The Community Charges (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1989

• (3) Amount B is an amount equal to the relevant proportion of amount A; and “the relevant proportion” for this purpose is the proportion specified in or (as the case may be) from time to time prescribed under section 15(4) of the Act in relation to the return period.

• (4) A charging authority and a chargeable person may agree that the amount the person is liable to pay to the authority in respect of a collective community charge should be paid in such manner as is provided in the agreement, rather than in accordance with sub-paragraph (1).

• (5) Such an agreement may be entered into either before or after the demand notice relating to the relevant year is issued; and if it is entered 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 sub-paragraph (1) before it was entered into.

4

• (1) This paragraph applies where, after the service of a demand notice issued with respect to a collective community charge, a charging authority sets an amount for its personal community charge for the relevant year (“the new amount”) in substitution for another amount (“the old amount”) under section 34 or 35 of the Act which differs from the old amount.

• (2) The charging authority shall as soon as practicable serve a notice on the chargeable person stating the new amount.

• (3) If the new amount is greater than the old amount, any difference between the amount of an instalment paid under paragraph 3 before the service of the notice under sub-paragraph (2) and which was calculated by reference to the old amount, and the amount which, in consequence of the setting of the new amount, is in fact payable under that paragraph in respect of the instalment shall (subject to the terms of any agreement under paragraph 3(4) and (5)) be due from the chargeable person to the charging authority in a single instalment on the expiry of such period (being not less than 14 days) after the day of issue of the notice served under sub-paragraph (2) as is specified in it.

PART II — contributions

5

• (1) As soon as practicable after a dwelling has been designated as a designated dwelling and the chargeable person has been served with a demand notice in respect of his collective community charge specifying the amount of the charging authority’s personal community charge, the chargeable person shall inform the contributors then resident in it that it has been designated, and supply them with information as to the days on which payments are due under paragraph 6, together with the amounts which are (or will be) so payable.

• (2) Before or as soon as practicable after the contributor has become resident in a dwelling which has been designated as a designated dwelling, the chargeable person shall inform him that it is a designated dwelling, and supply him with information as to the days on which payments are due under paragraph 6, together with the amounts which are (or will be) so payable.

• (3) As soon as practicable after the chargeable person has been served with a demand notice in respect of his collective community charge indicating that a charging authority has set a personal community charge for a chargeable financial year which differs from that for the previous year, he shall supply the contributors who have been supplied with information under sub-paragraph (1) or (2) with information as to the new amounts which are (or will be) payable under paragraph 6.

6

• (1) If the contributor is liable to make periodical payments of rent or other consideration in respect of his residence in the designated dwelling at intervals of a month or less, a payment on account of his liability under section 9 of the Act shall become due from him to the chargeable person on each day on which the rent or other consideration falls due during the contribution period (“a rent day”); and the payment due on a rent day shall relate to the contributions for such period of days falling after the rent day (but before the next rent day) or on or before the rent day as is determined by the chargeable person.

• (2) If the contributor is not liable to make such periodical payments of rent or other consideration at the intervals mentioned in sub-paragraph (1), a periodical payment on account of his liability under section 9 of the Act shall become due from him to the chargeable person on such days during the contribution period, with such interval (not being greater than a month) between those days, as is determined by the chargeable person (“payment days”); and the payment due on a payment day shall relate to the contributions for such period of days falling after the payment day (but ending before the next payment day) or on or before the payment day as is determined by the chargeable person.

• (3) The amount due in respect of a period determined under sub-paragraph (1) or (2) (“a payment period”)–

• (a) as regards any days in the period before the rent day or payment day to which the payment period relates, is the aggregate of the contributions payable by the contributor under section 9 of the Act for those days; and

• (b) as regards any days in the period on or after the rent day or payment day to which the payment period relates, is the estimate of the chargeable person of the aggregate of the contributions payable by the contributor under section 9 of the Act for those days, made (subject to paragraph 7(2)) on the assumptions that on those days the chargeable person will remain subject to the charge and the conditions mentioned in subsection (1) of that section will be fulfilled.

7

• (1) When the contribution period ends, the chargeable person shall as soon as practicable calculate the liability of the contributor under section 9 of the Act in relation to that period and supply him with information as to the amount of the liability; and any amount paid by the contributor under this Part with respect to the period in excess of his liability under that section shall be repaid to him, and any amount paid by him which is less than his liability under that section shall be recoverable by the chargeable person from him.

• (2) If it appears to the chargeable person (whether from information supplied by the contributor or otherwise) that in any payment period the contribution period will end, the amount payable under paragraph 6 in relation to the payment period shall, if the contributor so requires, be calculated (so far as applicable) on the assumption that it will so end, and not on the assumptions mentioned in paragraph 6(3)(b).

• (3) If, by the time that an estimate or calculation under paragraph 6(3) falls to be made, the chargeable person has not been served with a demand notice indicating (nor otherwise notified by the charging authority as to) the amount of the authority’s personal community charge for a chargeable financial year by reference to which the estimate or calculation so falls to be made, but he was served with a demand notice with respect to the previous chargeable financial year–

• (a) until the notice is served or he is otherwise notified of the amount of the charge, payments under paragraph 6 shall be calculated by reference to the previous year’s personal community charge; and

• (b) as soon as the notice is served or he is otherwise so notified, such adjustments by way of repayments by the chargeable person or further payments by the contributor (as the case may be) with respect to past payments so calculated shall be made as will secure that the amounts paid represent the contributions due for the days to which those payments relate.

• (4) If the charging authority sets an amount for its personal community charge under section 34 or 35 of the Act in substitution for an amount previously set by it, the chargeable person shall, on being notified of that, revise the information supplied to the contributors under paragraph 5 accordingly; and, such adjustments by way of repayments by the chargeable person or further payments by the contributor (as the case may be) with respect to past payments calculated by reference to the amount previously set but which relate to contributions which fall to be calculated by reference to the amount set in substitution shall be made as will secure that the amounts paid represent the contributions due for the days to which those payments relate.

8

The chargeable person shall, as soon as practicable after any payment by way of contribution is made by the contributor pursuant to this Part, supply him with a receipt for the payment.

9

In this Part “the chargeable person”, “the contribution period” and “the contributor” have (subject to regulation 13(8)) the same meaning as in paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 to the Act.

SCHEDULE 3 — ENFORCEMENT: PRESCRIBED FORMS

FORM A

liability order in respect of a community charge

FORM B

liability order in respect of a community charge

FORM C

warrant of commitment

SCHEDULE 4 — DEDUCTIONS TO BE MADE UNDER ATTACHMENT OF EARNINGS ORDER

SCHEDULE 5 — CHARGES CONNECTED WITH DISTRESS

1

The sum in respect of charges connected with the distress which may be aggregated under regulation 39(2) shall be as set out in the following Table–

2

• (1) In heads A and B of the Table to paragraph 1, “the relevant amount” with respect to a visit or a levy means–

• (a) where the sum due at the time of the visit or of the levy (as the case may be) does not exceed £100, £12.50,

• (b) where the sum due at the time of the visit or of the levy (as the case may be) exceeds that amount, 12½ per cent. on the first £100 of the sum due, 4 per cent. on the next £400, 2½ per cent. on the next £1,500, 1 per cent. on the next £8,000 and ¼ per cent. on any additional sum;

and the sum due at any time for these purposes means so much of the amount in respect of which the liability order concerned was made as is outstanding at the time.

• (2) Where a charge has arisen under head B with respect to an amount, no further charge may be aggregated under heads A or B in respect of that amount.

• (3) An authority takes close or walking possession of goods for the purposes of head D of the Table to paragraph 1 if it takes such possession in pursuance of an agreement which is made at the time that the distress is levied and which (without prejudice to such other terms as may be agreed) is expressed to the effect that, in consideration of the authority not immediately removing the goods distrained upon from the premises occupied by the debtor and delaying its sale of the goods, the authority may remove and sell the goods after a later specified date if the debtor has not by then paid the amount distrained for (including charges under this Schedule); and an authority is in close possession of goods on any day for these purposes if during the greater part of the day a person is left on the premises in physical possession of the goods on behalf of the authority under such an agreement.

3

• (1) Where the calculation under this Schedule of a percentage of a sum results in an amount containing a fraction of a pound, that fraction shall be reckoned as a whole pound.

• (2) In the case of dispute as to any charge under this Schedule, the amount of the charge shall be taxed.

• (3) Such a taxation shall be carried out by the registrar of the county court for the district in which the distress is or is intended to be levied, and he may give such directions as to the costs of the taxation as he thinks fit; and any such costs directed to be paid by the debtor to the charging authority shall be added to the sum which may be aggregated under regulation 39(2).

• (4) References in the Table to paragraph 1 to costs, fees and expenses include references to amounts payable by way of value added tax with respect to the supply of goods or services to which the costs, fees and expenses relate.

Signed

Nicholas Ridley — Secretary of State for the Environment — 9th March 1989

Peter Walker — Secretary of State for Wales — 12th march 1989

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which are made under Parts I and II of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, make provision for the administration and enforcement of community charges arising under that Act and related matters.

Regulation 2, in Part I, applies section 233 of the Local Government Act 1972 to the service of notices by the Common Council of the City of London or its officers under the Regulations.

Regulations 3 to 6, in Part II, are concerned with the giving and obtaining of information for the purposes of the compilation and maintenance of community charges registers. They place a duty on individuals to inform the appropriate registration officer accordingly if they have reason to believe that they are or have been subject to a community charge, or that an item in the register concerning them contains an error, is incomplete or not up-to-date (regulation 3); and registration officers are empowered to request information from responsible individuals and certain other individuals (regulations 4 and 5), and from certain public bodies (regulation 6). Regulation 7 enables the Secretary of State to request information from registration officers, and regulation 8 permits charging authorities to use information (not being information obtained in their capacity as police authority) in the exercise of their functions under Part I of the Act. Regulation 9 requires a charging authority to send a copy of any entry or amended entry made in the register to the chargeable person, and regulation 10 permits a chargeable person to inspect an entry in the register relating to the charge to which he is subject.

Regulation 11 requires a charging authority to compile and maintain for public inspection an extract of the register and a list of buildings designated for the purposes of the collective community charge. Regulation 12 allows a person liable to contribute to the collective community charge payable by a chargeable person to inspect records received by the charging authority from the chargeable person.

Part III (regulations 13 to 26) is principally concerned with the billing of persons subject to community charges. It requires, amongst other matters, charging authorities to serve demand notices each year on chargeable persons (regulations 14 to 19) identifying the payments to be made in respect of community charges, and provides for certain of such payments to be payable by instalments during the year (Schedules 1 and 2). Schedule 2 (dealing with the collective community charge) also makes provision for the keeping of records, the making of returns, the payment of contributions, and the supply of information and receipts to contributors. Where a person fails to pay an instalment or submit a return in accordance with Schedule 1 or 2, in certain cases the unpaid balance of the charging authority’s estimate of the chargeable amount for the year concerned will become payable immediately (regulations 20 and 21).

Regulations 22 and 23 provide for the billing of spouses or managers who are jointly and severally liable for any amount payable by a chargeable person and which has not been paid, and regulations 24 to 26 make provision for the collection of penalties imposed under Schedule 3 of the Act, restrict the grounds of appeal to valuation and community charge tribunals with respect to estimates, and require the final adjustment of amounts payable under notices given under the Regulations.

Part IV (regulations 27 to 52) is concerned with the enforcement of sums due under Part III. Amounts payable to a charging authority which are unpaid are recoverable under a liability order made by the magistrates' court (regulations 28 to 30), following the making of which the charging authority may request certain information of the debtor as to his employment or income (regulation 31), make an attachment of earnings order (regulations 32 to 38 and Schedule 4), levy distress (regulation 39 and Schedule 5), apply for the commitment of the debtor to prison if there are insufficient goods on which to make a levy (regulations 41 and 42), prove the debt in insolvency (regulation 43), or (in the case of a collective community charge) apply for a charging order (regulations 44 and 45). Regulation 48 applies the relevant provisions with modifications to cases of joint and several liability. Amounts payable by way of collective community charge contribution or of repayment are recoverable in a court of competent jurisdiction (regulations 49 and 50).

Regulation 51 makes provision for offences in the event of a failure of the debtor to supply information, or of an employer of his to comply with an attachment of earnings order or to provide certain information relevant to the order (or to deductions under it) in accordance with the Regulations. Regulation 52 precludes matters which can be raised by way of appeal to a valuation and community charge tribunal being raised in proceedings for recovery under Part IV, and provides for the case where the amounts required under a notice given under Part III are adjusted after a liability order has been made.

Regulation 54 contains rules for ascertaining what is to be treated as the greater or greatest part of premises, a building or a caravan for the purposes of establishing in which authority’s area they are to be treated as situated where they are situated in more than one such area. Regulations 55 to 57 determine in which part of a charging authority’s area a building, a residence consisting of premises, or a caravan is to be treated as situated where a charging authority has set different personal community charges for different parts of its area.

Part VI (regulations 58 to 63) is concerned with miscellaneous matters. It prescribes a description of dwelling for the purposes of section 5(3)(d) of the Act (regulation 58), and provides for cases where co-owners would otherwise be subject to different standard or collective community charges, so that amongst other matters, they are made jointly subject to a single charge (regulations 59 and 60). It makes provision for the enforcement of outstanding liabilities and other aspects of administration with respect to community charges, collective community charge contributions or penalties which remain outstanding on death (regulation 61), and regulation 62 specifies classes of property in relation to the setting of standard community charge multipliers under section 40 of the Act and maximum levels of multiplier with respect to certain of those classes.

Regulation 63 prescribes conditions which are to be fulfilled in order that a care worker may be exempt from the personal community charge.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1988 c. 41.

[^f00002]: 1972 c. 70; subsection (6) was repealed by the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 (c. 57), Schedule 2.

[^f00003]: 1986 c. 50; sections 31A and 31C were inserted by, and other relevant amendments were made by, the Local Government Finance Act 1988 (c. 41), Schedule 10.

[^f00004]: 1971 c. 32; section 24 was amended by the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 (c. 60), Schedule 4, paragraph 15, the Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (c. 39), section 39(1) the Social Security Act 1985 (c. 53), Schedule 4, paragraph 1, and the Social Security Act 1986 (c. 50), Schedule 10, paragraph 102.

[^f00005]: 1975 c. 14; see sections 1(2) and 4. Relevant amendments were made by the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 (c. 60), Schedule 4, paragraph 36 and Schedule 5, the Education (School-leaving Dates) Act 1976 (c. 5), section 2(4), the Social Security Act 1979 (c. 18), section 14(1) and Schedule 3, paragraph 4, the Social Security and Housing Benefits Act 1982 (c. 24), Schedule 5, the Social Security Act 1985 (c. 53), sections 7(1) and (2) and 8(1), the Social Security Act 1986 (c. 50), section 74 and Schedule 10, paragraph 104, and S.I. 1988/675.

[^f00006]: 1980 c. 43.

[^f00007]: Paragraph 3 of Schedule 3 was amended by the Social Security (Consequential Provisions) Act 1975 (c. 18), Schedule 2, paragraph 43, the Social Security Pensions Act 1975 (c. 60), Schedule 5 and the Wages Act 1986 (c. 48), Schedule 4, paragraph 4.

[^f00008]: 1817 c. 93.

[^f00009]: 1827 c. 17.

[^f00010]: S.I. 1981/552.

[^f00011]: 1982 c. 48.

[^f00012]: 1986 c. 45.

[^f00013]: 1972 c. 61; section 6 of the Act was amended by the Supreme Court Act 1981 (c. 54), Schedule 5, and the County Courts Act 1984 (c. 28), Schedule 2, paragraph 18.

[^f00014]: 1925 c. 21; section 49(1)(g) was inserted by the Charging Orders Act 1979 (c. 53), section 3(3), and amended by the Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986 (c. 32), section 39(2) and the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33), Schedule 15, paragraph 6.

[^f00015]: S.I. 1970/231, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

[^f00016]: 1971 c. 78; section 29(1) was amended by the Housing and Planning Act 1986 (c. 63), Schedule 11, paragraph 16.

[^f00017]: 1972 c. 70; see section 270(1).