or may accept land in satisfaction thereof, either under order of the Native Land Court or by way of transfer for the purpose.

The Court, in any proceedings before it, may make an order vesting Native land in a local authority in satisfaction of any such rates, or may make an order vesting such land in His Majesty the King on condition that the amount of rates mentioned in such order will be paid by the Crown to the local authority. Any land so acquired by the Crown shall be proclaimed Crown land as if it were land acquired by the Crown by purchase.

No alienation under the provisions of this section shall require to be confirmed by a Maori Land Board.

This section shall apply as well to rates heretofore levied as to rates that may be levied hereafter; and all remissions of rates heretofore made shall be deemed to have been validly made.

Any charge or vesting-order granted under this Part of this Act may be registered against the Land Transfer title or upon the Deeds Register, as the case may require, and it shall not be necessary for the purpose of such registration to produce the certificate of title or to have a plan of the land endorsed on the charge or vesting-order.

Any charge may be discharged in whole or in part by writing under the seal of the local authority or by order of the Court. Such discharge may be registered in the same manner as a charge is registered.

Where the discharge relates to the full amount named in the charge and is given before the charge is registered, the Registrar shall mark the charge discharged, and it shall be deemed to be discharged accordingly.

Upon partition, the owners of any separate area may pay the portion of rates apportioned to that area, and the production of the receipt of the Registrar that such amount has been paid shall be treated by the District Land Registrar as a discharge of the charge against that area, and may be registered accordingly.

Where a discharge is only partial the charge may be marked by the Registrar as partially discharged, both as to the amount and as to the portion of the land affected by it, and in such case the charge shall be registered only as to the balance of the money or the residue of the land affected thereby.

Nothing in this Part of this Act shall be so construed as to affect the provisions and operation of section one hundred of this Act.

Notwithstanding anything in this Part of this Act, every judgment obtained before the passing of the Rating Amendment Act, 1910, for rates due in respect of Native land may be enforced in the same manner and shall in all respects have the same effect and operation as if this Act had not been passed.

If a local authority elects to claim a charge under this Part of this Act in regard to rates levied before the passing of the Native Land Rating Act, 1924, it may waive its rights under the enactments repealed by that Act, and within two years after the passing of that Act may lodge a claim with the Registrar for such rates, and a charge in accordance with the provisions of this Part of this Act may be granted, and all the provisions hereof shall apply thereto:

Provided that this section shall not apply in respect of rates levied more than four years before the passing of the Native Land Rating Act, 1924.

The Governor-General in Council may make all such regulations and prescribe all such forms as may be deemed expedient for the purpose of enabling effect to be given to the provisions of this Act.

The enactments mentioned in the Second Schedule hereto are hereby repealed, and with respect to those enactments the following provisions shall apply:—

Savings. 1908, No. 163, sec. 1(2) 1924, No. 51, sec. 17(1)

Provided that the enactments repealed by the Native Land Rating Act, 1924, shall, notwithstanding such repeal, continue in force for the purpose of continuing and perfecting under such repealed enactments any act, matter, or thing, or any proceedings commenced or in progress thereunder.