Finance Act, 1894

Appeal from Commissioners

10. (1) Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Commissioners with respect to the repayment of any excess of duty paid, or by the amount of duty claimed by the Commissioners, whether on the ground of the value of any property or the rate charged or otherwise, may, on payment of, or giving security as herein-after mentioned for, the duty claimed by the Commissioners or such portion of it as is then payable by him, appeal to the High Court within the time and in the manner and on the conditions directed by rules of Court, and the amount of duty shall be determined by the High Court, and if the duty as determined is less than that paid to the Commissioners the excess shall be repaid.

(2) No appeal shall be allowed from any order, direction, determination, or decision of the High Court in any appeal under this section except with the leave of the High Court or Court of Appeal.

(3) The costs of the appeal shall be in the discretion of the Court, and the Court, where it appears to the Court just, may order the Commissioners to pay on any excess of duty repaid by them interest at the rate of three per cent. per annum for such period as appears to the Court just.

(4) Provided that the High Court, if satisfied that it would impose hardship to require the appellant, as a condition of an appeal, to pay the whole or, as the case may be, any part of the duty claimed by the Commissioners or of such portion of it as is then payable by him, may allow an appeal to be brought on payment of no duty, or of such part only of the duty as to the Court seems reasonable, and on security to the satisfaction of the Court being given for the duty, or so much of the duty as is not so paid, but in such case the Court may order interest at the rate of three per cent. per annum to be paid on the unpaid duty so far as it becomes payable under the decision of the Court.

(5) Where the value as alleged by the Commissioners of the property in respect of which the dispute arises does not exceed ten thousand pounds, the appeal under this section may be to the county court for the county or place in which the appellant resides or the property is situate, and this section shall for the purpose of the appeal apply as if such county court were the High Court: [1 Provided that in every case any party shall have a right of appeal to Her Majesty’s Court of Appeal.]

(6) The county council of every county or county borough in Great Britain, shall, within twelve months after the commencement of this Act, and may thereafter from time to time, appoint a sufficient number of qualified persons to act as valuers for the purposes of this Act in their respective counties, and shall fix a scale of charges for the remuneration of such persons, and the Court may refer any question of disputed value under this section to the arbitration of any person so appointed for the county in which the appellant resides or the property is situate; and the costs of any such arbitration shall be part of the costs of the appeal.

Discharge from and Apportionment of Duty.

[1 Added by 59 & 60 Vict. c. 28, s. 22.]