Rating (Scotland) Act 1926

29Interpretation

(1)In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

  • the expression " agricultural lands and heritages " means any lands and heritages used for agricultural or pastoral purposes only, or as market gardens, orchards, allotments or allotment gardens, but does not include woodlands or lands occupied together with a house as a park, garden, or pleasure-ground, or any land kept or preserved mainly or exclusively for sporting purposes;

  • the expression " agricultural rates grant " means any sum received by a rating authority in respect of a rate under subsection (3) of section four of the Agricultural Rates Congested Districts and Burgh Land Tax Relief (Scotland) Act, 1896, or subsection (1) of section two of the [61 & 62 Vict. c. 56.] Local Taxation Account (Scotland) Act, 1898, or the Agricultural Rates Act, 1923;

  • the expressions " burgh " and " police burgh " have the respective meanings assigned to them in the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act, 1892;

  • the expression " county " means the county exclusive of any burgh;

  • the expression " compensation " means compensation under this Act;

  • the expression " education rate" means the rate leviable for the purposes of defraying the expenses of education authorities under the provisions of the Education (Scotland) Act, 1918, as amended by this Act;

  • the expression " gross annual value " in relation to lands and heritages, means the yearly rent or value thereof as entered in the valuation roll in accordance with the provisions of the Lands Valuation (Scotland) Act, 1854 and the Acts (other than the section of this Act containing provisions as to the valuation roll) amending that Act, and the expression " gross annual valuation" shall be construed accordingly;

  • the expression " lunacy rate " means the rate levied under the Lunacy (Scotland) Act, 1857;

  • the expression " owner " in the case of a burgh has the meaning assigned to it in the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act, 1892, and in the case of a county has the meaning assigned to it in the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1889;

  • the expression " parish council" includes a parish council acting as a district board of control;

  • the expression " parish rates " means the rate for the relief of the poor and all other rates which by any Act of Parliament are declared to be leviable by a parish council, excluding the education rate;

  • the expression " rate " includes any rate, charge and assessment the proceeds of which are applicable to public local purposes and which is leviable on lands and heritages;

  • the expression " rateable value " means the annual value hereinafter specified, adjusted, if so required in the case of lands and heritages in a county in accordance with the provisions of subsection (7) of section twelve of this Act, or the corresponding provisions of any local Act, and in the case of lands and heritages in a burgh in accordance with the provisions of section forty-five of the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act, 1903, or the corresponding provisions of any local Act—

    (a)

    in the case of lands and heritages specified in the First Schedule to this Act the gross annual value after the deduction of an amount representing the percentage thereof set out in the second column of the said schedule opposite to the lands and heritages to which it relates; and

    (b)

    in the case of lands and heritages (other than lands and heritages to which paragraph (a) hereof applies) the gross annual value, except that in the case of lands and heritages with respect to which there is total exemption from all rates the rateable value shall be treated as nil

    and the expression " rateable valuation" shall be construed accordingly, except that for the purpose of any apportionment between rating authorities the rateable valuation of the area of a rating authority shall be ascertained as if the rateable value of agricultural lands and heritages therein were one-half of the gross annual value thereof;

  • the expression " rating authority " means in the case of a county, the county council and in the case of a burgh, the town council;

  • the expression " valuation roll " includes a supplementary valuation roll.

(2)Any reference in this Act to any statutory provision shall be construed as a reference to the statutory provision as amended or extended or applied by any subsequent Act, including this Act.

(3)Subject to the provisions of this Act, references in any Act or in any bond for borrowed money, or in any other document, to a rate leviable by a parish council shall be construed as references to the corresponding rate leviable by the rating authority as coming in place of the parish council under the provisions of this Act.

(4)Save as respects the education rate, nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorising any rate to be levied by a rating authority in any area outwith the parish or part of the parish, as the case may be, in which the rate would but for the provisions of this Act have been leviable by the parish council.

(5)Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring that under subsection (1) of section one of the [10 & 11 Geo. 5. c. 45.] Public Libraries (Scotland) Act, 1920, the accounts of the committee therein mentioned shall be audited, otherwise than they would have been audited had this Act not passed, and the references in the said subsection to the rating authority shall be construed accordingly.