4.—(1) Before a person makes a compensation payment in consequence of any injury suffered by an injured person, he may apply for a certificate of health services charges (in this Order referred to as “a certificate”) to the Department.
(2) If the Department receives an application under paragraph (1), it shall arrange for a certificate to be issued as soon as is reasonably practicable.
(3) A certificate may provide that it is to remain in force—
(a)until a specified date,
(b)until the occurrence of a specified event, or
(c)indefinitely.
(4) A person may apply under paragraph (1) for a fresh certificate from time to time.
(5) Paragraph (2) does not require the Department to arrange for a fresh certificate to be issued to a person applying under paragraph (4) if, when the application is received, a certificate issued to the applicant in respect of the injured person is still in force; but the Department may arrange for a fresh certificate to be issued so as to have effect on the expiry of the current certificate.
(6) If a certificate expires, the Department may arrange for a fresh certificate to be issued without an application having to be made.
(7) In the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (8), a person who has made a compensation payment in consequence of an injury suffered by an injured person shall apply for a certificate to the Department.
(8) The circumstances are that—
(a)at the time the payment is made by the person—
(i)no certificate has been issued to him in respect of the injured person, or
(ii)if such a certificate has been issued to him, it is no longer in force, and
(b)no application for a certificate has been made by him during the prescribed period ending immediately before the day on which the compensation payment is made.
(9) An application for a certificate shall be made in the prescribed manner and, in the case of an application under paragraph (7), within the prescribed period.
(10) On receiving an application under paragraph (7), the Department shall arrange for a certificate to be issued as soon as is reasonably practicable.