The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) (Amendment No. 2) (Wales) Regulations 2013

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 (“the 1992 Regulations”) make provision about the billing, collection and enforcement of council tax. These Regulations amend the 1992 Regulations in relation to Wales to make provision about the circumstances in which a Revenue and Customs official may supply information to qualifying persons, and for what purposes. These Regulations also extend the application of the provisions within the 1992 Regulations relating to the collection of penalties, and amend the 1992 Regulations to account for the introduction of universal credit by the Welfare Reform Act 2012.

Regulation 3 amends the 1992 Regulations to insert definitions for “council tax offences”, “detection of fraud regulations” and “universal credit”.

Regulation 4 sets out the purposes for which a Revenue and Customs official may supply information relating to council tax to a qualifying person; other purposes this information may be used for; and the purposes for which this information can be supplied to another qualifying person.

Regulations 5 and 6 amend regulations 27 and 29 of the 1992 Regulations, which deal with the collection of penalties, to provide for the collection of penalties imposed in accordance with regulations 13, 14, 16 and 17 of the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Detection of Fraud and Enforcement) (Wales) Regulations 2013 (“the detection of fraud Regulations”).

Regulations 7 to 9 and 11 make consequential amendments to account for the introduction of universal credit.

Regulation 10 amends regulation 58 of the 1992 Regulations to permit the collection of penalties imposed in accordance with regulations 13, 14, 16 and 17 of the detection of fraud Regulations as outstanding liabilities on death.

The Welsh Ministers' Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, a regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained at Local Government Finance and Public Service Performance Division, Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ.