What is the timescale for payment of a civil penalty?
Where no review has been requested or no appeal has been made to the First-tier Tribunal, payment must be made within 28 calendar days of the date of the civil penalty notice.1
Where the individual has requested a review or made an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal, the civil penalty must also be paid within 28 calendar days, but the 28-day period ceases to run while the review or appeal is being considered and re-starts if the review or appeal is unsuccessful.2
When calculating the 28-day period, the day on which any review or appeal is requested is excluded and the day on which the review or appeal concludes is included.
You should liaise with your council’s legal department regarding the process for any debt recovery should an individual fail to pay the penalty within the required timeframe. Where a payment is overdue, interest is accrued at a daily rate equivalent to 8% per year.3
In cases where an individual refuses to pay, an application can be made to the county court, for recovering the debt and any accrued interest.4
1. Regulations 32ZH(7)(b) and 32ZG(1) Representation of the People Regulations (England and Wales) 2001 ↩ Back to content at footnote 1
2. Regulations 32ZH(7)(b) and 32ZG(2) Representation of the People Regulations (England and Wales) 2001 ↩ Back to content at footnote 2