Orissa Rural Employment, Education and Production Act, 1992

The Orissa Rural Employment, Education and Production Act, 1992

Orissa Act 36 of 1992

or735

Published vide Orissa Gazette Extraordinary No.1739-Dated 29.12.1992-Notification No. 19061, Legislative-Dated 29.12.1992.

(Assented to by the Governor on the 26th December, 1992

An Act to provide for additional resources for promotion of education and employment in rural area for implementing rural employment, education and production programmes.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Orissa in the Forty-third Year of the Republic of India, as follows

Short title, extent and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called the Orissa Rural Employment, Education and Production Act, 1992.

(2) It exceeds to the whole of the State of Orissa.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by Notification, appoint.

Definitions.- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "annual value" in relation to a financial year means-

(i) in relation to land held by a raiyat, the rent payable by such raiyat to the landlord immediately under whom he holds the land :

Provided that in case of lands held on payment of rent in kind or partly in cash and partly in kind, the annual value shall be calculated according to the rate of rent assessed for neighbouring lands of a similar description and quality and if such method of calculation is, in the opinion of the Board of Revenue, impracticable in any particular case, according to such other fair and equitable method which the Board may approve for the case; and

(ii) in relation to land held under lease for industrial or any other purpose, not being any mineral-bearing land, the rent payable by the lessee in respect of such land to the Government;

[(a-1) "coal bearing land" means any land acquired or declared from time to time under any law for the purpose of obtaining coal;]

(b) "Fund" means the Orissa Rural Employment, Education and Production Fund established under Section 6;

(c) "land" means land of whatever description which is cultivated, uncultivated or covered with water, and includes all benefits to arise out of land and things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything which is attached to the earth, but does not include crops of any kind, or houses, shops or other buildings;

(d) "mineral-bearing land" means mineral-bearing land or quarry held for carrying on mining operations;

(e) "prescribed" means prescribed by Rules;

(f) "proceeds of tax" means the proceeds of tax levied under Section 3;

(g) "rules" means rules made under this Act.

(h) "year" means the financial year.

Rural employment, education and production tax.- (1) On and from the commencement of this Act, all lands shall be liable to payment of rural employment, education and production tax assessed[in the prescribed manner subject to provisions hereinafter contained].

Provided that any land which is liable to payment of cess under the Orissa Cess Act, 11 of 1962 shall not be liable to payment of rural employment, education and production tax.

(2) The rate per year at which such tax shall be levied shall be-

(a) in the case of land other than mineral-bearing land, fifty per centum of the annual value thereof; '

[(b) in the case of any mineral bearing land other than coal-bearing land, the rate as may be prescribed from time to time in respect thereof; and

(3) The State Government may, by Notification, amend the Schedule from time to time so as to enhance or reduce the rate of tax specified therein

Provided that every such Notification shall, as soon as it is published, be laid before the State Legislature for a total period of fourteen days which may be comprised in one or more sessions.

[(4) The rate of tax that may either be prescribed in pursuance of clause (b) of Sub-section (2) or enhanced or reduced by amendment of the Schedule under Sub-section (3), shall be so prescribed or, as the case may be, enhanced or reduced that the rate fixed in the case of -

(i) any mineral bearing land other than coal-bearing land, does not exceed the average annual income from all such mineral-bearing lands in the State during the two consecutive years immediately preceding the year in which the rate is so fixed; and

(ii) coal-bearing land, does not exceed in the aggregate, fifty per cent of the rate specified in the Schedule on the date of publication of this Act in the Gazette],

Payment of tax.- (1) The tax payable per year under Sub-section (1) of Section 3-

(i) in respect of land held by a raiyat shall be paid by the raiyat, for the land he holds, to the landlord under whom he holds the lands; and

(ii) in respect of any land held under lease for industrial or any other purpose, not being any mineral-bearing land or land held by a raiyat, shall be paid by the lessee to the lessor, in such manner, at such intervals and by such dates as may be prescribed, and for the purposes of this section, the provisions contained in Sections 8, 9-A, 10-A, 10-B, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 of the Orissa Cess Act, 11 of 1962 shall mutatis mutandis apply.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other Act;-

(a) the tax payable for a year under Sub-section (1) of Section 3 in respect of a mineral-bearing land shall be, paid by the person who holds such land to such authority, not being inferior in rank to that of a Mining Officer or of a Deputy-Director of Mines-in-charge of a mining circle, as the State Government may, by Notification, specify (hereinafter referred to as the notified authority), in such manner, at such intervals and by such date or dates as may be prescribed :

(b) every holder of a mineral bearing land shall be liable to pay, by way of penalty in default of payment of tax payable by him under clause (a) for any [period] by the prescribed date, an amount not exceeding the amount of such tax payable for such [period], as may be imposed by the notified authority at the time of assessment of such tax under clause (c), in the manner prescribed ;

Provided that the amount of penalty that may be so imposed shall, in no case, be less than an amount as may be equivalent to a simple interest calculated at the rate of eighteen percentum per annum on such unpaid amount of tax for the period intervening between such prescribed date and the date when the penalty is so imposed :

Provided further that the notified authority shall give the holder of a mineral-bearing land a reasonable opportunity of being heard before imposition of such penalty;

(c) the tax payable under [clause (b) and (c)] of Sub-section (2) of Section 3 shall be assessed by the notified authority in the manner prescribed;

(d) recovery of the tax assessed under clause (c) or refund of any amount of such tax found to have been paid in excess after assessment shall be made in the manner prescribed :

[* * *]

(e) every holder of a mineral-bearing land shall be liable to pay, by way of penalty in default without reasonable cause of payment of the tax assessed under clause (c) by the date specified in the notice of demand issued in this behalf, an amount, not exceeding the amount of such tax so remaining unpaid, as may be imposed by the notified authority in the manner prescribed :

Provided that the amount of penalty that may be so imposed shall, in no case, be less than an amount as may be equivalent to a simple interest calculated at the rate of eighteen percentum per annum on such unpaid amount of tax for the period intervening between the date specified in the notice and the date when such penalty is so imposed :

Provided further that the notified authority shall give the holder of a mineral-bearing land a reasonable opportunity of being heard before imposition of such penalty;

(f) the notified authority shall, in the prescribed manner, pay a simple interest at the rate of eighteen per centum per annum for each month of delay in making refund to any holder of a mineral-bearing land of the amount of tax paid in excess, when such excess payment arises out of an order passed on an appeal, revision or review under Section 5, from the first day of the month next following the expiry of three months from the date of such order up to the month preceding the month in which the refund is made under clause (d), upon the amount of the tax refundable to him according to such order;

(g) in calculating the interest payable under clause (f), the amount of interest so calculated shall be rounded off to the nearest multiple of ten rupees and, for this purpose any amount less than five rupees, shall be ignored;

(h) the State Government or the notified authority may appoint persons to assist the notified authority;

(i) any powers, duties or functions of the notified authority may be delegated to any person appointed under clause (h) in such manner as may be prescribed.

[(3) The notified authority shall recover the assessed amount of the tax and penalty, if any, as an arrear of land revenue].

Appeal, revision and review.- An appeal, revision or review, as the case may be, from an order of assessment or any other order passed under Section 4 shall lie to such authority, on such condition and in such manner as may be prescribed.
Rural Employment, Education and Production Fund.- (1) There shall be established a Fund to be called the Orissa Rural Employment, Education and Production Fund which shall be administered in such manner as may be prescribed.

(2) The Fund shall consist of -

(a) all proceeds of tax;

(b) any sum granted by the State Government; and

Application of Fund.- The Fund shall be utilised by the State Government for the implementation of rural production programme and for promotion of education and employment in rural areas, with special emphasis to backward rural areas, for which, the State Government shall take appropriate measures by drawing such effective educational programme as may be result oriented in reducing the level of illiteracy to a desirable extent in rural areas and such effective rural production programme as may be productive, employment-oriented, suitable for local conditions and can be easily fitted into overall strategy of agriculture and rural developments pertaining to the minor irrigation, drainage, flood control, water conservation, land reclamation and development, soil conservation, forestry development, dairy, poultry and fishery development and matters of similar nature which are employment-intensive and capable of producing assets of durable nature in consonance with all round development of rural areas.
Power to make Rule.- (1) The State Government may, by Notification, make Rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such Rules may provide for -

(a) the manner of calculation of average annual income from mineral-bearing lands for the purposes of Sub-section (4) of Section 3;

(b) submission of returns and other relevant information as may be necessary for the purposes of Sub-section (2) of Section 4; and

(3) In making any Rule, the State Government may direct that a breach thereof shall be punishable with fine not exceeding five hundred rupees and when the breach is a continuing one, with daily fine not exceeding twenty rupees during the continuance of the breach [and that such fine shall, without prejudice to any other mode of recovery, be recoverable as an arrear of land revenue] .

Schedule

[Clause (c) of Sub-section (2) of Section 3]