The Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2012

PART 12 Electronic communications

Sending documents by electronic communication

91.—(1) For the purpose of these Regulations, an applicant may send a document by electronic communication—

(a) in a form approved by the relevant authority for the purposes of this regulation;

(b) to an address notified by the relevant authority for the purpose of this regulation; and

(c) by the method set out in paragraph (4).

(2) An applicant sending a document to a relevant authority by electronic communications is taken to have agreed—

(a) to the use of electronic communications for all purposes relating to the application which are capable of being carried out electronically; and

(b) that the address for the purpose of such communications is the address incorporated into, or otherwise logically associated with, that communication.

(3) Deemed agreement referred to in paragraph (2) subsists until the applicant gives notice to revoke the agreement, and the notice takes effect from the date specified in it, being a date not less than 7 working days after the date on which the notice is given.

(4) An electronic communication must be—

(a) capable of being accessed by the recipient;

(b) legible in all other material respects; and

(c) sufficiently permanent to be used for subsequent reference.

(5) Unless the contrary is proved a document sent by the method specified in paragraph (3) is, for the purposes of any legal proceedings, to be regarded as having been—

(a) delivered where the document has been delivered to or by the relevant authority and the delivery of the document has been recorded on an official computer system; and

(b) received at the time and date of receipt recorded in an official computer system.

(6) In this regulation—

“address” includes any number or address used for the purpose of electronic communications or storage;

“document” includes an application, notice, certificate, information and evidence;

“electronic communication” has the same meaning as in section 15(1) of the Electronic Communications Act 2000(1);

“legible in all material respects” means that the information contained in the document is available to the recipient to no lesser extent than it would be if sent or given by means of a document in printed form; and

“official computer system” means a computer system maintained by or on behalf of the relevant authority for the sending, receiving, processing or storing of an application.

(1)

2000 c.7. Section 15(1) was amended by paragraph 158 of Schedule 17 to the Communications Act 2003 (c.21).