Valuations Commissioner steers clear

Ramoutar has gone on affidavit in support of his office in the legal challenge of former UNC minister Devant Maharaj. Ramoutar’s affidavit was sworn to and filed on June 21. Ramoutar said the press release of the Ministry in April, which set out the process for property owners to submit the Valuation Return Forms (VRF), was issued by the ministry’s communications department and not his office.

He added that neither he nor anyone in his office was the administrator of the ministry’s website, which also set out the process.

Ramoutar admitted that valuers from his office went on an early morning television programme where they referenced a $500 fine for failing to submit the VRFs. He said these valuers were not briefed by him and did not speak on his behalf or authority.

The Commissioner of Valuations made it clear that the public can be under no misapprehension or confusion that the data collection exercise was wholly voluntary in nature and failure to supply the information contained in the VRFs did not attract any sanctions. “I have never purported to exercise any mandatory or coercive power to require property owners to submit a VRF or supply any supporting documents or other information.

“I have never threatened or intimated any intention to cause criminal proceedings to be initiated against any property owner to cause criminal proceedings to be initiated against any property owner who has not supplied same to the office,” he said in his affidavit.

The submission of the VRFs were challenged by Maharaj in his lawsuit against the state. The matter will be heard by Justice Frank Seepersad on September 19 and 21st. Two interim orders granted by Seepersad, which put a temporary halt to the data collection exercise, were eventually dismissed by the Court of Appeal which held that the submission of the VRFs were voluntary and will not attract a $500 fine. In their ruling, the judges also made it clear that the data collection exercise (submission of the VRFs) was the statutory responsibility of the Commissioner of Valuations alone.