29ATransfer of vehicle registration

29A. Transfer of vehicle registration

(1) Where a person to whom a certificate of registration of a vehicle has been granted ceases to be the owner of the vehicle, the person must —

(a) within 7 days of ceasing to be the owner give notice in writing to the Director General of the name and address of the new owner of the vehicle; and

(b) if the registration had, pursuant to the provisions of this Act, been granted or renewed without payment of a fee or on payment of a reduced registration fee which was less than the fee that would otherwise have been payable in relation to that vehicle had the particular circumstances not applied, and unless the provisions of section 30(1) have been complied with, within 7 days after ceasing to be the owner, return the certificate of registration and the number plate issued in respect of that vehicle to the Director General.

(2) A person who becomes the owner of a vehicle in respect of which a certificate of registration has been granted must, within 14 days after becoming the owner, give notice in writing to the Director General of that fact.

(3) As soon as practicable after receiving notice under subsection (1)(a) or (2), or otherwise, of a change in the ownership of a vehicle in respect of which a certificate of registration has been granted, if the Director General is satisfied that the registration may be transferred under section 28A(2) and no application has been made under section 28A(1), the Director General may issue to the new owner a notice requiring that —

(a) an application for the transfer of the registration to the new owner be made under section 28A; or

(b) the number plates issued in respect of the vehicle be delivered up to the Director General.

(4) In subsection (3) —

new owner, in relation to a vehicle, means a person who, according to the notice received by the Director General, has become a new owner of the vehicle and, if there is more than one such person, each or any of them.

(5) A person to whom a notice is issued under subsection (3)(b) commits an offence if an application for the transfer of the registration for the vehicle is not made within 28 days after the notice is issued, or any longer period that the Director General allows, unless it can be shown that —

(a) the person did not agree to becoming the owner of the vehicle and has notified the Director General in writing accordingly; or

(b) another person has been nominated for the purposes of section 3(2); or

(c) there is more than one owner of the vehicle and there is good reason why a person was not nominated under section 3(2); or

(d) there was some other good reason why the application for the transfer of the registration was not made.