Land annuities paid by farmers through a bank are receipted by the bank while payments made directly to my Department are receipted only on request.
The land involved was held by the person named under a Temporary Convenience Agreement from 1982 until November 1991, when the allotment was vested. At that time the account relating to the land was changed from a "rent" account to an "annuity" account to fit in with the changed status of the holding. Due to a clerical error, the payment of £592.20 made by the person named in December, 1991, immediately after the vesting, was lodged to his old "rent" account rather than to the newly created "annuity" account. I regret that as a result, subsequent annuity bills continued to demand the amount already paid. The matter has now been corrected and the present position is that only one instalment of £592.70 due at November, 1992 is outstanding.
The accounting system relating to annuity collection will be examined in the context of implementing the annuity package agreed by the Government last year with a view to achieving maximum efficiency.
