Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947

239 Owner of subjects of or under ô annual value in burghs to pay occupiers' rates.

(1) The town council as rating authority of a burgh shall levy upon the owner of lands and heritages within the burgh let at the annual rent of or under four pounds (not being lands and heritages to which the House Letting and Rating (Scotland) Acts, 1911 and 1920, apply) in place of the occupiers thereof the occupiers' rates in respect of such lands and heritages, but shall allow to the owner a deduction from the occupiers' rates equal to two and one-half per centum thereof, and such rates shall be recoverable from the owner along with any penalty which may become exigible thereon in the same way as in the case of recovery from occupiers, and every such owner charged with and paying the occupiers' rates shall have relief against the occupiers of such lands and heritages for the full amount thereof without deduction so far as the rates are properly chargeable upon such occupier, and so far as the owner fails to recover the amount payable by the occupier he shall be entitled to repayment (under deduction of two and one-half per centum as aforesaid) from the authority upon lodging a claim on or before such date as may be fixed by the authority, without prejudice to the right of the authority to make adjustments with the owner in respect of any sum subsequently recovered by him in respect of such occupiers' rates.

(2) For the purposes of this and the next two succeeding sections, any sum recovered by an owner from an occupier in respect of rent or occupiers' rates shall be treated as relating proportionately to the sum due for rent and to the sum due for occupiers' rates.