1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2004.
(2) These Regulations apply to billing authorities in England only (1).
(3) These Regulations come into force on 22nd April 2004.
2.—(1) The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992(2) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of these Regulations.
3. In regulation 1(2)(3), after the definition of “demand notice regulations” there shall be inserted the following definitions—
““discount” means a discount under section 11 or section 11A(4) of the Act, or a reduction in the amount of council tax payable for a dwelling under section 13A(5) of the Act where the dwelling falls into a class for which the billing authority has determined under section 13A(3) that liability shall be reduced otherwise than to nil;
“exempt dwelling” means a dwelling which is exempt from council tax under the Exempt Dwellings Order or a dwelling which falls into a class for which the billing authority has determined under section 13A(3) of the Act that the amount of council tax payable shall be reduced to nil.”.
4. For regulation 14 substitute—
“14. Before making any calculation for the purposes of Part V of these Regulations of the chargeable amount in respect of any dwelling in its area, a billing authority shall take reasonable steps to ascertain whether that amount is subject to a discount and if so, the amount of that discount.”.
5.—(1) In regulation 32(1)(6), in the definition of “liability order” after “regulation 34” insert “or regulation 36A(5)”.
(2) After regulation 36(7) insert the following regulation—
36A.—(1) Where—
(a)a magistrates' court has made a liability order pursuant to regulation 34(6), and
(b)the authority on whose application the liability order was made considers that the order should not have been made,the authority may apply to a magistrates' court to have the liability order quashed.
(2) Where, on an application by an authority in accordance with paragraph (1) above, the magistrates' court is satisfied that the liability order should not have been made, it shall quash the order.
(3) Where an authority makes an application under paragraph (1) for a liability order (“the original order”) to be quashed, and a lesser amount than the amount for which the original order was made has fallen due under paragraph (3) or (4) of regulation 23 (including those paragraphs as applied as mentioned in regulation 28A(2)(8)) and is wholly or partly unpaid or (in a case where a final notice is required under regulation 33) the amount stated in the final notice is wholly or partly unpaid at the expiry of the period of seven days beginning with the day on which the notice was issued, the billing authority may also apply to the magistrates' court for an order against the person by whom the lesser amount was payable.
(4) Paragraphs (2) to (5) of regulation 34 shall apply to applications under paragraph (3) above.
(5) Where, having quashed a liability order in accordance with paragraph (2) above, the magistrates' court is satisfied that, had the original application for the liability order been for a liability order in respect of a lesser sum payable, such an order could properly have been made, it shall make a liability order in respect of the aggregate of—
(a)that lesser sum payable, and
(b)any sum included in the quashed order in respect of the costs reasonably incurred by the authority in obtaining the quashed order.”.
6. In regulation 37—
(a)in paragraph (1)(9) for “any outstanding sum which is or forms part of the amount in respect of which the liability order was made” substitute “the appropriate amount”;
(b)after paragraph (1) insert—
“(1A) For the purposes of this regulation the appropriate amount is the aggregate of—
(a)any outstanding sum which is or forms part of the amount in respect of which the liability order was made; and
(b)where the authority concerned has sought to levy an amount by distress and sale of the debtor’s goods under regulation 45 and the person making the distress has reported that he was unable (for whatever reason) to find any or sufficient goods of the debtor on which to levy the amount—
(i)a sum determined in accordance with Schedule 5 in respect of charges connected with the distress, and
(ii)if the authority has applied for the issue of a warrant committing the debtor to prison in accordance with regulation 47, the authority’s reasonable costs incurred up to the time of the making of the order under regulation 37, in making one or more of the applications referred to in Schedule 6, but not exceeding the amount specified for that application in Schedule 6.”.
7. In regulation 50—
(a)for paragraph (1) substitute—
“(1) An application to the appropriate court may be made under this regulation where—
(a)a magistrates' court has made one or more liability orders pursuant to either regulation 34(6) or 36A(5);
(b)the amount mentioned in regulation 34(7)(a) or 36A(5)(a) in respect of which the liability order was made, or, where more than one liability order was made, the aggregate of the amounts mentioned in regulation 34(7)(a) or 36A(5)(a) in respect of which each such liability order was made, is an amount the debtor is liable to pay under Part V; and
(c)at the time that the application under this regulation is made at least £1000 of the amount in respect of which the liability order was made, or, where more than one liability order was made, the aggregate of the amounts in respect of which those liability orders were made, remains outstanding.”
(b)for paragraph (3) substitute—
“(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)—
(a)the authority concerned is the authority which applied for the one or more liability orders referred to in paragraph (1)(a);
(b)the relevant dwelling is the dwelling in respect of which, at the time the application for the liability order was made, or, where more than one liability order was made, at the time the applications for the liability orders were made, the debtor was liable to pay council tax;
(c)the due amount is the aggregate of—
(i)an amount equal to any outstanding sum which is or forms part of the amount in respect of which the one or more liability orders were made; and
(ii)a sum of an amount equal to the costs reasonably incurred by the applicant in obtaining the charging order;
(d)the appropriate court is the county court for the area in which the relevant dwelling is situated.”.
Signed by authority of the First Secretary of State
Phil Hope
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
25th March 2004