Joint and several liability: further provision
23.—(1) An amount shall not be payable by a spouse or manager pursuant to regulation 22(1) or (2) unless a notice has been served on him by the charging authority stating the amount; and it shall be due from him to the authority at the expiry of such period (being not less than 14 days) after the day of issue of the notice as is specified in it.
(2) A notice under paragraph (1) may be served before the expiry of the chargeable period; and if on the day such a notice is issued the relevant year has not expired, it shall be assumed that the circumstances concerning any factor which might affect the ratio
in regulation 22(1) or (2) will remain as they stand at the time of issue of the notice; and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the factors include–
(a)the question whether on any day the joint and several liability conditions will be fulfilled,
(b)the question whether the chargeable person will remain subject to the charge concerned.
(3) If a notice is served under paragraph (1) on such an assumption as is mentioned in paragraph (2), and the assumption is shown to be false, the charging authority shall serve a further notice on the spouse or manager (as the case may be) stating the revised sum for which he is jointly and severally liable under this regulation, calculated on the assumptions mentioned in paragraph (2) and as if the notice mentioned in that paragraph were the further notice served under this paragraph.
(4) If after a notice is served under paragraph (1) a notice is served on the chargeable person which adjusts an amount mentioned in regulation 22(1) or (2), or which otherwise notifies a change of the amounts with respect to which the spouse or manager has a joint and several liability under that regulation, a further notice shall also be served on the spouse or manager (as the case may be) stating the revised sum for which he is jointly and severally liable under the regulation.
(5) If the sum stated in the further notice served under paragraphs (3) or (4) is greater than the sum stated in the notice served under paragraph (1), the amount of the difference shall be due from the spouse or manager to the charging authority on the expiry of such period (being not less than 14 days) after the day of the further notice as is specified in it.
(6) If the sum stated in the further notice served under paragraph (3) or (4) is less than the sum stated in the notice served under paragraph (1) and there has been an overpayment by the spouse or manager, the amount overpaid–
(a)shall be repaid if the spouse or manager (as the case may be) so requires, or
(b)in any other case shall (as the charging authority determines) either be repaid or be credited against any subsequent liability of the person to make a payment in respect of any community charge of the authority.
(7) Regulations 20(5)(b) and 21(8)(b) apply as if the reference to the chargeable person includes, insofar as concerns the difference between the joint and several liability under regulation 22(1) or (2) of the spouse or manager in respect of the appropriate amount or recalculated amount referred to in those provisions and the amount he has paid in respect of the estimated amount so referred to, a reference to the spouse or manager, and as if the reference to regulation 20(8) were a reference to that provision as applied by paragraph (9) below; and accordingly any requirement which may be made by the chargeable person under regulation 20(5) or 21(9) for a calculation of the appropriate amount or for a recalculation of the estimated amount (as the case may be) may also be made by the spouse or manager.
(8) In a case where–
(a)payments have been made by the spouse or manager under regulation 22 or this regulation, and by the chargeable person, in respect of any amount for which the chargeable person is liable under this Part, and
(b)a sum would fall to be repaid to the chargeable person or credited against a liability of his if all those payments had been made by him,
the sum shall, to the extent that it does not exceed the payments made by the spouse or manager and the spouse or manager has not made recovery in respect of it under section 16(7) or 17(8) of the Act, be repaid to or credited in favour of the spouse or manager.
(9) If the circumstances described in regulation 20(8) have arisen, the charging authority may require that any amount of the overpayment or difference mentioned in that provision which might otherwise fall to be repaid to the spouse or manager should, instead of being repaid, be credited against any prospective liability of the spouse or manager under regulation 22 in respect of the different charge.
(10) An amount shall not be treated as overpaid for the purposes of paragraph (6) or paid for the purposes of paragraph (7) if recovery has been made in respect of it under section 16(7) or 17(8) of the Act.