Time and manner of granting council tax benefit
77.—(1) Subject to regulations 80 and 81 (payments on death and offsetting), where a person is entitled to council tax benefit in respect of his liability for a relevant authority's council tax as it has effect in respect of the relevant or any subsequent chargeable financial year, the relevant authority shall discharge his entitlement—
(a)by reducing, so far as possible, the amount of his liability to which regulation 20(2) of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 M1 (the English and Welsh Regulations) or regulation 20(2) of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 1992 M2 (the Scottish Regulations) refers; or
(b)where—
(i)such a reduction is not possible; or
(ii)such a reduction would be insufficient to discharge the entitlement to council tax benefit; or
(iii)the person entitled to council tax benefit is jointly and severally liable for the tax and the relevant authority determines that such a reduction would be inappropriate,
by making payments to him of the benefit to which he is entitled, rounded where necessary to the nearest penny.
(2) The relevant authority shall notify the person entitled to council tax benefit of the amount of that benefit and how his entitlement is to be discharged in pursuance of paragraph (1).
(3) In a case to which paragraph (1)(b) refers—
(a)if the amount of the council tax for which he remains liable in respect of the relevant chargeable financial year, after any reduction to which paragraph (1)(a) refers has been made, is insufficient to enable his entitlement to council tax benefit in respect thereof to be discharged in that year, upon the final instalment of that tax becoming due any outstanding benefit—
(i)shall be paid to that person if he so requires; or
(ii)in any other case shall (as the relevant authority determines) either be repaid or credited against any subsequent liability of the person to make a payment in respect of the authority's council tax as it has effect for any subsequent year;
(b)if that person has ceased to be liable for the relevant authority's council tax and has discharged the liability for that tax, the outstanding balance (if any) of the council tax benefit in respect thereof shall be paid within 14 days or, if that is not reasonably practicable, as soon as practicable thereafter;
(c)in any other case, the council tax benefit shall be paid within 14 days of the receipt of the claim at the designated office or, if that is not reasonably practicable, as soon as practicable thereafter.
(4) For the purposes of this regulation “instalment” means any instalment of a relevant authority's council tax to which regulation 19 of either the English and Welsh Regulations or as the case may be the Scottish Regulations refers (council tax payments).