§ 8.30 p.m.
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesI beg to move Amendment No. 177, in page 142, line 3, after 'authority', insert (a)'.
§ Mr. Deputy SpeakerWith this Amendment we may take Government Amendment No. 178.
§ Mr. DaviesThese amendments are to enable a person whose land is being acquired by a local authority or other "net-of-tax" body to require the acquiring authority to give to the Board of Inland Revenue a provisional notice of acquisition at any time after the consideration is agreed but before the disposal takes place. The amendments will allow the vendor to ensure that a provisional notice is given as soon as the consideration or compensation are agreed or determined. In cases of compulsory purchase this will normally be the occasion on which the acquiring authority is bound to give notice, but if this is not so the vendor will be able to require the authority to give provisional notice at this stage.
The amendments result from the debates in Committee about the point made by the right hon. Member for Crosby (Mr. Page) that on compulsory purchase the net-of-tax provisions possibly did not work as well as on a voluntary sale. The point was raised again in yesterday's debate.
Fears were expressed in Committee that a local authority might enter on the land and force a formula deduction. I am not saying that the amendments entirely meet that point, but they impose on the local authority an obligation to inform the vendor so that he can go to the DLT office at an earlier stage and try to obtain a provisional assessment. They do not remove the problem over compulsory purchase, but we have been able to go a small way towards ensuring that the vendor will have early information and may be able to agree a provisional assessment with the Inland Revenue.
§ Amendment agreed to.
1927
§
Amendments made: No. 178, in page 142, line 7, at end add
'but before that disposal takes place, and (b) shall give a provisional notice of acquisition if requested to do so at any such time by the person by whom the material disposal is to be made'.
§
No. 180, in page 143, line 1, leave out from 'forthwith' to end of line 2 and insert
'give notice in writing to the Board of the correction required or, as the case may be, of the withdrawal of the notice previously given.
(8A) Where, in relation to a material disposal, an acquiring authority give a notice to the Board under the preceding provisions of this paragraph, the authority shall give a copy of the notice to the chargeable person'.
§
No. 181, in page 147, line 9, leave out from first 'instrument' to 'a' in line 11 and insert:
'but no such regulations shall be made unless a draft of the regulations has been laid before and approved by'.
§ No. 183, in page 149, line 14, leave out '12th September 1974' and insert 11th May 1976'.
§ No. 186, in line 42, leave out '12th September 1974' and insert 11th May 1976'.—[Mr. Denzil Davies.]
§ Mr. Denzil DaviesI beg to move Amendment No. 188, in page 150, leave out lines 10 to 12.
The amendment goes some way towards meeting the criticism by the right hon. Member for Crosby (Mr. Page) in Committee over the problem of conveyancing and mortgages. It removes the requirement that the existence of a mortgage or charge must be brought to the notice of the acquiring authority if the creditor is to have the protection given by paragraph 8 of Schedule 7. The right hon. Gentleman objected to this and claimed that it would change the whole procedure of conveyancing and exempt the local authority from the normal duties of a purchaser of property. The amendment meets the right hon. Gentleman's criticism.
§ Mr. Graham PageI am obliged to the Minister for making the amendment. It is only a minor improvement, and I object to this procedure altogether.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Amendments made: No. 190, in line 23, leave out '12th September 1974' and insert '11th May 1976'.
1928§ No. 191, in line 29, leave out '12th September 1974' and insert '11th May 1976'.
§
No. 192, in page 152, line 42, leave out from beginning to 'interest' and insert:
'then, subject to sub-paragraph (2) below, the chargeable person shall be credited with'.
§
No. 193, in line 45, leave out from beginning to end of line 2 on page 153 and insert—
'(2) If a sum representing the whole or any part of a DLT deduction is paid to the chargeable person before the reckonable date, he shall not be credited with interest on that sum beyond the date of payment.
(3) Interest with which a person is credited under this paragraph—
and subsection (7) of section 39 of this Act shall apply in relation to any amount treated as having been paid to the Board by virtue of paragraph (c) above as it applies to an amount so treated by virtue of subsection (5)(b) of that section'.—[Mr. Denzil Davies.]