Mr. GIBSON BOWLESI beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, on what ground the Commissioners of Inland Revenue refuse either to accept service of notice to appear, or to appear in the County Court, in cases where the value, as alleged by the Commissioners, of the property does not exceed £10,000 (when cited so to appear under Section 10 (5) of the Finance Act, 1894), and will only appear in the County Court in cases where the dispute between them and the person aggrieved by their decision turns upon the value of the property; and, whether the reading of Section 10, on which the Commissioners base their refusal, is a reading of their own, or that of the Law Officers of the Crown.
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER (Sir M. HICKS BEACH,) Bristol, W.The Commissioners of Inland Revenue are advised that the special jurisdiction created by Section 10 of the Finance Act of 1894 applies only to cases where the dispute as to the amount, of duty payable or claimed turns ultimately on a question as to the value of the property charged. They have submitted a case on this point for the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown, but that opinion has not yet been received.