Abolition of Domestic Rates Etc. (Scotland) Act 1987 (repealed)

17

(1) The general duty of the registration officer under section 12(4) of this Act shall include the duty to take all reasonable steps to obtain such information as is reasonably required by him.

(2) The registration officer shall for the purpose of discharging his functions under this Act have access to and the use of any information which the assessor or electoral registration officer for the area which comprises or includes the registration area of the registration officer may have acquired in connection with any of his functions.

(3) Subject to subsection (4) below, the registration officer may require—

(a) the registration officer of any other registration area;

(b) the regional or islands council, any district council, or any housing body in his registration area,

to supply him with such information as he may reasonably require in connection with his functions, being information which the other registration officer has in connection with his functions or, as the case may be, the local authority or housing body have in connection with any of their functions; and the registration officer, regional, islands or district council or housing body shall comply with such a requirement.

(4) A local authority, housing body, or other registration officer shall not be required under subsection (3) above to supply to the registration officer such information as may be prescribed, and such prescription may be by reference to classes of functions of a local authority or housing body or to classes of information.

(5) The registration officer shall, at such times and in such manner as may be prescribed, require any responsible person to give him such information F1 . . . in such form and within such period as may be prescribed.

(6) For the purposes of this section, “responsible person”[F2 in relation to any premises] means, subject to subsections (7) to (9) below—

(a) where the premises are occupied by the owner or by a tenant, the occupier of the premises;

(b) where the premises are not occupied by the owner or by a tenant, the owner or, if there is a tenant whose lease is for a period of 12 months or more, the tenant;

(c) in any case, such other person as the registration officer considers it appropriate to designate from time to time as the responsible person.

(7) Where, in the case of premises occupied by the owner or by a tenant as referred to in subsection (6)(a) above, there is more than one occupying owner or tenant, both or, as the case may be, all of them shall be responsible persons.

(8) Where there is more than one responsible person and both or, as the case may be, all of them agree with the registration officer that one of them is to be the responsible person, then that one alone shall be the responsible person.

(9) Where, under subsection (6) above, the registration officer designates a person to be the responsible person in relation to any premises, he shall notify that person that he has been so designated and the person so designated may appeal—

(a) against his designation, in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed, to the registration officer who shall determine that appeal in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed; and

(b) against such a determination by the registration officer of an appeal by that person, to the sheriff of any sheriffdom which wholly or partly falls within the registration area.

(10) Where the registration officer is satisfied that a responsible person—

(a) has failed to comply with the duty to provide the information required within the prescribed period; or

(b) has given false information,

he shall, unless satisfied that the responsible person has a reasonable excuse, impose upon the responsible person a civil penalty of £50 or such other sum as may, in substitution, be prescribed, which shall be a debt due to the regional or islands council, recoverable by them as such as if it were arrears of community charges.

(11) Where—

(a) a civil penalty has been imposed upon a responsible person under subsection (10) above; and

(b) the registration officer has repeated his requirement under sub-section (5) above; but

(c) the registration officer is satisfied that the responsible person has failed to comply with the duty to provide the information required within the prescrbed period or has given false information,

the registration officer shall, unless satisfied that the responsible person has a reasonable excuse, impose upon him a civil penalty of £200 or such other sum as may, in substitution, be prescribed, which shall be a debt due to the regional or islands council, recoverable by them as such as if it were arrears of community charges; and the provisions of this subsection shall apply to any subsequent failures to provide information within the prescribed period or to any subsequent provision of false information.

[F3 (11A) If, after the imposition of a civil penalty under subsection (10) or (11) above but before the making of any appeal under subsection (12) below against that imposition, the registration officer, in the light of information which he did not consider when imposing the penalty—

(a) is no longer satisfied as to the matter as to which he was satisfied under paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (10) above or paragraph (c) of subsection (11) above before imposing the penalty; or

(b) is satisfied that the responsible person upon whom the penalty was imposed did have a reasonable excuse,

he may revoke the imposition of the penalty; and on such revocation any money paid to the regional or islands council by the responsible person by way of that penalty shall be repaid by them to him.]

(12) The responsible person may appeal to the sheriff against the imposition of a civil penalty under this section.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words repealed by Local Government Finance Act 1988 (c. 41, SIF 81:1; 103:2), s. 149, Sch. 13 Pt. IV

F2 Words inserted by Local Government Finance Act 1988 (c. 41, SIF 81:1; 103:2), s. 137, Sch. 12 para. 26

F3 S. 17(11A) inserted by Local Government and Housing Act 1989 (c. 42, SIF 81:2), s. 145, Sch. 6 para. 24

Textual Amendments applied to the whole legislation

F4 Act repealed (prosp.) by Local Government Finance Act 1992 (c. 14), ss. 117(2), 119(2)(e), Sch.14 (with s. 118(1)(2)(4) and saving in s. 118(3) and subject to a saving for Sch. 2 para. 7A (16.8.1993) by S.I. 1993/1780, art. 2 and subject to amendments (11.6.1996) by 1995 c. 18, s. 41(4), Sch. 2 para. 10; S.I. 1996/1509, art. 2, Sch. and (29.11.1999 for specified purposes, otherwise prosp.) by 1998 c. 14, ss. 86(1), 87(2), Sch. 7 para. 15; S.I. 1999/3178, art. 2(1)(a)(2) (subject to transitional provisions in Schs. 21-23)

The repeal of the Act by Local Government Finance Act 1992 (c. 14) was brought into force (1.4.1992) as regards Sch. 1 para. 19 by S.I. 1992/818, para. 2(b), Sch.

The repeal of the Act by Local Government Finance Act 1992 (c. 14) was brought into force (1.10.1992) as regards ss. 3A, 9, 10(7A), 11B, 28, Sch. 2 paras. 1(2), 2(1), Sch. 5 paras. 2-5, 9, 10, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 25 by S.I. 1992/2183, art. 2(d), Sch. (with savings in art. 3)

The repeal of the Act by Local Government Finance Act 1992 (c. 14) was brought into force (1.4.1993) as regards ss. 1-7, 14, 18(2A), 20(10), 25(1)(3), words in s. 26(1), ss. 26(2), 27, 33, Sch. 1, Sch. 3 paras. 1-4, 5(1), 7, Sch. 5 paras. 1, 6, 12, 13, 16, 19A, 20, 22-24, 26-49 by S.I. 1993/575, art. 2, Sch. (with savings in arts. 4, 5(b))