The Council Tax (Demand Notices) (Wales) Regulations 1993

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations provide for the content of council tax demand notices issued by billing authorities (district councils) in Wales and for the information to be supplied with such notices.

A council tax demand notice must, amongst other matters, identify the dwelling to which it relates, specify the valuation band applicable to the dwelling and explain, by reference to any discounts, reductions and benefit assumed to be applicable, how the amount required to be paid has been calculated (regulation 3(1) and Schedule 1). Unless the notice relates to a financial year which has ended and is served at the same time as a council tax demand notice relating to the current financial year, it must also be accompanied by further information (regulation 4 and Schedule 2). This will, amongst other matters, give a more detailed breakdown of the planned expenditure of the billing authority and of the major precepting authority (the county council) for the year to which the notice relates. The further information must be supplied in Welsh and English where the billing authority considers it requisite (regulation 4(3)).

Where a council tax demand notice is invalid because it fails to contain the requisite matters, the demand for payments under it will remain effective provided that the payments were properly calculated (regulation 5). In such cases, the billing authority must give the council tax payer a correct statement of the relevant matters.

In order to enable a billing authority to include the prescribed matters in its demand notices, or to supply the further information mentioned above when it serves the notices, the Regulations require the major precepting authority to supply the billing authority with appropriate information (regulations 6 and 7).