7.—(1) For the purposes of any provision under these Regulations which requires a person (“the sender”) to give a document to the Authority before the end of a specified period, the sender is to be regarded as having complied with that requirement (irrespective of the day on which the document is in fact received by the Authority if it is sent by post, fax or other electronic means) if the sender sends the document to the Authority in accordance with any applicable directions before the end of the specified period or, where no such directions apply, if the sender—
(a)delivers the document to an employee of the Authority with responsibility for the matter to which the document relates before the end of the specified period;
(b)leaves the document at the Authority's published address before the end of the specified period, and obtains a time stamped receipt;
(c)posts the document to the Authority's published address before the final day of the specified period;
(d)sends the document to the Authority by fax before the end of the specified period, provided that the sender has also sent or subsequently sends a copy of that document in accordance with sub-paragraph (2); or
(e)sends the document to the Authority by other electronic means of communication before the end of the specified period, and obtains electronic confirmation of receipt.
(2) The sender may give a relevant document to the Authority by fax only if by the end of the business day following the day on which the sender did so, the sender sends a copy of that document to the Authority by any method other than fax.
(3) For the purposes of this paragraph—
(a)“post” means—
(i)where the sender is located in the United Kingdom, sending that document pre-paid by a postal service which seeks to deliver documents by post within the United Kingdom no later than the next working day in all or the majority of cases, and
(ii)where the sender is located outside the United Kingdom, sending that document pre-paid by a postal service which seeks to deliver documents by post in the fastest time which is reasonable in the circumstances;
(b)“applicable direction” means any direction given by the Authority under these Regulations which specifies the manner in which the relevant document in question is to be given.