Statutory design and legal nature of the land reclamation fee

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine a legal nature of a land reclamation fee. Therefore, the provisions of the Water Law Act regulating its legal design, as well as the principles of an assessment and conditions of payment were analysed and assessed. It is shown that combining the two fees applied so far, i.e. land reclamation fee and investment fee, is fully justified due to the new method of keeping records of land reclamation facilities. The statutory regulations concerning the new land reclamation fee are important points indicating its non-uniform legal nature. The study positively verified the thesis that formally it is a fee, but at the same time, it serves as a surcharge. For landowners obliged to pay it, it is a financial burden incurred in connection with a use of the effects of the land reclamation facilities. At the same time, by paying such fees, landowners participate in costs of implementing these facilities financed from public funds. The manner in which the land reclamation fee is standardised, the principles of its payment, and the possibility of compulsory collection of overdue fees by means of administrative enforcement determine its recognition as a type of public tribute combining features characteristics of public fees and surcharges. The proceeds from these fees are a source of revenue for the state budget. The dogmatic and legal method supplemented by the exploration of the court jurisdiction regarding the land reclamation fee was used in the study.

Keywords

• public fee
• state treasury
• land reclamation equipment
• land reclamation fee
• state budget