54:4-23.14 Application form; contents; violations, penalties.
14. a. Application for valuation, assessment and taxation of land in agricultural or horticultural use under P.L.1964, c.48 shall be on a form prescribed by the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the State Board of Agriculture, and provided for the use of claimants by the governing bodies of the respective taxing districts. The form of application shall provide for the reporting of information pertinent to the provisions of Article VIII, Section 1, paragraph 1(b) of the Constitution, as amended, and P.L.1964, c.48. The form shall include a plain language recitation and explanation of the guidelines describing generally accepted agricultural and horticultural practices developed and adopted pursuant to subsection a. of section 1 of P.L.2013, c.43 (C.54:4-23.3d) that may be used by municipal tax assessors, county assessors, county tax administrators, and other appropriate local government officials to assist them in determining whether land may be deemed to be in agricultural use, horticultural use, or actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use pursuant to the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.). The applicant shall include with the form of application, in a manner prescribed by the director, proofs of sales of agricultural or horticultural products, and of any other payments, fees, or imputed income received from the agricultural or horticultural use of the land, in the prior year, or clear evidence of anticipated yearly gross sales, payments, fees, or imputed income, amounting to at least $1,000 for the first five acres, or in the case of woodland subject to a woodland management plan pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.3) amounting to at least $500 for the first five acres, or in either case amounting to such sums as may be established by the State Farmland Evaluation Committee pursuant to subsection a. of section 5 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.5).
In the case of land that is the subject of a forest stewardship plan approved by the Department of Environmental Protection pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2009, c.256 (C.13:1L-31) which is fully implemented, and otherwise qualifies under the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.), for valuation, assessment and taxation as land in agricultural or horticultural use pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.3), no proofs required pursuant to this subsection of gross sales, payments, fees, or imputed income, or of clear evidence of anticipated yearly gross sales, payments, fees, or imputed income, need be included with the form or otherwise submitted. However, the applicant shall include documentation demonstrating implementation of the forest stewardship plan, including documentation of scheduled activities, a forest inventory and yield parameters to document forest productivity, and inspections performed, in accordance with rules and regulations adopted for the forest stewardship program by the Department of Environmental Protection.
b.A certification by the landowner that the facts set forth in the application are true may be prescribed by the director to be in lieu of a sworn statement to that effect. Statements so certified shall be considered as if made under oath and subject to the same penalties as provided by law for perjury.
In addition, for a gross and intentional misrepresentation on the application, the landowner shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to $5,000. Any such civil penalty may be imposed and collected by the municipality, the county, or the State, with costs, in a summary proceeding pursuant to the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.). The Superior Court and the municipal court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999" in connection with this subsection. One-half of any civil penalties so collected by a municipality or county shall be dedicated and used by the municipality or county in administering and enforcing the provisions of the "Farmland Assessment Act of 1964," P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.) in the municipality or county. The remaining one-half of any civil penalties so collected by a municipality or county shall be paid by the municipality or county to the State, and together with any civil penalties so collected directly by the State, shall be dedicated and used by the Department of Agriculture and the Division of Taxation in administering and enforcing the provisions of P.L.1964, c.48.
c.Any landowner, except those who have submitted a woodland management plan or a forest stewardship plan pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.3), who is an applicant for valuation, assessment and taxation pursuant to P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.) for lands not previously qualified under P.L.1964, c.48 shall submit with the application a map of land use classes and soil groups that conforms with standards established by the Division of Taxation in consultation with the State Board of Agriculture.
d.For any landowner whose farm management unit is less than seven acres in size, the landowner shall submit with the application form a narrative describing the agricultural or horticultural uses on the farm management unit, the number of acres that will be actively devoted to those uses, and a sketch of the location on the farm management unit of those uses. For the purposes of this subsection, "farm management unit" means a parcel or parcels of land, whether contiguous or noncontiguous, together with agricultural or horticultural buildings, structures and facilities, producing agricultural or horticultural products, and operated as a single enterprise.
e.The director, after consultation with the State Board of Agriculture, shall include with each application a letter or other document explaining any changes to the law, rules, regulations, and guidelines on the valuation, assessment and taxation of land pursuant to P.L.1964, c.48 (C.54:4-23.1 et seq.) that have occurred in the prior tax year and which shall be newly in effect in the tax year for which the application is being submitted.
f.The director shall devise a form for the extension of filing time for the valuation application, which form shall include the name and address of the applicant, the reason for the extension, and a space for the approval or rejection of the assessor.
L.1964, c.48, s.14; amended 1987, c.418, s.4; 1995, c.276, s.7; 2009, c.256, s.15; 2013, c.43, s.4.
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Last modified: October 11, 2016