Assessment of Tenants-in-Common must follow special charging provision for agricultural property, not treated as association of persons.

Persons holding agricultural property as tenants-in-common must be assessed under the statute's specific charging rule for tenants-in-common, which prescribes assessment at the rate applicable to each tenant-in-common; that specific provision displaces treatment as an association of persons where the two conflict. The analysis rejects characterising tenants-in-common as an association of persons for charging purposes and directs application of the special tenants-in-common assessment rule, resulting in revision in favour of the revenue on that ground.

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Issues: Whether persons holding agricultural property as tenants-in-common should be assessed as an association of persons or assessed individually under the special charging provision applicable to tenants-in-common.

Analysis: The Tribunal treated tenants-in-common as an association of individuals and assessed the assessee accordingly. The Court examined the charging provisions and observed that the statute contains a specific provision (section 3(3)) addressing persons holding property as tenants-in-common and prescribing assessment at the rate applicable to each tenant-in-common. The existence of this specific provision indicates that tenants-in-common were intended to be treated differently from associations of persons, and the special provision must be applied to tenants-in-common assessments. The Court also noted that an earlier Tribunal decision relied upon had been reversed by the Court in a related revision petition, underscoring the need to apply section 3(3).

Conclusion: Tenants-in-common holding agricultural property are to be assessed in accordance with the special charging provision for tenants-in-common and not as an association of persons; the revision is allowed in favour of the Revenue.

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