(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, no penalty charge notice may be served under this Act after the expiry of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the alleged contravention or failure to comply occurred.
(2)Subject to the provisions of this section, where—
(a)a penalty charge notice has been cancelled under paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to this Act; or
(b)a penalty charge notice has been cancelled in compliance with a direction given by a traffic adjudicator under paragraph 4(2) of the said Schedule; or
(c)a penalty charge notice is deemed to have been cancelled under paragraph 7(8)(c) of the said Schedule (deemed cancellation where a statutory declaration under paragraph 7(2)(a) of that Schedule is served under paragraph 7(1)(c)),
the borough council or Transport for London, as the case may be, may not serve a fresh penalty charge notice after the expiry of the period of 28 days from the date of the cancellation of the penalty charge notice or, in a case falling within paragraph (c) above, the date on which that council or body are served with notice under paragraph 7(8)(d) of the said Schedule.
(3)Subsection (6) below applies where the following conditions are met.
(4)The first condition is that where a borough council or Transport for London, as the case may be, has before the expiry of 14 days from—
(a)the date on which the alleged contravention or failure to comply occurred; or
(b)the date of the cancellation of the penalty charge notice in the case where a penalty charge notice has been cancelled—
(i)under paragraph 2 of the said Schedule; or
(ii)in compliance with a direction given by a traffic adjudicator under paragraph 4(2) of the said Schedule; or
(c)the date on which the borough council or Transport for London, as the case may be, are served with notice under paragraph 7(8)(d) of the said Schedule where the penalty charge notice is deemed to have been cancelled under paragraph 7(8)(c),
made a request to the Secretary of State for the supply of relevant particulars.
(5)The second condition is that those particulars have not been supplied to the borough council or Transport for London, as the case may be, before the date after which that council or body would not be entitled to serve a penalty charge notice or a fresh penalty charge notice by virtue of subsection (1) or (2) above.
(6)Where this subsection applies, the borough council or Transport for London, as the case may be, shall continue to be entitled to serve a penalty charge notice or a fresh penalty charge notice for a further period of 6 months beginning with the date mentioned in subsection (5) above.
(7)In this section, “relevant particulars” are particulars relating to the identity of the owner of the vehicle contained in the register of mechanically propelled vehicles maintained by the Secretary of State under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (c. 22).