The Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1989

Made: 12th March 1989

Laid before Parliament: 17th March 1989

Coming into force

The Secretary of State for the Environment as respects England, and the Secretary of State for Wales as respects Wales, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 5(3)(d), 10(6), 12(6), 14(7), 19, 23(3), 25, 31(10), 40(3), (4), (11) and (12), 143(1) and (2) and 146(6) of, and paragraph 10(1)(b) and (2) of Schedule 1, paragraphs 1 to 4, 6 to 8, 10 to 13 and 15 to 18 of Schedule 2, paragraph 6 of Schedule 3 and paragraphs 1 to 5, 7 to 24 and 26 to 28 of Schedule 4 to, the Local Government Finance Act 1988[^f00001], and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Regulations:

PART I — GENERAL

Citation, commencement and interpretation

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• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1989 and except as mentioned in paragraph (2) shall come into force on 7th April 1989.

• (2) Regulations 4 and 5 of these Regulations shall come into force on 22nd May 1989.

• (3) In these Regulations “the Act” means the Local Government Finance Act 1988.

Service of notices

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Where any notice which is required or authorised by these Regulations to be given to or served on any person falls to be given or served by or on behalf of the Common Council or by an officer of the Common Council, it may be given or served in any manner in which it might be given or served under section 233 of the Local Government Act 1972[^f00002] if the Common Council were a local authority within the meaning of that section.

PART II — INFORMATION AND INSPECTION

Duty to supply information to registration officers

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• (1) A person who has reason to believe he is or has been subject at any time on or after 1st December 1989 to a community charge of a charging authority shall inform the appropriate registration officer accordingly.

• (2) A person who is shown in a charging authority’s register as subject to a community charge of the authority and who has reason to believe that the item concerned contains an error or is not complete or up-to-date shall inform the appropriate registration officer accordingly.

• (3) The information mentioned in paragraphs (1) and (2) is to be supplied within 21 days of the day on which the person first had reason to believe as mentioned in those paragraphs.

• (4) In this regulation “the appropriate registration officer” means the registration officer of the charging authority with respect to whose community charge the person–

• (a) has reason to believe he is or has been subject, or

• (b) is shown as subject,

as the case may be.

Responsible individuals

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• (1) The registration officer for a charging authority may, with the object of enabling him to form a view whether the responsible individual or any other person is, has been or is about to become subject to a community charge of the authority by virtue of any relevant property, request (by notice given in writing) a responsible individual as regards that property to supply to him such information as is specified in the notice.

• (2) Each of the following is a responsible individual as regards any relevant property for the purposes of this regulation (so that one or more individuals may be responsible individuals with respect to the same property)–

• (a) every individual aged 18 or over who is in occupation of the property,

• (b) every individual aged 18 or over who holds a lease or underlease of the property, or who owns the property, and

• (c) such other individual aged 18 or over whom the registration officer considers it appropriate to designate from time to time as a responsible individual with respect to the property.

• (3) Information requested under paragraph (1) shall be supplied by the person requested to supply it if it is in his possession or control, and shall be so supplied within 21 days of the day on which the request is made.

• (4) Without prejudice to section 233 of the Local Government Act 1972, a notice given under paragraph (1) in respect of persons falling within paragraph (2)(a) may be served by addressing it by the description of “occupier” of the relevant property (naming the relevant property) and by leaving it at, or (if the property has a postal address) by sending it by post to, the relevant property.

• (5) If more than one person falls within the description in paragraph (2)(a) in respect of any relevant property and a notice given under paragraph (1) is served in the manner described in paragraph (4), their duty to supply the information is satisfied if one of the occupiers supplies it on behalf of all of them.

• (6) A registration officer may revoke a designation under paragraph (2)(c).

• (7) If any relevant property is a building or part of a building, an individual owns it for the purposes of paragraph (2)(b) only if he owns a freehold estate in it.

• (8) In this regulation “relevant property” means a building, a part of a building, a caravan or a houseboat.

Other information from individuals

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• (1) The registration officer for a charging authority may, for the purpose of carrying out his functions under Part I of the Act, request (by notice given in writing) any person falling within paragraph (2) to supply to him such information as is specified in the notice.

• (2) A person falls within this paragraph if he is a person the officer making the request reasonably believes is, has been or is about to become subject to a community charge of the authority for which the officer is the registration officer.

• (3) Information requested under paragraph (1) shall be supplied by the person requested to supply it if it is in his possession or control, and shall be so supplied within 21 days of the day on which the request is made.

Information from public bodies

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• (1) The registration officer for a charging authority may, for the purpose of carrying out his functions under Part I of the Act, request (by notice given in writing) a person mentioned in paragraph (3) to supply to the officer such information as is specified in the notice and does not fall within paragraph (2).

• (2) Information falls within this paragraph if–

• (a) the information was obtained by the person concerned, or by a committee of such a person, in its capacity as police authority, or as a constituent council of such an authority,

• (b) the information was obtained by the person concerned in its capacity as an employer, or

• (c) the information consists of other than the name, address and any past or present place of residence of any person and the dates during which he is known or thought to have resided at that place.

• (3) The persons referred to in paragraph (1) are–

• (a) the registration officer for any other charging authority,

• (b) the charging authority for which the officer making the request is the registration officer,

• (c) any other charging authority,

• (d) any precepting authority, and

• (e) the electoral registration officer for any area in England and Wales.

• (4) Information requested under paragraph (1) shall be supplied by the person requested to supply it if it is in his possession or control, and it shall be so supplied within 21 days of the day on which the request is made.

• (5) A registration officer for a charging authority may (so far as he does not have the power to do so apart from this Part) supply relevant information to a registration officer for another charging authority even if he is not requested to supply the information.

• (6) Information is relevant information for the purposes of paragraph (5) if–

• (a) it was obtained by the first-mentioned officer in exercising his functions under Part I of the Act, and

• (b) he believes it would be useful to the other officer in exercising his functions under that Part.

Supply of information to Secretary of State

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• (1) The Secretary of State may, for the purpose of carrying out his functions under Part I of the Act, request (by notice given in writing) a registration officer for a charging authority to supply to him information which is specified in the notice and which was obtained by the officer for the purpose of carrying out his functions under that Part.

• (2) Information requested under paragraph (1) shall be supplied by the officer if it is in his possession or control, and shall be so supplied within 21 days of the day on which the request is made.

Use of information by charging authority

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In carrying out its functions under Part I of the Act, a charging authority may use information obtained under any other enactment provided it was not obtained by the authority, or by a committee of the authority, in its capacity as police authority, or as a constituent council of a police authority.

Notification of chargeable persons

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• (1) Where a person becomes or ceases to be subject to a charging authority’s community charge, and a registration officer makes an entry in the register accordingly, as soon as is reasonably practicable after doing so he shall send the person a copy of the item contained in the register in relation to the charge.

• (2) Where a registration officer amends an item contained in the register in order to correct an error or render the item more complete or up-to-date, as soon as is reasonably practicable after doing so he shall send the person shown in the register as subject to the charge concerned a copy of the amended item.

Inspection of the register by chargeable persons

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• (1) A person shown in a charging authority’s register as subject at any time to a community charge of the authority may, at a reasonable place and time stated by the registration officer, inspect the item contained in the register in relation to the charge.

• (2) If such a person requests the registration officer to supply a copy of such an item, the officer shall supply the copy to the person; but the authority may require a reasonable charge in respect of the supply of the copy, and if it does so the duty to supply it shall not arise unless the person pays the charge.

• (3) If the register is not kept in documentary form, the duty to make an item available for inspection or to supply a copy of an item is satisfied if a print-out, photographic image or other reproduction of the item which has been obtained from the storage medium adopted in relation to the register is made available for inspection or is supplied (as the case may be).

Extracts of the register for public inspection

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• (1) Every registration officer is to compile and then maintain–

• (a) an extract taken from the information for the time being contained in the charging authority’s register containing the information described in paragraph (2), and

• (b) a list of the addresses of buildings and parts of buildings for the time being designated by the registration officer for the purposes of the charging authority’s collective community charges.

• (2) Subject to paragraph (3), the information to be contained in an extract compiled and maintained under paragraph (1)(a) is the address of every residence, property or dwelling (as the case may be) by virtue of which a person is subject to a community charge of the authority, together with the surname or family name of the person and the initial letters of any other names of his, without indication of sex.

• (3) The information mentioned in paragraph (2) with respect to a person shall not be included in the extract if, in the view of the registration officer, there is cause to believe that such inclusion might result in that or any other person being subject (whether in consequence of matrimonial dispute or otherwise) to threat of violence.

• (4) The duty to compile and maintain an extract under paragraph (1)(a) is satisfied if the information required to be contained in it is entered in it not more than 6 months after the day the relevant information is entered in the register.

• (5) An extract compiled and maintained under paragraph (1)(a)–

• (a) shall be so organised that any address required to be contained in it immediately precedes the name of the person subject to the charge in relation to the address,

• (b) shall not list the information required to be contained in it according to an order established by reference to the person’s surname or family name, and

• (c) shall not identify whether the community charge which arises by virtue of any residence, property or dwelling is a personal, standard or collective community charge.

• (6) Any person may, at a reasonable time and place stated by the registration officer, inspect an extract and list maintained as mentioned in paragraph (1).

• (7) Except so far as is necessary for the inspection of the extract or list in a case where paragraph (8) applies, the registration officer may not supply a copy of the extract and list to any person.

• (8) If the extract or list are not maintained in documentary form, the duty to make them available for inspection is satisfied if a print-out, photographic image or other reproduction of them which has been obtained from the storage medium adopted in relation to them is made available for inspection.

Inspection of records supplied

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An authority which, or an officer who, has received a copy of records under paragraph 1(4) of Schedule 2 shall allow a copy to be inspected by any individual liable to pay an amount to the chargeable person concerned under section 9 of the Act by way of contribution to the amount the chargeable person is liable to pay in respect of the charge to which the records relate.

PART III — BILLING

Interpretation and application of Part III

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• (1) In this Part–

• “demand notice” means the notice required to be served by regulation 14; and

• “the relevant year” in relation to a notice means the chargeable financial year to which the notice relates.

• (2) In this Part, “chargeable person” in relation to a chargeable financial year and a charging authority means a person entered on the authority’s community charges register as subject in the year to a community charge of the authority; and in relation to a demand notice which falls to be issued before the chargeable financial year to which it relates, it includes a person who is shown in the authority’s community charges register as subject to the charge concerned before the year begins and who is not shown at the time as ceasing to be subject to the charge on or before 1st April in the year.

• (3) But a person is not to be treated for the purposes of this Part as shown as subject to a standard community charge on any day on which the property by virtue of which he is subject to it is shown in the register as falling for the day into a class for which the standard community charge multiplier is 0; and references in this Part to a person being or becoming subject to a charge, ceasing to be subject to a charge, or becoming subject again to the same charge, and to the day on which he is so shown, shall be construed accordingly.

• (4) Where references are made in this Part to the day on or time at which a notice is issued, they shall be taken to be references–

• (a) if the notice is served in the manner described in section 233(2) of the Local Government Act 1972 by being left at, or sent by post to, a person’s proper address, to the day on or time at which it is so left or posted, or

• (b) in any other case, to the day on or time at which the notice is served.

• (5) References in this Part to a person shown (or not shown) in a community charges register as subject on a day to a community charge, or to the day on which a person is shown in a community charges register as becoming subject or ceasing to be subject to a community charge, shall (subject to paragraph (3)) be construed in accordance with section 8 of the Act.

• (6) This Part applies (amongst other matters) for the making of payments in relation to amounts that a person is liable to pay in respect of community charges as they have effect for a chargeable financial year; but its application in relation to a charge in respect of which a person has a joint and several liability under Part I of the Act is subject to the provisions of regulations 22 and 23 (joint and several liability).

• (7) The provisions of this Part which provide for the repayment or crediting of any amount or the adjustment of payments due under a notice (including in particular paragraph 7 of Schedule 1) shall have effect subject to section 36(2) of the Act.

• (8) References in this Part to a community charge do not include references to a charge to which persons are jointly subject under regulation 59 (co-owners), and references to a chargeable person shall be construed accordingly

The requirement for demand notices

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• (1) For each chargeable financial year a charging authority shall serve a notice in writing on every chargeable person of the authority in accordance with regulations 15 to 18.

• (2) Different notices shall be served for different chargeable financial years; and if a chargeable person is subject in any chargeable financial year to different community charges (whether by virtue of section 7(1) to (4) of the Act or otherwise), different notices shall be served in respect of each charge.

Service of demand notices

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• (1) In the case of a personal community charge, the demand notice is to be served on or as soon as practicable after–

• (a) except in a case falling within sub-paragraph (b), the day the charging authority has set the amount of its personal community charge for the relevant year for that part of its area which contains the residence by virtue of which the person is shown in the charging authority’s register as subject to the charge, or

• (b) if the person is not shown as subject to the charge on that day nor (in the event of a failure to meet the duty under section 32(2) of the Act) on any day in the relevant year preceding that day, the day on which the person is shown in the authority’s register as becoming subject to it.

• (2) In the case of a standard community charge, the demand notice is to be served on or as soon as practicable after–

• (a) except in a case falling within sub-paragraph (b), the day the charging authority has set the amount of its personal community charge for the relevant year for that part of its area which contains the property by virtue of which the person is shown in the charging authority’s register as subject to the charge, or

• (b) if the person is not shown as subject to the charge on that day nor (in the event of a failure to meet the duty under section 32(2) of the Act) on any day in the relevant year preceding that day, the day on which the person is shown in the authority’s register as becoming subject to it.

• (3) In the case of a collective community charge, the demand notice is to be served on or as soon as practicable after–

• (a) except in a case falling within sub-paragraph (b), the day the charging authority has set the amount of its personal community charge for the relevant year for that part of its area which contains the building constituting or containing the designated dwelling by virtue of which the person is shown in the charging authority’s register as subject to the charge, or

• (b) if the person is not shown as subject to the charge on that day nor (in the event of a failure to meet the duty under section 32(2) of the Act) on any day in the relevant year preceding that day, the day on which the person is shown in the authority’s register as becoming subject to it.

• (4) The part of a charging authority’s area in which a residence, property or building is situated shall be determined for the purposes of this regulation in accordance with any rules for the time being in force under section 10(6), 12(6) or 14(7) of the Act (as the case may be).

Demand notices: personal and standard community charges

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• (1) This regulation applies to demand notices served with respect to a personal or standard community charge.

• (2) If the demand notice is issued before or during the relevant year and the chargeable person is shown in the charging authority’s community charges register as subject to the charge on the day on which the notice is issued, the notice shall require payment of the amount specified in paragraph (3).

• (3) The amount is the charging authority’s estimate of the amount that the person will be liable to pay in respect of the charge as it has effect for the relevant year, made as respects periods in the year after the issue of the notice on the following assumptions–

• (a) that the person will be subject to the community charge to which the notice relates on every day after the issue of the notice;

• (b) if he is shown in the register as undertaking a full-time course of education on the day the notice is issued, that he will undertake such a course on every day after the issue of the notice;

• (c) if the notice is issued with respect to a standard community charge, that the property by virtue of which he is shown in the register as subject to the charge will on every day after the issue of the notice be in the class specified in regulation 62 in which it is shown in the register as falling on the day the notice is issued; and

• (d) if on the day the notice is issued a notification as to a community charge benefit to which he is entitled is in force under regulations made under section 31C(1) of the Social Security Act 1986[^f00003], and by virtue of regulations made under section 31A(1) of that Act the benefit allowed under that notification takes the form of a reduction in the amount the person is liable to pay in respect of the charge as it has effect with respect to that day, that on every day after that day he will be allowed the same reduction in that amount.

• (4) If the demand notice is issued during the relevant year and if the chargeable person is not shown in the authority’s register as subject to the charge on the day on which the notice is issued, the demand notice is to require payment of an amount equal to the person’s liability in respect of the charge as it has effect for the period in the year up to the day on which he is last shown as ceasing to be subject to the charge.

• (5) If a notice is served to which paragraph (4) applies, and after the person has been shown as ceasing to be subject to the charge he is subsequently shown as becoming subject again to the same charge in the year, a further notice shall be served on the chargeable person requiring payments in respect of the charge as it has effect for the period in the year after he is shown as becoming so subject; and regulations 15 to 17, 19 and 20 (and, so far as applicable, Schedule 1) shall apply to the further notice with respect to that period, and the sum payable by the chargeable person with respect to that period, as if it were a demand notice given in relation to a different charge.

• (6) If the demand notice is issued after the end of the relevant year, it shall require payment of the amount for which the chargeable person is liable in respect of the charge as it has effect for the year.

• (7) If, after a demand notice to which paragraph (2) applies has been issued with respect to a standard community charge, an authority varies under section 40(6) of the Act a standard community charge multiplier as it applies to the property in relation to which the charge arises so that the estimate mentioned in paragraph (3) turns out to be wrong, the notice shall have no effect; and if the multiplier for the year is varied to other than 0 the charging authority shall as soon as practicable issue a fresh demand notice with respect to the charge.

Personal and standard community charges: payments

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• (1) Unless an agreement under paragraph (3) in relation to the relevant year has been reached between the charging authority and the chargeable person before the demand notice is issued, a notice to which regulation 16(2) applies shall require the amount mentioned in regulation 16(3) to be paid by instalments in accordance with Part I of Schedule 1; and where such instalments are required Part II of the Schedule applies for their cessation or adjustment in the circumstances described in that Part.

• (2) If an agreement under paragraph (3) in relation to the relevant year has been reached between the charging authority and the chargeable person before the demand notice is issued, a notice to which regulation 16(2) applies shall require the amount mentioned in regulation 16(3) to be paid in accordance with that agreement.

• (3) A charging authority and a chargeable person may agree that the amount mentioned in regulation 16(3) which is required to be paid under a notice to which regulation 16(2) applies should be paid in such manner as is provided by the agreement, rather than in accordance with Schedule 1.

• (4) Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this regulation, such an agreement may be entered into either before or after the demand notice concerned is issued, and may make provision for the cessation or adjustment of payments, and for the making of fresh estimates, in the event of the estimate mentioned in regulation 16(3) turning out to be wrong; and if it is entered in into after the demand notice has been issued, it may make provision dealing with the treatment for the purposes of the agreement of any sums paid in accordance with Schedule 1 before it was entered into.

• (5) A notice to which regulation 16(4) or (6) applies shall require payment of the amount concerned on the expiry of such period (being not less than 14 days) after the day of issue of the notice as is specified in it.

Collective community charges

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• (1) A demand notice served with respect to a collective community charge shall require payments in respect of the charge as it has effect for the relevant year in accordance with paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 2.

• (2) Part I of that Schedule shall also have effect for the compiling, retention, inspection and copying of records, the submission of returns and the adjustment of instalments in relation to such a charge.

• (3) A person’s liability to pay an amount under section 9 of the Act by way of contribution in relation to a collective community charge shall be discharged by the making of payments in accordance with Part II of Schedule 2; and information and receipts shall be supplied in accordance with that Part.

Notices: further provision

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• (1) The calculation of such an amount as is mentioned in regulations 16(4) or (6) or paragraph 6(3) of Schedule 1 shall be made (so far as is relevant) by reference to the contents of the charging authority’s community charges register at the time that the relevant notice given with respect to the amount is issued.

• (2) No payment in respect of the amount that a chargeable person is liable to pay by way of community charge as it has effect for a chargeable financial year (whether interim, final or sole) need be made unless a notice served under this Part requires it.

• (3) Where–

• (a) a person is entered in the registers of two or more charging authorities as subject on the same day or days in a chargeable financial year to personal community charges of the authorities,

• (b) he is liable to pay an amount under the Act to each authority in respect of its charge as it has effect for the year, and

• (c) one or more of the entries is subject to an appeal or arbitration,

while any such appeal or arbitration is outstanding no amount shall be payable by virtue of any of the entries other than the entry which was made first.

• (4) A person is liable to pay an amount for the purposes of paragraph (3)(b) notwithstanding that a notice remains to be given under this Part for a payment in respect of it to become due.

• (5) An entry is to be treated as subject to an appeal or arbitration for the purposes of paragraph (3) upon the service of a notice in respect of it by the person in accordance with section 24 of the Act, and is to be treated as outstanding until any appeal under section 23 of the Act or arbitration under regulations made under paragraph 4 of Schedule 11 to the Act in relation to the matter by which he stated he was aggrieved in the notice is finally disposed of or abandoned or fails for non-prosecution; and the circumstances in which an appeal is to be treated as failing for non-prosecution include the expiry of any time prescribed under paragraph 8(2)(a) of that Schedule in consequence of which any such appeal would be required to be dismissed by a valuation and community charge tribunal.

• (6) If on the first day on which any of the entries referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (3) is made, two or more such entries are made, for the purposes of that paragraph–

• (a) such one of the entries made on the first day as may be specified by the chargeable person within 14 days of the day on which, under regulation 9, he has received copies of the items required to be sent to him in relation to those entries, or

• (b) in the absence of such a specification, such one of the entries made on the first day as may be agreed by the authorities concerned or, in the absence of such agreement, as may be determined by lot,

shall be treated as being the first entry.

• (7) Any demand notice which relates to an entry with respect to which no amount is payable in consequence of paragraph (3) and which is given before the appeal or arbitration concerned is finally disposed of, abandoned or fails for non-prosecution shall be of no effect.

Failure to pay instalments: personal and standard community charges

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• (1) Where–

• (a) a demand notice has been served by a charging authority on a chargeable person,

• (b) instalments are payable in respect of the charge to which the notice relates in accordance with Schedule 1,

• (c) any such instalment is not paid in accordance with that Schedule,

the charging authority shall (unless all the instalments have fallen due) serve a further notice on the chargeable person stating the instalments required to be paid.

• (2) If the chargeable person fails, within the period of 7 days beginning with the day of service of the further notice, to pay any instalments which are or will become due before the expiry of that period, the unpaid balance of the estimated amount shall become payable by him at the expiry of a further period of 7 days beginning with the day of the failure.

• (3) If the chargeable amount proves to be greater than the estimated amount an additional sum equal to the difference between the two shall, on the service by the charging authority on the chargeable person of a notice stating the chargeable amount, be due from the person to the authority on the expiry of such period (being not less than 14 days) after the day of issue of the notice as is specified in it.

• (4) If the chargeable amount proves to be less than the estimated amount the charging authority shall notify the chargeable person in writing of the chargeable amount; and any overpayment of the chargeable amount–

• (a) subject to paragraph (8), shall be repaid if the chargeable person so requires, or

• (b) in any other case shall (as the charging authority determines) either be repaid or be credited against any subsequent liability of the person to make a payment in respect of any community charge of the authority.

• (5) If any factor or assumption by reference to which the estimated amount was calculated is shown to be false before the chargeable amount is capable of final determination for the purposes of paragraphs (3) and (4), the charging authority may, and if so required by the chargeable person shall, make a calculation of the appropriate amount with a view to adjusting the chargeable person’s liability in respect of the estimated amount and (as appropriate) to–

• (a) requiring an interim payment from the chargeable person if the appropriate amount is greater than the estimated amount, or

• (b) subject to paragraph (8), making an interim repayment to the chargeable person if the appropriate amount is less than the amount of the estimated amount paid.

• (6) The appropriate amount for the purposes of paragraph (5) is the amount which would be required to be paid under a demand notice if such a notice were issued with respect to the relevant year on the day that the notice under paragraph (7) is issued; and more than one calculation of the appropriate amount and interim adjustment may be made under paragraph (5) according to the circumstances.

• (7) On calculating the appropriate amount the charging authority shall notify the chargeable person in writing of it; and a payment required under paragraph (5)(a) shall be due from the chargeable person to the charging authority on the expiry of such period (being not less than 14 days) after the day of issue of the notice as is specified in it.

• (8) If the chargeable amount or the appropriate amount is less than the estimated amount in consequence of the chargeable person being shown in the community charges register as ceasing during the relevant year to be subject to the community charge to which the estimated amount relates, and the chargeable person is shown as becoming subject to a different community charge of the same charging authority on the same day as that on which he is shown as so ceasing, the charging authority may require that the amount of any overpayment mentioned in paragraph (4) or difference mentioned in paragraph (5)(b) should, instead of being repaid, be credited against the subsequent liability of the chargeable person in respect of the different charge.

• (9) In this regulation–

• “the appropriate amount” has the meaning given in paragraph (6);

• “the chargeable amount” means the amount that the chargeable person is liable to pay in respect of the community charge to which the demand notice mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) relates as it has effect for the relevant year; and

• “the estimated amount” means the amount last estimated under regulation 16(3) for the purposes of that notice or any subsequent notice given under paragraph 7(2) of Schedule 1 prior to the failure mentioned in paragraph (2) above, save that if in any case an interim adjustment has been made under paragraph (5), it means in relation to the next payment, repayment or interim adjustment in that case under this regulation (if any) the appropriate amount by reference to which the previous interim adjustment was so made.

Failure to submit returns or pay instalments: collective community charges

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• (1) Where–

• (a) a demand notice has been served by a charging authority on a chargeable person in respect of a collective community charge, and

• (b) the chargeable person fails to submit a return or to pay an instalment in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3(1) to (3) and 4 of Schedule 2 on or before the day on which the return or the payment is due,

the unpaid balance of the estimated amount mentioned in paragraph (2) shall, subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), become payable by him on the day after the end of the period of 14 days beginning with the day of the failure.

• (2) The estimated amount is the charging authority’s estimate of the amount that the chargeable person will be liable to pay in respect of the charge as it has effect for the relevant year, made (so far as relevant) on the assumptions mentioned in paragraph (5).

• (3) Paragraph (1) does not apply where returns have been submitted for all the periods in the relevant year during which the chargeable person is shown as subject to the charge, so that the amounts for which he is liable in respect of those periods are accordingly ascertained (and payable) under paragraph 3 of Schedule 2.

• (4) Notwithstanding anything in paragraph (1) the unpaid balance shall not become payable unless at least 7 days have elapsed after the day of the service on the chargeable person by the charging authority of a notice requiring its payment and stating the estimated amount.

• (5) The assumptions are–

• (a) if the chargeable person is shown in the charging authority’s community charges register as subject to the charge on the day on which the notice given under paragraph (4) is issued, that he will remain so subject for the remainder of the relevant year,

• (b) if the chargeable person is not shown as subject to the charge on the day on which the notice is issued, that he will remain not subject to it for the remainder of the relevant year.

• (6) If the chargeable amount proves to be greater than the estimated amount, an additional sum equal to the difference between the two shall, on the service by the charging authority on the chargeable person of a notice stating the chargeable amount, be due from the person to the authority on the expiry of such period (being not less than 14 days) after the day of issue of the notice as is specified in it.

• (7) If the chargeable amount proves to be less than the estimated amount, the charging authority shall notify the chargeable person in writing of the chargeable amount; and any overpayment of the chargeable amount–

• (a) shall be repaid if the chargeable person so requires, or

• (b) in any other case shall (as the charging authority determines) either be repaid or be credited against any subsequent liability of the person to make a payment in respect of any community charge of the authority.

• (8) If, after calculating the estimated amount, the charging authority is of the opinion that that amount is or may no longer be an accurate estimate of the amount that the chargeable person will be liable to pay in respect of the charge as it has effect for the relevant year (whether in consequence of the assumptions mentioned in paragraph (5) being shown to be false or otherwise), it may recalculate the estimated amount with a view to adjusting the chargeable person’s liability in respect of the amount and (as appropriate) to–

• (a) requiring an interim payment from the chargeable person if the recalculated amount is greater than the estimated amount, or

• (b) making an interim repayment to the chargeable person if the recalculated amount is less than the amount of the estimated amount paid.

• (9) A chargeable person may, if he has submitted returns under paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 for all return periods expiring before he makes the requirement, require a charging authority to recalculate the estimated amount under paragraph (8) having regard to the returns.

• (10) The estimated amount is to be recalculated under paragraph (8) on the assumptions mentioned in paragraph (5) as if the notice referred to in the latter paragraph were the notice given under paragraph (11); and more than one recalculation and interim adjustment may be made under paragraphs (8) and (9) according to the circumstances.

• (11) On recalculating the estimated amount under paragraph (8) the charging authority shall notify the chargeable person in writing of the recalculated amount; and a payment under paragraph (8)(a) shall be due from the chargeable person to the charging authority on the expiry of such period (being not less than 14 days) after the day of issue of the notice as is specified in it.

• (12) The charging authority may, for the purposes of enabling it to make an estimate under paragraph (2) or (8), request (by notice in writing) the chargeable person to supply it with such information as is specified in the notice; and the information shall be supplied by the chargeable person if it is in his possession or control within 21 days of the day on which the request is made.

• (13) In this regulation–

• “the chargeable amount” means the amount that the chargeable person is liable to pay in respect of the charge to which the demand notice mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) relates as it has effect for the relevant year; and

• “the estimated amount” means the amount estimated under paragraph (2), save that if in any case an interim adjustment has been made under paragraph (8), it means in relation to the next payment, repayment or interim adjustment in that case under this regulation (if any) the amount recalculated under that paragraph by reference to which the previous interim adjustment was so made.

Joint and several liability

22

• (1) Subject to regulation 23(1), both the chargeable person and a spouse of that person shall, with respect to a personal or standard community charge, if on any day in the chargeable period concerned the joint and several liability conditions are met and to the extent that it is unpaid, be jointly and severally liable to pay such fraction of–

• (a) where the day by which all instalments payable under a demand notice in accordance with Schedule 1 are payable has passed, the aggregate amount of those instalments (together with the amount of any excess payable by the chargeable person in accordance with paragraph 7(5) of the Schedule),

• (b) where regulation 20(2) applies, the estimated amount mentioned in that provision,

• (c) the chargeable amount or appropriate amount stated in a notice given under regulation 20(3) or (7),

• (d) the amount stated in a notice given under paragraph 6(3) of Schedule 1,

• (e) the amount required to be paid by a demand notice to which regulation 16(4) or (6) applies, or

• (f) the amount stated in a notice given to the chargeable person under regulation 26(2),

as is represented by

$$AB$ where– A is the number of days in the chargeable period on which the joint and several liability conditions are fulfilled with respect to the spouse, and B is the number of days in the chargeable period.$

• (2) Subject to paragraph (5) and regulation 23(1), with respect to a standard community charge or collective community charge, both the chargeable person and a manager of that person shall, if on any day in the chargeable period concerned the joint and several liability conditions are fulfilled and to the extent that it is unpaid, be jointly and severally liable to pay such fraction of–

• (a) any such amount as is mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) to (f),

• (b) where regulation 21(3) applies, the amount for which the chargeable person is liable in respect of the charge as it has effect for the relevant year, or

• (c) the estimated amount or chargeable amount stated in a notice given under regulation 21(4), (6) or (11),

as is represented by

$$AB$ where– A is the number of days in the chargeable period on which the joint and several liability conditions are fulfilled with respect to the manager, and B is the number of days in the chargeable period.$

• (3) Where the fraction

$AB$

mentioned in paragraphs (1) and (2) gives a result of less than 1 and a person is accordingly solely liable with respect to a part of such an amount as is mentioned in those paragraphs and jointly and severally liable in respect of another part, any payment made by the person in respect of it (whether before or after the giving of a notice under regulation 23(1)) shall be treated as being made towards satisfaction of the part for which he is solely liable unless and until his liability in respect of that part is discharged.

• (4) The joint and several liability conditions mentioned in paragraphs (1) and (2) are fulfilled on any day if on that day–

• (a) as regards the spouse of a chargeable person, the chargeable person and the spouse are married to each other and the spouse is aged 18 or over, or

• (b) as regards the manager of a chargeable person, the management arrangement concerned subsists and the manager is neither the chargeable person’s employee nor (if an individual) aged under 18.

• (5) A joint and several liability under paragraph (2) with respect to a standard community charge does not arise in relation to a manager unless the chargeable person is a company.

• (6) The service on a manager of a document authorised or required to be served under this Part on the chargeable person with respect to whom he is the manager whilst the management arrangement concerned has effect shall be treated as service on the chargeable person.

• (7) References in paragraph (1) to provisions of this Part, and to notices given under such provisions, includes references to those provisions (and notices given under those provisions) as applied by regulation 16(5) and paragraph 6(6) of Schedule 1.

• (8) In this regulation and regulation 23–

• “the chargeable period” has the meaning given in sections 16(2) and 17(2) of the Act (and accordingly regulation 13(3) does not apply to the determination of the period);

• “management arrangement” has the meaning given in section 17(3) of the Act;

• “manager” means a person with whom, on any day in the chargeable period, the chargeable person has a management arrangement, and who on the day is neither the chargeable person’s employee nor (if an individual) aged under 18; and

• “spouse” means a person to whom, on any day in the chargeable period, the chargeable person is married and who is aged 18 or over on the day.

• (9) In determining for the purposes of this regulation and regulation 23–

• (a) whether two people are married on any day, section 16(9) and (10) of the Act shall apply, and

• (b) whether a management arrangement subsists on any day, section 17(9) of the Act shall apply.

Joint and several liability: further provision

23

• (1) An amount shall not be payable by a spouse or manager pursuant to regulation 22(1) or (2) unless a notice has been served on him by the charging authority stating the amount; and it shall be due from him to the authority at the expiry of such period (being not less than 14 days) after the day of issue of the notice as is specified in it.

• (2) A notice under paragraph (1) may be served before the expiry of the chargeable period; and if on the day such a notice is issued the relevant year has not expired, it shall be assumed that the circumstances concerning any factor which might affect the ratio

$AB$

in regulation 22(1) or (2) will remain as they stand at the time of issue of the notice; and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the factors include–

• (a) the question whether on any day the joint and several liability conditions will be fulfilled,

• (b) the question whether the chargeable person will remain subject to the charge concerned.

• (3) If a notice is served under paragraph (1) on such an assumption as is mentioned in paragraph (2), and the assumption is shown to be false, the charging authority shall serve a further notice on the spouse or manager (as the case may be) stating the revised sum for which he is jointly and severally liable under this regulation, calculated on the assumptions mentioned in paragraph (2) and as if the notice mentioned in that paragraph were the further notice served under this paragraph.

• (4) If after a notice is served under paragraph (1) a notice is served on the chargeable person which adjusts an amount mentioned in regulation 22(1) or (2), or which otherwise notifies a change of the amounts with respect to which the spouse or manager has a joint and several liability under that regulation, a further notice shall also be served on the spouse or manager (as the case may be) stating the revised sum for which he is jointly and severally liable under the regulation.

• (5) If the sum stated in the further notice served under paragraphs (3) or (4) is greater than the sum stated in the notice served under paragraph (1), the amount of the difference shall be due from the spouse or manager to the charging authority on the expiry of such period (being not less than 14 days) after the day of the further notice as is specified in it.

• (6) If the sum stated in the further notice served under paragraph (3) or (4) is less than the sum stated in the notice served under paragraph (1) and there has been an overpayment by the spouse or manager, the amount overpaid–

• (a) shall be repaid if the spouse or manager (as the case may be) so requires, or

• (b) in any other case shall (as the charging authority determines) either be repaid or be credited against any subsequent liability of the person to make a payment in respect of any community charge of the authority.

• (7) Regulations 20(5)(b) and 21(8)(b) apply as if the reference to the chargeable person includes, insofar as concerns the difference between the joint and several liability under regulation 22(1) or (2) of the spouse or manager in respect of the appropriate amount or recalculated amount referred to in those provisions and the amount he has paid in respect of the estimated amount so referred to, a reference to the spouse or manager, and as if the reference to regulation 20(8) were a reference to that provision as applied by paragraph (9) below; and accordingly any requirement which may be made by the chargeable person under regulation 20(5) or 21(9) for a calculation of the appropriate amount or for a recalculation of the estimated amount (as the case may be) may also be made by the spouse or manager.

• (8) In a case where–

• (a) payments have been made by the spouse or manager under regulation 22 or this regulation, and by the chargeable person, in respect of any amount for which the chargeable person is liable under this Part, and

• (b) a sum would fall to be repaid to the chargeable person or credited against a liability of his if all those payments had been made by him,

the sum shall, to the extent that it does not exceed the payments made by the spouse or manager and the spouse or manager has not made recovery in respect of it under section 16(7) or 17(8) of the Act, be repaid to or credited in favour of the spouse or manager.

• (9) If the circumstances described in regulation 20(8) have arisen, the charging authority may require that any amount of the overpayment or difference mentioned in that provision which might otherwise fall to be repaid to the spouse or manager should, instead of being repaid, be credited against any prospective liability of the spouse or manager under regulation 22 in respect of the different charge.

• (10) An amount shall not be treated as overpaid for the purposes of paragraph (6) or paid for the purposes of paragraph (7) if recovery has been made in respect of it under section 16(7) or 17(8) of the Act.

Collection of penalties

24

• (1) Subject to paragraphs (2) to (4), where a penalty is payable by a person to a charging authority under paragraph 1 or 2 of Schedule 3 to the Act it may be collected, as the authority to which it is payable determines, either–

• (a) by treating the penalty for the purposes of regulations 16 and 17 and Schedule 1 as it it were part of the amount that the person will be liable to pay in respect of a community charge as it has effect for a chargeable financial year as regards any demand notice issued pursuant to regulation 16(2) after the penalty is imposed, or

• (b) by the service by the authority on the person of a notice requiring payment of the penalty on the expiry of such period (being not less than 14 days) after the issue of the notice as is specified in it.

• (2) Where the imposition of a penalty is subject to an appeal or arbitration, no amount shall be payable in respect of the penalty while the appeal or arbitration is outstanding.

• (3) The imposition of a penalty is to be treated as subject to an appeal or arbitration for the purposes of this regulation upon the service of a notice in respect of it by the person in accordance with section 24 of the Act, and is to be treated as outstanding until any appeal under section 23 of the Act or arbitration under regulations made under paragraph 4 of Schedule 11 to the Act in relation to the matter by which he stated he was aggrieved in the notice is finally disposed of or abandoned or fails for non-prosecution; and the circumstances in which an appeal is to be treated as failing for non-prosecution include the expiry of any time prescribed under paragraph 8(2)(a) of that Schedule in consequence of which any such appeal would be required to be dismissed by a valuation and community charge tribunal.

• (4) A demand notice making provision for the recovery of a penalty which is subject to appeal or arbitration may not be issued under paragraph (1)(a) during the period that the appeal or arbitration concerned is outstanding; and where a penalty becomes subject to appeal or arbitration after the issue of a demand notice which makes such provision, such proportion of the instalments due under it as are attributable to the penalty shall not fall due until the appeal or arbitration is finally disposed of, abandoned or fails for non-prosecution.

• (5) Where an amount has been paid by a person in respect of a penalty which is quashed under paragraph 1(8) or 2(12) of Schedule 3 to the Act, the charging authority which, or whose registration officer, imposed the penalty may allow the amount to him by way of deduction against any other sum which has become due from him under this Part (whether in respect of another penalty or otherwise); and any balance shall be repaid to him.

• (6) Paragraphs (1) to (5) apply to penalties incurred under paragraph 2(8) to (11) of Schedule 3 to the Act before 1st April 1990 notwithstanding that no liability to pay amounts in respect of community charges arises before that date.

Appeals in relation to estimates

25

Section 23(2)(e) of the Act shall not apply where the ground on which the person concerned is aggrieved is that any assumption as to the future that is required by this Part to be made in the calculation of an amount may prove to be inaccurate.

Demand notices: final adjustment

26

• (1) This regulation applies where–

• (a) a notice has been issued by a charging authority under this Part requiring a payment or payments to be made by a person in respect of his liability to pay a community charge as it has effect for a chargeable financial year or part of a chargeable financial year,

• (b) the payment or payments required to be paid are found to be in excess of or less than his liability in respect of the charge as it has effect for the year or the part, and

• (c) provision for adjusting the amounts required under the notice and (as appropriate) for the making of additional payments or the repaying or crediting of any amount overpaid is not made by any other provision of this Part, of the Act or of any agreement entered into under regulation 17(3) or paragraph 3(4) of Schedule 2.

• (2) The charging authority shall as soon as practicable after the expiry of the year or the part of a year serve a further notice on the person stating the amount of his liability in respect of the charge as it has effect for the year or the part, and adjusting (by reference to that amount) the amounts required to be paid under the notice referred to in paragraph (1)(a).

• (3) If the amount stated in the further notice is greater than the amount required to be paid under the notice referred to in paragraph (1)(a), the amount of the difference for which such other provision as is mentioned in paragraph (1)(c) is not made shall be due from the person to the charging authority on the expiry of such period (being not less than 14 days) after the day of issue of the notice as is specified in it.

• (4) If there has been an overpayment, the amount overpaid for which such other provision as is mentioned in paragraph (1)(c) is not made–

• (a) shall be repaid if the person so requires, or

• (b) in any other case shall (as the charging authority determines) either be repaid or be credited against any subsequent liability of the person to make a payment in respect of any community charge of the authority.

PART IV — ENFORCEMENT

Interpretation and application of Part IV

27

• (1) In this Part–

• “attachment of earnings order” means an order under regulation 32;

• “charging order” means an order under regulation 44;

• “debtor” means a person against whom a liability order has been made;

• “earnings” has the meaning given in section 24 of the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971[^f00004], and sections 6(2) and 25(4) of that Act shall apply for the purposes of this Part accordingly;

• “liability order” means an order under regulation 29; and

• “net earnings” in relation to an employment means the residue of earnings payable under the employment after deduction by the employer of– income tax; and primary class 1 contributions under Part I of the Social Security Act 1975[^f00005].

• (2) Regulations 28 to 47 apply for the recovery of a sum which has become payable to a charging authority under Part III and which has not been paid; but their application in relation to a sum for which persons are jointly and severally liable under that Part is subject to the provisions of regulation 48 (joint and several liability).

• (3) References in this Part to a sum which has become payable and which has not been paid include references to a sum forming part of a larger sum which has become payable and the other part of which has been paid.

Liability orders: preliminary steps

28

• (1) Subject to paragraph (3), before a charging authority applies for a liability order it shall serve on the person against whom the application is to be made a notice (“reminder notice”), which is to be in addition to any notice required to be served under Part III, and which is to state every amount in respect of which the authority is to make the application.

• (2) A reminder notice may be served in respect of an amount at any time after it has become due.

• (3) A reminder notice need not be served on a person who has been served under regulation 20(1) or 21(4) with a notice in respect of the amount concerned; and in determining whether a person has been served for this purpose regulation 22(6) shall not have the effect of deeming him to have been served in a case where he has not in fact been so.

Application for liability order

29

• (1) If an amount which has fallen due under regulation 20(2) or 21(1) and (4) is wholly or partly unpaid, or (in a case where a reminder notice is required under regulation 28) the amount stated in the reminder notice is wholly or partly unpaid at the expiry of the period of 7 days beginning with the day on which the notice was served, the charging authority may, in accordance with paragraph (2), apply to a magistrates' court for an order against the person by whom it is payable.

• (2) The application is to be instituted by making complaint to a justice of the peace, and requesting the issue of a summons directed to that person to appear before the court to show why he has not paid the sum which is outstanding.

• (3) Section 127(1) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980[^f00006] does not apply to such an application; but no application may be instituted in respect of a sum after the period of two years beginning with the day on which it became due under Part III.

• (4) A warrant shall not be issued under section 55(2) of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 in any proceedings under this regulation.

• (5) The court shall make the order if it is satisfied that the sum has become payable by the defendant and has not been paid.

• (6) The order shall be made in respect of an amount equal to the aggregate of–

• (a) the sum payable, and

• (b) a sum of an amount equal to the costs reasonably incurred by the applicant in obtaining the order.

Liability orders: further provision

30

• (1) A single liability order may deal with one person and one such amount as is mentioned in regulation 29(6) (in which case the order shall be in the form specified as form A in Schedule 3, or a form to the like effect), or, if the court thinks fit, may deal with more than one person and more than one such amount (in which case the order shall be in the form specified as form B in that Schedule, or a form to the like effect).

• (2) A summons issued under regulation 29(2) may be served on a person–

• (a) by delivering it to him,

• (b) by leaving it at his usual or last known place of abode, or in the case of a company, at its registered office, or

• (c) by sending it by post to him at his usual or last known place of abode, or in the case of a company, to its registered office.

• (3) The amount in respect of which a liability order is made is enforceable in accordance with this Part; and accordingly for the purposes of any of the provisions of Part III of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (satisfaction and enforcement) it is not to be treated as a sum adjudged to be paid by order of the court.

Duties of debtors subject to liability order

31

• (1) Where a liability order has been made, the debtor against whom it was made shall, during such time as the amount in respect of which the order was made remains wholly or partly unpaid, be under a duty to supply relevant information to the charging authority on whose application it was made.

• (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), relevant information is such information as fulfils the following conditions–

• (a) it is in the debtor’s possession or control,

• (b) the charging authority requests him by notice given in writing to supply it; and

• (c) it falls within paragraph (3).

• (3) Information falls within this paragraph if it is specified in the notice mentioned in paragraph (2)(b) and it falls within one or more of the following descriptions–

• (a) information as to the name and address of an employer of the debtor;

• (b) information as to earnings or expected earnings of the debtor;

• (c) information as to deductions or expected deductions from such earnings in respect of income tax, primary class 1 contributions under Part I of the Social Security Act 1975 or attachment of earnings orders made under this Part or under the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971;

• (d) information as to the debtor’s work or identity number in an employment, or such other information as will enable an employer of the debtor to identify him; or

• (e) information as to sources of income of the debtor other than an employer of his.

• (4) Information is to be supplied within 14 days of the day on which the request is made.

Making of attachment of earnings order

32

• (1) Where a liability order has been made and the debtor against whom it was made is an individual, the authority which applied for the order may make an order under this regulation to secure the payment of any outstanding sum which is or forms part of the amount in respect of which the liability order was made.

• (2) Such an order–

• (a) shall be expressed to be directed to a person who has the debtor in his employment, and shall operate as an instruction to such a person to make deductions from the debtor’s earnings, and to pay the amounts so deducted to the authority;

• (b) shall specify the sum to which the order relates, the rate at which the debtor’s earnings are to be applied to meet the sum by way of deductions from his net earnings in accordance with regulation 33, and the period within which an amount deducted is to be paid to the authority; and

• (c) shall remain in force until discharged under regulation 36(2) or the whole amount to which it relates has been paid (whether by attachment of earnings or otherwise).

• (3) The authority may serve a copy of the order on a person who appears to the authority to have the debtor in his employment; and a person on whom it is so served who has the debtor in his employment shall comply with it.

Deductions under attachment of earnings order

33

• (1) The sum to be deducted by an employer under an attachment of earnings order on any pay day shall be–

• (a) where the debtor’s earnings from the employer are payable weekly, the sum specified in column 2 of Table A in Schedule 4 opposite the band in column 1 of that Table within which the net earnings payable by the employer on the pay-day fall;

• (b) where his earnings from the employer are payable monthly, the sum specified in column 2 of Table B in that Schedule opposite the band in column 1 of that Table within which the net earnings payable by the employer on the pay-day fall;

• (c) where his earnings from the employer are payable at regular intervals of a whole number of weeks or months, the sum arrived at by–

• (i) calculating what would be his weekly or monthly net earnings by dividing the net earnings payable to him by the employer on the pay-day by that whole number (of weeks or months, as the case may be),

• (ii) ascertaining the sum specified in column 2 of Table A (if the whole number is of weeks) or of Table B (if the whole number is of months) in Schedule 4 opposite the band in column 1 of that Table within which the notional net earnings calculated under paragraph (i) fall, and

• (iii) multiplying that sum by the whole number (of weeks or months, as the case may be).

• (2) Where the debtor’s earnings from the employer are payable at regular intervals other than at intervals to which paragraph (1) applies, the sum to be deducted on any pay-day shall be arrived at by–

• (a) calculating what would be his daily net earnings by dividing the net earnings payable to him by the employer on the pay-day by the number of days in the interval,

• (b) ascertaining the sum specified in column 2 of Table C in Schedule 4 opposite the band in column 1 of that Table within which the notional net earnings calculated under sub-paragraph (a) fall, and

• (c) multiplying that sum by the number of days in the interval.

• (3) Where earnings are payable to a debtor by the employer by 2 or more series of payments at regular intervals–

• (a) if some or all of the intervals are of different lengths–

• (i) for the purpose of arriving at the sum to be deducted, whichever of paragraphs (1) and (2) is appropriate shall apply to the series with the shortest interval (or, if there is more than one series with the shortest interval, such one of those series as the employer may choose), and

• (ii) in relation to the earnings payable in every other series, the sum to be deducted shall be 20 per cent. of the net earnings;

• (b) if all of the intervals are of the same length, whichever of paragraphs (1) or (2) is appropriate shall apply to such series as the employer may choose and sub-paragraph (a)(ii) shall apply to every other series.

• (4) Subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), where the debtor’s earnings from the employer are payable at irregular intervals, the sums to be deducted on any pay-day shall be arrived at by–

• (a) calculating what would be his daily net earnings by dividing the net earnings payable to him by the employer on the pay-day–

• (i) by the number of days since earnings were last payable by it to him, or

• (ii) if the earnings are the first earnings to be payable by it to him with respect to the employment in question, by the number of days since he began the employment;

• (b) taking the sum specified in column 2 of Table C of Schedule 4 opposite the band in column 1 of that Table within which the notional net earnings calculated under sub-paragraph (a) fall; and

• (c) multiplying that sum by the number of days mentioned in sub-paragraph (a).

• (5) Where on the same pay-day there are payable to the debtor by the employer both earnings payable at regular intervals and earnings which are payable at irregular intervals, for the purpose of arriving at the sum to be deducted on the pay-day under the foregoing provisions of this regulation all the earnings shall be aggregated and treated as earnings payable at the regular interval.

• (6) Where there are earnings payable to the debtor by the employer at regular intervals on one pay-day, and earnings are payable by the employer to him at irregular intervals on a different pay-day, the sum to be deducted on each of the pay-days on which the earnings which are payable at irregular intervals are so payable shall be 20 per cent. of the net earnings payable to him on the day.

Attachment of earnings orders: ancillary powers and duties of employers and others served

34

• (1) An employer who deducts and pays amounts under an attachment of earnings order may, on each occasion that he makes such a deduction, also deduct from the debtor’s earnings the sum of one pound towards his administrative costs.

• (2) An employer who deducts and pays amounts under an attachment of earnings order shall, in accordance with paragraph (3), notify the debtor in writing of the total amount of the sums so deducted under it (including sums deducted under paragraph (1)) up to the time of the notification.

• (3) A notification under paragraph (2) must be given at the time that the pay statement given by the employer to the debtor next after a deduction has been made is so given, or if no such statements are usually issued by the employer, as soon as practicable after a deduction has been made.

• (4) A person on whom a copy of an attachment of earnings order has been served shall, in accordance with paragraph (5), notify in writing the authority which made the order if he does not have the debtor against whom it was made in his employment or the debtor subsequently ceases to be in his employment.

• (5) A notification under paragraph (4) must be given within 14 days of the day on which the copy of the order was served on him or the debtor ceased to be in his employment (as the case may be).

• (6) While an attachment of earnings order is in force, any person who becomes the debtor’s employer and knows that the order is in force and by what authority it was made shall notify that authority in writing that he is the debtor’s employer.

• (7) A notification under paragraph (6) must be given within 14 days of the day on which the debtor became the person’s employee or of the day on which the person first knew that the order is in force and the identity of the authority by which it was made, whichever is the later.

Attachment of earnings orders: duties of debtor

35