Section 47 – The charging condition
87.Subsection (1) sets out the circumstances in which a person will meet the charging condition, which is relevant to the issuing of a preliminary and charging notice. A person meets the charging condition where they made the disposal or knowingly caused or knowingly permitted the taxable disposal to be made.
88.Subsection (2) builds on subsection (1)(b) and provides that unless a person can satisfy WRA or (on appeal) the tribunal otherwise, they will be treated as having knowingly caused or permitted the disposal to have been made if, at the time of the disposal, that person:
controlled, or was in a position to control, a motor vehicle or trailer from which the disposal was made; or
was the owner, lessee or occupier of the land where the disposal was made
89.In considering whether a person has overturned the presumption that they meet the charging condition, it is anticipated that WRA or the tribunal may take account of whether the person:
took reasonable efforts to prevent the waste from being dumped on their land (e.g. sturdy fencing);
took reasonable efforts to have the waste removed (e.g. contacted a registered waste carrier regarding removal);
actively assisted in any (potential) environmental action against the offenders (e.g. contacted the police, local authority or NRW about the waste and/or helped them in their investigations);
had no knowledge of the waste, and couldn’t reasonably have had knowledge (e.g. given where the waste was deposited, the size of estate etc.);
was ill or otherwise incapacitated.
90.Subsection (3) confers a power on the Welsh Ministers, by regulations, to make further or different provision about the circumstances in which a person is (or is not) to be treated as meeting the charging condition, and matters that are to be taken into account in determining whether a person does (or does not) meet that condition.
