Law for India and Myanmar
THE LAND AND REVENUE ACT (1879)
CONTENTS
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1. Extent.
2. [….]
3. Interpretation-clause.
Possession.
Revenue officer.
PART II
OF RIGHTS OVER LAND
4. Lands excluded from the operation of Part II: Reserved forests; fisheries; public
roads, etc; towns; dwelling-places; cantonments; civil stations; lands of religious and
educational institutions;
Power to exclude other land
5. Power to define boundaries of excluded lands.
6. Rights which may be acquired over land.
7. Status of landholder how acquired.
8. Landholders’ rights defined.
9-10. [….]
11. Landholders relinquishing possession.
12. Right of landholder to make over land temporarily to revenue officer.
13. And to recover possession within twelve years.
14. Applications to recover possession by persons claiming as succeeding to the rights of
the petitioner.
15. Declaration and record of original acquisition of landholder’s status.
16. Cancellation of such declarations and records.
Fresh declarations.
17. Questions as to original acquisition or as to the loss of landholder’s status how to be
dealt with by civil Courts.
18. Power to make rules for the disposal of available lands.
19. Temporary occupation of available land.
20. Allotment of grazing grounds.
21. Allotments to toungya-cutters.
22. Bar to acquisition of rights over lands disposed of or allotted under sections 18, 20
and 21.
22A. Obligation to report alienation of land.
Penalty for failure to report.
PART III
OF REVENUE AND TAXES
A.Of land-revenue
23. Land liable to land-revenue assessment.
24. Mode of assessment.
25. Rates may be altered.
26. Right to a settlement.
27. Nature of settlement.
28. Rights conferred by settlement.
29. Term of settlement.
30. Continuance of expired settlement until new settlement is made.
B. Of the Five Per Cent.
C. Of the Toungya-tax.
33. Toungya-tax.
34-36. [….]
E. Of Personal Liability for certain revenue and taxes.
37. Personal liability for land-revenue.
38. Personal liability for tax on families.
F. Of the extraction of minerals and licences to collect edible birds’ nests.
38A. Extraction of minerals, and levy of royalties thereon.
39. [….]
40. Power to make rules regarding collection of edible birds’ nests.
G. Miscellaneous.
41. Year of assessment.
42. When increase of rates takes effect.
PART IV
OF ARREARS AND THE MODE OF RECOVERING THEM
43. Revenue, etc., when due, where and to whom payable.
44. “Arrear” and “defaulter” defined.
45. Proceedings against defaulters for recovery of arrears.
46. Proceedings against the land.
47. Where there is a permanent heritable and transferable right in such land.
56 Housing, Land and Property Rights in Burma: The Current Legal Framework
48. Title conferred by purchase at sale under section 47.
49. Proceedings against the land where no permanent heritable and transferable right
exists.
50. Effect of proclamation published under section 49.
51. Costs of proceedings for recovery of arrears.
52. Proceedings against defaulting revenue-officers.
53. Proceedings against sureties of defaulters and revenue-officers.
PART V
MISCELLANEOUS
54. Erection and repair of boundary-marks.
54A. Power to summon witnesses, etc.
54B. Witnesses, etc., bound to speak the truth.
55. Appeals.
56. Bar to jurisdiction of civil courts.
57. Additional powers which may be conferred on revenue-officers.
58. Additional powers to make rules.
59. Penalty for breach of rules.
60. Provisions with respect to rules under this Act.
THE LAND AND REVENUE ACT
India Act II, 1876
1 February 1879
WHEREAS it is expedient to declare the law relating to the acquisition by private persons
of rights in land in the Union of Burma;
And whereas it is expedient also to consolidate and amend the law relating to the assessment and collection of land-revenue, capitation-tax and certain other taxes;
It is hereby enacted as follows:-
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1-(1) This Act extends to Lower Burma and the Thayetmyo District of Upper Burma.
(2) The President of the Union may, by notification, except any area from the operation
of this Act.
2-[….]
3-In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context:
(a) land is said to be in the possession of a person under this Act;
(1) when it is occupied by him, or by his servant, agent, tenant or mortgagee, or by some
other person holding under him;
(2) when he, his servant, agent, tenant, mortgagee or other person holding under him has
paid the revenue which fell due in respect of such land during the last preceding year of
assessment as fixed under section 41;
(3) if such land, left fallow in the ordinary course of husbandry, was, when last cultivated,
cultivated by him, his servant, tenant, agent or mortgagee, or by some other person holding
under him:
Provided that no person shall be deemed to be in possession merely on the grounds
mentioned in the second or third clause of this definition of any land which is occupied by
a person not holding under him, or of any land which he has relinquished by a notice in
writing presented to a revenue-officer at such time of the’ year as the President of the Union
may by rule from time to time appoint in this behalf:
To be continued
