7.—(1) An authorised person may issue a fixed penalty notice to any operator who the authorised person reasonably believes has committed an offence under regulation 3(7).
(2) A fixed penalty notice is a notice offering the operator to whom it is issued the opportunity of discharging any liability to conviction for the offence by payment of a fixed penalty.
(3) Where an operator is issued with a notice under paragraph (1) in respect of an offence—
(a)no proceedings may be taken for the offence before the end of the period of 28 days following the date of the notice;
(b)the operator may not be convicted of the offence if the operator pays the fixed penalty before the end of that period.
(4) A fixed penalty notice must—
(a)give reasonably detailed particulars of the circumstances alleged to constitute the offence;
(b)state the period during which (because of paragraph (3)(a)) proceedings will not be taken for the offence;
(c)specify the amount of the fixed penalty; and
(d)specify the authorised person to whom payment of the fixed penalty is to be made.
(5) The amount of the fixed penalty for the purposes of paragraph (4)(c) is £4,000.
(6) A fixed penalty is payable to the authorised person which issued the notice to which that penalty relates.
(7) Fixed penalties received by an authorised person other than the Secretary of State for Transport under this regulation must be paid to the Secretary of State for Transport.
(8) In any proceedings, a certificate that—
(a)purports to be signed by or on behalf an officer of the authorised person who has been designated by the authorised person for that purpose; and
(b)states that the payment of a fixed penalty was, or was not, received by that authorised person by the date specified in the certificate,
is evidence of the facts stated.