In this Part—

• “2006 Support Regulations” means the Education (Student Support) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 200612.

• “date of receipt” in relation to a repayment is to be construed in accordance with regulation 12;

• “disability–related benefit” means long-term incapacity benefit or short-term incapacity benefit at the higher rate, disability living allowance and industrial injuries benefit, all payable under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 199213F5armed forces independence payment under the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2011,, or the amount of any disability premium and severe disability premium included in the applicable amount in calculating the income support payable under the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 198714;

• “end-on course” means—

  1. a

     a full-time first degree course (other than a first degree course for the initial training of teachers) which, disregarding any intervening vacation, a student begins immediately after ceasing to attend a full-time course mentioned in paragraph (2) for which the student received or was entitled to receive an award made under the Students Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 199815 (other than an award within the meaning of the Students Awards Regulations (Northern Ireland) 200316), or financial support under Student Support Regulations; and

  2. b

     a full-time honours degree course beginning on or after 1^st September 2006 which, disregarding any intervening vacation, a student begins immediately after ceasing to attend a full-time foundation degree course and for which the student received or was entitled to receive any of the financial support referred to in paragraph (a); and

• “Student Support Regulations” means any Regulations made in or in relation to any academic year commencing in or after 1998 pursuant to Article 3 of the Order and which regulate or define the entitlement of a borrower to loans and the extent of any financial support available including Regulations made after the date of these Regulations.

HMRC must collect repayments from borrowers in accordance with Parts 3 and 4, and the provisions of section 1 of the 1970 Act apply for those purposes as they apply for the purposes of income tax.

HMRC must, at such time and in such manner as the Treasury and the Department of Finance and Personnel (acting concurrently) may direct, account to the Department for, and pay to it, the sums estimated by HMRC (in the manner so directed) to have been collected by it as repayments in accordance with Parts 3 and 4.

Repayments do not include any interest, penalties or charges payable under Part 3 or 4 and HMRC will cause any such sums which it recovers to be paid, at such times and under such regulations as the Treasury may from time to time prescribe, to accounts to be entitled “The Account of Her Majesty’s Exchequer”, at the Bank of England and the sums so paid form part of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom.

Section 98 of the 1970 Act (special returns etc) applies for the purposes of repayments under Parts 3 or 4 as if any reference in that section to a provision in the Table is a reference to a provision in those Parts 3 or 4 with the exception of regulations 25, 28, 55 and 56.

Schedule 38 to the Finance Act 2012 (Tax Agents: Dishonest Conduct) applies for the purpose of repayments under Part 3 or 4 as it applies for the purposes of income tax.

Sections 100 (determination of penalties by officer of Revenue and Customs), 100A (provisions supplementary to section 100) and 100B (appeals against penalty determinations) of the 1970 Act apply to penalties other than those outlined in regulation 35(3) and (4) in connection with repayment under Part 3 and all penalties under Part 4 as they apply to penalties in connection with income tax.

Section 100C (penalty proceedings before the tribunal), 100D (penalty proceedings before court), 102 (mitigation of penalties), 103(3) and (4) (time limit for penalties), 103A (interest on penalties), 104 (savings for criminal proceedings) and 105 (evidence in cases of fraudulent conduct) of the 1970 Act apply to penalties in connection with repayments under Part 3 or 4 as they apply in connection with income tax.

Sections 112 to 115A of and Schedule 3A to the 1970 Act (documents) apply to assessments, returns or other documents made, required, issued, served, sent or lodged for the purposes of or in connection with repayments under Parts 3 or 4 as they apply to documents for the purposes of or in connection with income tax.

Section 118(2) of the 1970 Act (failure to act within limited time) applies in relation to anything required to be done under Parts 3 or 4 as it applies in relation to anything required to be done under that Act.

For the purposes of these Regulations, the amount of a repayment covered by any assessment under Part 3 is not deemed finally determined until that assessment can no longer be varied, whether by the tribunal on appeal or by the order of any Court.

Interest and penalties charged under Parts 3 or 4 are not added to the principal outstanding, are not part of the loan, and payments of such interest or penalties are not credited against the principal outstanding.

A borrower may repay all or any part of a student loan to the Department at any time, by making direct payments to the Department.

A borrower is not required to repay any part of the student loan before the start of the following tax year commencing on 6th April after a borrower ceases to be eligible for financial support under regulations made pursuant to Article 3 of the Order, whether by reason of having completed that course or otherwise.

The Department must not issue a notice under paragraph (3)(c) after the end of the calendar year during which the tax year specified in the notice ends.

Where the Department has notified a borrower and HMRC that repayments under Parts 3 and 4 must no longer be made but at a later date it appears to the Department that the student loan has not been fully repaid, then a further notice may be given in accordance with paragraph (3).

No notice need be given under paragraph (3)(a) or (b) if the borrower’s loan does not exceed £120.

Any notice which the Department is required to give to HMRC pursuant to this regulation may be given in respect of one or more than one borrower, and in respect of each borrower, the Department must provide the particulars required in paragraph (3).

Any notice given by the Department pursuant to the Education (Student Loan) (Repayment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 prior to the coming into operation of these Regulations is to be treated as having been given pursuant to these Regulations.

Where this regulation applies, subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), the Department must give notice to HMRC, in accordance with regulation 11(3)(d) that deductions from the borrower’s earnings are to cease from the date specified in the notice.

The borrower must complete and return to the Department in the format required by the Department from time to time a standing instruction to the borrower’s bank authorising monthly lump sum payments to the Department in such sum as is required to ensure payment of the outstanding balance within the next 23 months.

The first date on which a bank, authorised by a borrower to make a payment, makes a payment must fall no later than 30 days after the date which the Department specifies in a notice pursuant to regulation 11(3)(d).

The borrower may, at any time, agree with the Department that repayment in accordance with this regulation will cease, and thereafter the Department must give a notice to HMRC and to the borrower in accordance with regulation 11(3) that repayment through the tax system is to recommence unless regulation 11(8) would otherwise apply.

The Department may suspend or delay the operation of paragraph (5) if and to the extent it appears to the Department expedient to do so, taking into account the causes of the failed payment and the Department must notify the borrower of any suspension or delay as the case may be.

This regulation will not affect any voluntary repayments made by a borrower by any method pursuant to regulation 11(1).

For the purposes of paragraph (1) the loans are loans made under the Education (Student Loans) (Northern Ireland) Order 199018 the Education (Student Loans) Act 199019, the Education (Scotland) Act 198020 and Regulations made under it, and the Teaching and Higher Education Act 199821 and Regulations made under it.

The cancellation of a borrower’s liability to repay the student loan under paragraph (3) does not affect the employer’s liability to make deductions under Part 4 subject to and in accordance with that Part in respect of any earnings period ending before the date of cancellation.

A refund under paragraph (2) will not carry interest and HMRC will be considered to have received the refund on the date on which the amount refunded was considered to have been received by the Department in accordance with regulation 12.

Where the Department has received a repayment by way of deduction from the borrower’s earnings for a tax year in accordance with Part 4 and those earnings do not exceed F1the repayment threshold, the Department must refund the amount deducted if the borrower applies for a refund.

Subject to paragraph (2), during any academic year, if the Department determines that student loans will bear interest, loans bear interest at the rate which will result in an annual percentage rate of charge determined in accordance with F3rules made by the Financial Conduct Authority under article 60M of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 for the purposes of Chapter 14A of Part 2 of that Order equal to the percentage increase between the retail prices all items index published by the Office for National Statistics for the two Marches immediately before the commencement of the academic year.

If the rate referred to in paragraph (1) exceeds the rate for the time being specified F4by article 60G(3)(d) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 student loans bear interest at the rate so specified.

Interest is calculated on the principal outstanding daily and is added to the principal monthly.

The index of prices to which the Department is required by Article 3(8) of the Order to have regard in prescribing the rate of interest which student loans bear is the retail prices all items index mentioned in paragraph (1).

The Department must publish, at least once a year, by whatever means and in whatever media the Department thinks fit, the interest rate determined in accordance with paragraph (1) for any forthcoming academic year, subject to any variation required by virtue of paragraph (2) to be applied.

If, for any academic year, the Department determines not to charge interest on student loans, the Department must publish notice of that fact in the same manner.

If, for any academic year, the Department publishes more than one rate of interest to apply to student loans, any subsequent rate so published will replace any previously published rate as the rate to apply from the date specified in the notice.

The Department may serve a notice (“an Information Notice”) on a borrower at the borrower’s home address.

An Information Notice under paragraph (1) must contain statements detailing the penalties for failure to comply with an Information Notice set out in regulations 19 and 22.

Where the Department serves an Information Notice on a borrower under paragraph (1), the borrower must comply with it within 28 days beginning with the day on which the Information Notice was served.

Where a borrower fails to comply with regulation 17, the Department may require the borrower to pay a penalty of £50.

Where a borrower fails to comply with regulation 18(4), the Department may require the borrower to pay a penalty of £50.

Where a borrower is liable to a penalty under paragraph (1) or (2) and has not paid it by the time of the expiry of the time limit for payment, the Department may require the borrower to pay one additional penalty of £100 in respect of that failure.

Where a borrower was liable to a penalty under paragraph (1) or (2) and has paid the penalty but not complied with the requirements of the relevant regulation within 28 days of the date of payment of the penalty, the Department may require the borrower to pay one additional penalty of £100 in respect of that failure.

The Department must notify the borrower of a penalty imposed under paragraphs (1) to (4) by serving a notice (“a Penalty Notice”) on the borrower at the borrower’s home address containing the details of that and other possible penalties under regulations 19 and 22.

A penalty imposed under paragraphs (1) to (4) is payable within 28 days beginning on the day on which the Penalty Notice was served, despite the provisions of regulation 11(3), (4), (5) or (6).

The Department may add any penalty imposed under this regulation to the borrower’s loan account and it will form part of the principal of the loan from the date on which it is added.