PUTRA & CO SDN. BHD. v Pentadbir Tanah Daerah Kota Setar

Case Significance

Instructive on the reassessment of compensation for an acquired commercial petrol-station site on a land reference under section 38(1) of the Land Acquisition Act 1960, and on the applicant's burden of proving heads such as building structures and prepaid lease tax.

This High Court decision at Alor Setar, Kedah, is a land reference under section 38(1) of the Land Acquisition Act 1960, in which the owner of an acquired petrol-station site objected to the Land Administrator's compensation award. The applicant company's land, a freehold parcel in Bandar Alor Setar categorised for building use with an express condition for a petrol station, had been acquired under a gazette notification in December 2021 for a bridge-replacement project. The Land Administrator had awarded compensation comprising the value of the land taken at a rate per square metre together with a cost of finding replacement premises. The applicant objected under Form N that the compensation was too low and did not reflect the current market value, that the legal fees for purchasing replacement property had not been paid, that there was a loss of income after the lease was to end, and that no compensation had been allowed for the petrol-station structures, equipment and underground tanks or for prepaid lease tax. The court, per Mohd Aimi Zaini bin Mohd Azhar JC, sitting with a government assessor and a private assessor whose opinions it obtained, allowed the application and revised the award. It increased the compensation for the land taken to a higher rate per square metre, producing a substantial balance payable over the Land Administrator's award, and it substituted the award for the cost of new premises with an award for loss of income. It agreed with the assessors, however, that the applicant's claims for compensation for the building structures and for the lease tax had not been proved and should be rejected. The court ordered that the sums carry interest at 5% per annum from the date of the relevant statutory form until full settlement, fixed the assessors' fees, ordered the return of the deposit, and directed that a portion of the award be paid into the applicant's solicitors' client account as stakeholder. The judgment is instructive on the reassessment of compensation for an acquired commercial site and on the burden of proving heads such as building structures and prepaid tax.