7. (1) The Collector shall, on or before such date in each agricultural year, as may be prescribed, publish a notice requiring every land-holder who is liable to pay holding tax to furnish to such assessing authority and within such period not being more than thirty days as may be specified in the notice, a return verified in the prescribed manner, setting forth the area and other particulars of all land held by him as such.
(2) A notice may also be served in such manner, as may be prescribed, on every such land-holder who, in the opinion of the assessing authority, is liable to the payment of holding tax requiring him to furnish within such period not being less than thirty days as may be specified in the notice, a return in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner. Along with the notice the assessing authority shall also send a statement showing the provisional estimates of the annual valuation of the land holding of such person and the tax payable by him. The estimates shall be prepared in such form and shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed:
Provided that the assessing authority may, in his discretion, extend for a period not exceeding thirty days, the date for the filing of the return.
(3) Where the land-holder to whom the provisions of second proviso to sub-section (1) of section 6 are applicable files a return in pursuance of the notice under sub-section (1) or (2) he shall, along with the return, also file a declaration indicating his choice of the assessing authority in terms of the proviso aforesaid.
(4)Where the notice served under sub-section (2) is subsequently discovered to be defective and it becomes necessary to serve a fresh notice, the same may still be served notwith standing that the agricultural year may have expired provided that the former was served in time and a period of three years has not elapsed since then.