Appeal By The Assessor For Dunbartonshire And Argyll And Bute V. Mohammed Akram And Another
Jurisdiction | Scotland |
Judge | Lord Clarke,Lord Doherty,Lord Justice Clerk |
Judgment Date | 07 December 2011 |
Neutral Citation | [2011] CSIH 79 |
Published date | 07 December 2011 |
Docket Number | XA94/11 |
Court | Court of Session |
Date | 07 December 2011 |
LANDS VALUATION APPEAL COURT, COURT OF SESSION | |
Lord Justice Clerk Lord Clarke Lord Doherty | [2011] CSIH 79 XA94/11 OPINION OF THE LORD JUSTICE CLERK in the Appeal by Stated Case by ASSESSOR FOR DUNBARTONSHIRE & ARGYLL AND BUTE Appellant; against MOHAMMED AKRAM and IFTEKHAR ALI Respondents: ______ |
For appellant: Miss Locke
For respondent: MacIver; McClure Naismith
7 December 2011
Introduction
[1] This is an appeal by the assessor against a decision of the Valuation Appeal Committee for Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute (the Committee) by which it allowed an appeal by the respondents against the entry in the 2005 Valuation Roll relating to the Boulevard Hotel, Clydebank. The Committee heard the appeal along with an appeal relating to the Roundabout Inn, Balloch, which it also allowed (cf Ass for Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute v Hagen [2011] CSIH 80).
[2] The ground of appeal in this case was that there had been a material change of circumstances affecting the value of the subjects during the currency of the Roll. The basis of the appeal was that in preparation for the 2010 Revaluation the assessor had valued the subjects as at 1 April 2008, the tone date for that Revaluation, at a lower rateable value than that which was entered in the 2005 Roll. Therefore, the appellants argued, since the rateable value had fallen by 1 April 2008, which was within the currency of the 2005 Roll, it followed that there had been a material change of circumstances affecting the value entered in the 2005 Roll.
[3] The Committee accepted that proposition. It varied the entry accordingly with effect from 1 April 2009. The assessor contends that that was an error of law.
Some general principles
[4] A valuation roll continues in force until a new roll is prepared after a further revaluation (Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975 Act, s.1(2)). Revaluations are based on values applying at a date two years before the revaluation comes into force (Valuation Timetable (Scotland) Order). The two most recent revaluations came into force on 1 April 2005 and 1 April 2010 respectively. They were based on values assessed as at 1 April 2003 and 1 April 2008 respectively, which were the tone dates for those rolls.
[5] It is a cardinal principle of a revaluation that the new roll should be based on a new assessment of the values of the subjects in the existing roll and not simply on an adjustment of those values. The assessment in a revaluation is based on a fresh appraisal of the subjects without any necessary regard to their earlier values (Whitwell v Ass for Strathclyde Region 1986 SC 37, Lord Clyde at p 42). Each revaluation is therefore a fresh start (Ass for Orkney and Shetland v Beattie 1987 SC 68, Lord Robertson at p.69; Belhaven Brewery Group plc v Glasgow City Ass, 2003 SC 395, Lord Justice Clerk Gill at para [16]).
[6] An essential feature of the system is that a value entered in the roll remains fixed for the duration of the roll unless during its currency there should be a material change of circumstances affecting that value (Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975, ss 2(1)(d); 3(4); 37(1)).
[7] Since the assessor has to revalue the subjects for the new roll at a tone date that invariably falls within the currency of the existing roll, it follows that in almost every case, the new value will be different from that which is in the current roll.
[8] It is of critical importance that the values in the roll should be consistent with one another. Therefore, when a material change of circumstances has been proved, the revised value must be adjusted to the tone of the roll; that is to say, revised to the value that would have applied at the tone date. In this way a common valuation base is maintained throughout the currency of the roll.
The issue
[9] This brief survey of general principles provides the framework in which we have to decide the key issue in this appeal.
[10] I would formulate the issue in the following way: Where the assessor revalues the subjects for the purpose of a forthcoming revaluation as at a tone date that is in an intermediate year, and where the new value is lower than that in the current roll, does the new valuation constitute a material change of circumstances affecting the current value?
The facts
[11] In the 2005 Revaluation the subjects were valued as a hotel in accordance with the 2005 Revaluation Scheme of the Scottish Assessors' Association (SAA) (cf Suburban Taverns (Glasgow) Ltd v Glasgow Ass 2008 SC 298). They were entered in the roll at a net annual value/rateable value of £127,500. That figure was assessed as at 1 April 2003 on the basis of an adjusted turnover of £1,646,580 in the tone year.
[12] In the 2010 Revaluation the subjects were valued in accordance with the SAA Revaluation Scheme for licensed premises/public houses. They were entered in the roll at a NAV/RV of £102,500. That figure was assessed as at 1 April 2008 on the basis of an adjusted turnover of £1,115,076.
The hearing before the Committee
[13] The respondents submitted that as the valuation of the subjects in the 2010 Roll was based on a tone date of 1 April 2008, it was clear that at that date the NAV/RV of the subjects was significantly less than that entered in the 2005 Roll. The NAV/RV assessed for the 2010 Revaluation was calculated on the same statutory definition as that assessed for the 2005 Roll. Therefore if at a date in an intermediate year the NAV/RV of the subjects had fallen...
To continue reading
Request your trial-
The Assessor For Tayside Valuation Joint Board V. Land Securities Plc And Others
...2010 Roll should be reflected in the rateable values entered in the 2010 Roll. [16] In Ass for Dunbartonshire, Argyll and Bute v Akram ([2011] CSIH 79) this court considered the general principles that apply to an entry made at a revaluation (ibid, at paras [4]-[7]). The basic principles ar......
-
Lands Valuation Appeal Courtby Stated Case Hewlett Packard+rolls Royce Plc+teknet Electronics+mackays Stores+total Repair Solutions V. Renfrewshire Assessor+renfrewshire Assessor+renfrewshire Assessor+renfrewshire Assessor+renfrewshire Assessor
...of the subjects in the existing roll and not simply on an adjustment of those values (Ass for Dunbartonshire & Argyll and Bute v Akram [2011] CSIH 79, Lord Justice-Clerk Gill at para 5). Every revaluation is a fresh start involving a fresh appraisal of the subjects without any necessary reg......
-
Assessor for Grampian v Anderson, Anderson and Brown LLP
...[2010] CSIH 92; 2011 SC 272; [2011] RA 259; 2011 GWD 1–53 Dunbartonshire and Argyll & Bute (Assessor for) v Akram and Ali [2011] CSIH 79; 2012 SC 235; [2012] RA 137; 2012 GWD 1–6 Edinburgh (Assessor for) v Hertz Rent-A-Car Co Ltd [1968] RA 735 Fife (Assessor for) v Baxter 1970 RICS 137 Fife......
-
Schuh Limited+the Royal Bank Of Scotland Plc+the Body Shop International Plc+bank Of Scotland Plc+j & W Greaves Limited+sports World International Ltd+phones 4 U Ltd+savers Health And Beauty Plc+optical Express (souther) Ltd+thorntons Plc+lush Retail Ltd+abbey National Plc+barrats Shoes Ltd+superdrug Stores Plc+m.m. Henderson Ltd V. Assessor For Glasgow
...change of circumstances affecting the existing value. We rejected that idea in Ass for Dunbartonshire and Argyll & Bute v Akram and Ali (2012 SC 235) and I see no reason to depart from that decision. The Committee's conclusion [24] The Committee was faced with two opposing interpretations o......