24. Exemption of revenue and payment of cess and surcharge.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Chapter(a)where the Revenue Officer on his own motion or on an application made by a raiyat makes an order that the total area of land held by a raiyat and his family does not exceed 2.428 hectares, the raiyat and his family shall be exempted from paying revenue with effect from the 1st day of Baisakh, 1385 B.S.:Provided that such exemption shall not affect the liability of the raiyat to pay any cess imposed on him under the Cess Act, 1880 (Bengal Act No. 9 of 1880), or the West Bengal Primary Education Act, 1973 (West Bengal Act No. 43 of 1973), or the West Bengal Rural Employment and Production Act, 1976 (West Bengal Act No. 14 of 1976), or any other law for the time being in force, on the basis of the revenue of his land determined under section 23:Provided further that no exemption shall be made in respect of any land which lies within(a)any area within the local limits of a Municipality, or(b)[ xxx ] [[Omitted by the West Bengal Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 2005 (West Bengal Act 28 of 2005), w.e.f. 1.12.2005, published in the Kolkata Gazette, Extraordinary, Part III, dated 11.11.2005. Before omission those read as under:(b)any area constituted by the State Government as a notified area under section 378 of the West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993 (West Bengal Act 22 of 1993), or(c)any area in a newly developing locality as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, or(d)any area within an urban agglomeration as defined in clause (n) of section 2 of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (33 of 1976), or.]](c)[ xxx ] [[Omitted by the West Bengal Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 2005 (West Bengal Act 28 of 2005), w.e.f. 1.12.2005, published in the Kolkata Gazette, Extraordinary, Part III, dated 11.11.2005. Before omission those stood as under:(b)any area constituted by the State Government as a notified area under section 378 of the West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993 (West Bengal Act 22 of 1993), or(c)any area in a newly developing locality as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, or(d)any area within an urban agglomeration as defined in clause (n) of section 2 of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (33 of 1976), or.]](d)[ xxx ] [[Omitted by the West Bengal Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 2005 (W.B. Act 28 of 2005), w.e.f. 1.12.2005, published in the Kolkata Gazette, Extraordinary, Part III, dated 11.11.2005. Before omission those stood as under:(b)any area constituted by the State Government as a notified area under section 378 of the West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993 (West Bengal Act 22 of 1993), or(c)any area in a newly developing locality as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, or(d)any area within an urban agglomeration as defined in clause (n) of section 2 of the Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976 (33 of 1976), or.]](e)any area which is used for mill, factory, workshop or other commercial purposes;[Provided also that notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law for the time being in force, where the revenue under the Act in respect of agricultural land, is nil, the liability of the raiyat to pay any cess imposed on him under the Cess Act, 1880, or the West Bengal Primary Education Act, 1973, or the West Bengal Rural Employment and Production Act, 1976, or any other law for the time being in force, is also nil.] [Inserted by Act No. 42 of 2017, dated 17.10.2017.](b)where the land held by a raiyat and his family is situated in both irrigated and non-irrigated areas, then, for the purposes of calculating the total area of land of the raiyat and his family, one hectare of land in irrigated area shall be deemed to be equivalent to 1.5 hectares of land in non-irrigated area;(c)if any amount already paid by a raiyat is in excess of the revenue payable by him under this section, the amount paid in excess shall be refunded to him, but if there is any deficiency in such payment, such deficiency shall be recovered from him as an arrear of revenue under the Bengal Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913 (Bengal Act No. 3 of 1913), without any claim for interest being made on such deficiency.Explanation.For the purposes of this section, (r) "family", in relation to a raiyat, shall be deemed to consist of himself, his wife, minor sons and unmarried daughters, if any, and (it) "irrigated area" shall have the same meaning as in clause (d) of section 14K.(2)Any person aggrieved by an order made by the Revenue Officer under clause (a) of sub-section (1) may, within thirty days from the date of such order or within such further time as such authority may, on sufficient causes being shown, allow, prefer an appeal to such authority as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify.
