A. Subject to the limitations provided herein, any county, city, or town or public service corporation or other entity whose property is assessed by the State Corporation Commission or the Department of Taxation aggrieved by the Department of Taxation’s ascertainment of the applicable local assessment ratio prevailing for such taxing district as specified in subsection A of § 58.1-2604, may petition to the Circuit Court for the City of Richmond for correction of such ratio. Such petition must be filed within three months after the Department of Taxation gives notice of the applicable prevailing local assessment ratios to all counties, cities, towns, and to the Commission pursuant to subsection A of § 58.1-2604. This section shall apply only to counties, cities and towns in which a public service corporation’s property represents twenty-five percent or more of the total assessed value of real estate in such county, city or town.

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Terms Used In Virginia Code 58.1-2670.1

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
  • Commission: means the State Corporation Commission which is hereby designated pursuant to Article X, § 2 of the Constitution of Virginia as the central state agency responsible for the assessment of the real and personal property of all public service corporations, except those public service corporations for which the Department of Taxation is so designated, upon which the Commonwealth levies a license tax measured by the gross receipts of such corporations. See Virginia Code 58.1-2600
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Department: means the Department of Taxation which is hereby designated pursuant to Article X, § 2 of the Constitution of Virginia as the central state agency to assess the real and personal property of railroads and pipeline transmission companies as defined herein. See Virginia Code 58.1-2600
  • real estate: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights and appurtenances thereto and interests therein, other than a chattel interest. See Virginia Code 1-219
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
  • Supreme Court: means the Supreme Court of Virginia. See Virginia Code 1-249
  • Town: means any existing town or an incorporated community within one or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1, 1971, as provided by law or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-254
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.

B. Any proceeding maintained under this section shall name the Department of Taxation and the applicable public service corporation, other entity whose property is assessed by the State Corporation Commission or the Department of Taxation, and the county, city or town which is the taxing district, as respondents. The action shall be conducted in accordance with the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia applicable to suits in equity, and no trial by jury will be permitted.

C. If the Circuit Court finds the local assessment ratio as ascertained by the Department of Taxation to be erroneous, it shall determine the correct local assessment ratio and shall order the Department of Taxation to adopt the corrected ratio as its prevailing local assessment ratio and provide such corrected ratio to the Commission in accordance with subsection A of § 58.1-2604.

D. If a suit is commenced by any party under this section, the period of time for any county, city, town or public service corporation or other entity whose property is assessed by the State Corporation Commission in which to file a petition with the Commission, pursuant to § 58.1-2670, challenging the ascertainment of, or the assessment for taxation of, the value of any property of any public service corporation assessed by the Commission, shall commence to run on the date of the final order entered by the Circuit Court or, in the event of an appeal, on the date of the final order of the Supreme Court of Virginia.

1993, c. 528.