JUDGMENT

Wan Adnan bin Ismail J:

This is an appeal under s. 145 of the Local Government Act 1976 (the Act) against the decision of the respondent whereby the annual value of the land held under Grant No. 4835 Lot 826 Mukim Batu, District Wilayah Persekutuan (the said land) was assessed at the total sum of RM2,994,000.

The appellant is the registered proprietor of the said land which is 199.61 acres in area. The category of land use of the said land is agriculture.

On 18 November 1991 the respondent issued the notice "MENYEMAK SEMULA SENARAI NILAIAN" revising the Annual Valuation List for 1991 of the said land to RM2,994,000. The notice also said:

Adalah dengan ini diberitahu bahawa Datuk Bandar, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur akan menyemak semula Senarai Nilaian 1991 bagi pegangan hartanah yang tersebut di bawah ini pada 31 Disember 1991 dan akan dikuatkuasakan pada 1 haribulan Januari 1992. (Emphasis is added).

In accordance with s. 142 of the Act the appellant made objections to the annual value suggested. The objections were heard on 3 June 1992. By letter dated 27 June 1992 the appellant was informed that the respondent had not accepted the objections raised and that the annual value of the said land would remain at RM2,994,000.

Puan Soliha bt. Ahmad Nasarudin the Valuation Officer of the respondent in her affidavit affirmed on 21 January 1993 inter-alia said:

6. I wish to state that I inspected the subject property and came to the conclusion the property was vacant land for the purposes of determining its annual value under the Local Government Act 1976. The following factors were taken into account in reaching my conclusion that the subject property is vacant land:

(a) The subject property was/is not habited. (b) The workers' quarters were/are abandoned and dilapidated. (c) The subject property consisted of very old rubber trees which were beyond their economic life. (d) There were no physical signs of tapping of the rubber trees.

7. Taking into account the above factors, I verily believe that the land is to be considered as vacant land and hence its annual value is to be assessed under s. 2(c)(ii) of the Local Government Act 1976 (ACT 171) .

Section 2(c)(ii) of the Act provides:

"Annual value" means the estimated gross annual rent at which the holding might reasonably be expected to let from year to year the landlord paying the expenses of repair, insurance, maintenance or upkeep and all public rates and taxes.

Provided that -

(a) ... (b) ... (c) in the case of any land -

(i) ... (ii) which is vacant, unoccupied or not built upon; (iii) ... (iv) ...

the annual value shall be, in the case of subparagraph (i), either the annual value as hereinbefore defined or ten per centum of the open market value thereof at the absolute discretion of the valuation officer, and in the case of subparagraphs (ii), (iii) and (iv) the annual value shall be ten per centum of the open market value thereof as if, in relation to subparagraphs (iii) and (iv), it were vacant land with no buildings thereon and in all cases the local authority may, with the approval of the State Authority, reduce such percentages to a minimum of five per centum;

The question is whether the respondent was correct in regarding the said land as a vacant land.

According to the appellant the said land is used as a rubber estate and the entire land has rubber trees planted on it. The tapping of the rubber trees had been contracted to a contractor named Mr. Kong Fatt Cheong for tapping on an annual basis. The rent payable by the said contractor had been agreed at RM1,000 per month and in addition to the monthly rent, the Contractor also paid a price incentive. As proof of the arrangement Mr. Ng Beh Tong the appellant's Director and General Manager produced the written contracts for the years 1990, 1991 and 1992 by his affidavit affirmed on 9 July 1992. The last contract dated 1 January 1992 was for the period up to 30 June 1992. Mr. Ng also stated in the affidavit that the rubber trees on th