Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977

PART IV N.I. GENERAL

Offences N.I.

60.—(1) If any person on whom a notice has been served under Article 22(2), [F1 26] or 59(1) or (2) fails without reasonable excuse to comply with the notice, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding[F2 level 3 on the standard scale].

(2) Where a person is convicted under paragraph (1) in respect of a failure to comply with a notice and the failure continues after the conviction, then, unless he has a reasonable excuse for the continuance of the failure, he shall be guilty of a further offence under paragraph (1) and shall be liable on summary conviction, in addition to the fine specified in that paragraph, to a fine not exceeding[F2 level 1 on the standard scale] for every day subsequent to the day on which he is first convicted of an offence under that paragraph on which the failure continues.

(3) If any person in response to a notice under Article 22(2) or[F1 26], or in a return made under Article 59(1) or (2), makes a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes any statement which is false in a material particular, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding[F2 level 3 on the standard scale], or to both.

(4) If any person, other than the occupier or owner of land, knowingly prevents any other person from doing on the land any act that the other person is authorised under Article[F1 26A or] 58 to do or obstructs the other person in doing any such act, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding[F2 level 3 on the standard scale].

(5) If any person, being the occupier or owner of land, knowingly prevents any other person from doing on the land any act that the other person is authorised under Article[F1 26A or] 58 to do or obstructs the other person in doing any such act, a court of summary jurisdiction on proof thereof may order him to permit to be done on the land that act and all such things as are reasonably necessary to enable the act to be done or as are incidental to the doing of it; and, if he fails to comply with the order, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall, for every day during which the failure continues, be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding[F2 level 1 on the standard scale].

F1 2004 NI 4

F2 1984 NI 3

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Arts. 57 - 60 applied (with modifications) (1.4.2006) by Rates (Capital Values, etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/611 (N.I. 4)), arts. 1(3), 14(1); S.R. 2006/146, art. 2

Regulations N.I.

61.—(1) Regulations may—

(a) prescribe the form of any valuation list, certificate, application, statement, return, notice or other document whatsoever which is required or authorised to be used under or for the purposes of this Order;

(b) substitute for any period mentioned in Article 12(1)( c), 13(1)( a)(ii), 49(4) or (5), or 51(1), (2) or (4) any other period; F3 …

F4 [(bb) require records to be kept, for the purposes of Article 41(2)( f), relating to the use of a hereditament for any activities, prescribe the form of the records and the manner in which they are to be kept, and require production of the records for inspection and copying by persons authorised to act under the regulations;]

(c) make provision with respect to the making of reviews under Article 55.

[F5 (1A) In paragraph (1) “regulations” means regulations made by the Department of the Environment or the Department of Finance and Personnel, depending upon which of those Departments exercises functions under—

(a) the provision which requires or authorises a document referred to in paragraph (1)(a) to be used; or

(b) the provision mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) or (c).]

(2) Regulations under paragraph (1)( b) shall be subject to affirmative resolution, and any other regulations shall be subject to negative resolution.

F3 1979 NI 4

F4 1979 NI 4

F5 1982 NI 6

[F6 Service of documents N.I.

62.— (1) The following documents, that is to say,—

(a) a demand note under Article 9(4); and

(b) a certificate under Article 49(2) of an alteration made by the district valuer in the valuation list or a notice under Article 49(3) of a decision by the district valuer that no alteration should be made in the valuation list,

may be served on, respectively, the person charged with a rate and the persons mentioned in Article 56(8) or the person who applied for revision of the list by being sent to him or them by ordinary post.

(2) A process under Part VI of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 for the recovery of any sum due to the Department of the Environment on account of a rate may be served—

(a) by being sent by that Department by ordinary post; or

(b) by any mode of service permitted by magistrates' courts rules.

(3) In section 24(1) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 (service of documents), as it applies to the service by post of such a note, certificate, notice or process, the word “registering” shall be omitted.]

F6 1986 NI 21

Amendments, transitional provisions, construction of references, savings and repeals N.I.

63.  Para. (1), with Schedule 15, effects amendments

(2) Schedule 16 (which largely re-enacts by reference to this Order transitional and saving provisions, and provisions for the construction of references, which were contained in provisions repealed by this Order) shall have effect.

Para.(3), with Schedule 17, effects repeals

(4) In the application of section 29 of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 to any repeal made by this Order, subsection (1) and paragraph ( a) of subsection (3) shall have effect as if the word “statutory”, wherever it occurs, were omitted.