The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Detection of Fraud and Enforcement) (Wales) Regulations 2013

Penalties for failure to notify a change of circumstances

17.—(1) A billing authority may impose a penalty of £70 on a person (P) where—

(a) P, without reasonable excuse, fails to give a prompt notification of a relevant change of circumstances to the authority in accordance with requirements imposed on P under the provision included in the authority’s council tax reduction scheme by virtue of paragraph 7 of Schedule 13 to the Prescribed Requirements Regulations or under paragraph 113 of the Default Scheme;

(b) the failure results in an award of a reduction under a council tax reduction scheme which is greater than the amount of reduction to which P was entitled (an “excess reduction”); and

(c) P has not been charged with an offence or cautioned, or been given a notice under regulations 13 to 15, in respect of the excess reduction.

(2) In this regulation, “relevant change of circumstances” (“newid perthnasol yn yr amgylchiadau”), in relation to P, means a change of circumstances which P might reasonably be expected to know might affect P’s entitlement to a reduction under the authority’s council tax reduction scheme or the amount of such a reduction.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), for the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), a notification of a change is prompt if it is given within a period of 21 days beginning with the day on which the change occurs, or a soon as reasonably practicable after the change occurs, whichever is later.

(4) Where a change occurs before these Regulations come into force, a notification of a change is prompt if it is given within a period of 21 days beginning with the day on which these Regulations come into force, or as soon as reasonably practicable after the change occurs, whichever is later.

(5) A penalty under this regulation is to be paid to the authority imposing it.

(6) An authority may quash a penalty imposed by it under this regulation.