32Authority may charge and recover fees

32 Authority may charge and recover fees

32 Authority may charge and recover fees

(1) The Authority may charge and recover a fee for any authorisation it gives or any service it provides under the Act or this Regulation.

(2) Without limiting subclause (1), the services for which a fee may be charged include the following—

(a) supplying a service, product or commodity,

(b) giving information,

(c) providing a service in connection with the exercise of the Authority’s regulatory functions—for example, receiving an application for an approval, an authorisation or a certificate, granting an approval, giving an authorisation or making an inspection and issuing a certificate,

(d) allowing admission to a sportsground or to any building or enclosure.

(3) In particular, the Authority may charge a fee for inspecting premises that are reasonably required to be inspected in the exercise of the Authority’s functions, whether or not the inspection is requested or agreed to by the owner or occupier of the premises.

(4) However, the Authority may not charge a fee for the inspection of premises that are not used for a commercial activity, except where it is necessary to inspect the premises in connection with an application for an approval or a certificate concerning the premises or in connection with any inspection that is reasonably necessary to determine if an approval or a certificate has been complied with.

(5) If inspections of premises are reasonably necessary to determine if an approval or a certificate has been complied with, a fee may not be charged for the inspection of any thing for which the Authority relies on a certificate under section 93 of the Local Government Act 1993 that the thing has been done in compliance with the approval or certificate.

(6) A fee charged for inspecting premises must be repaid to the person who paid it if the inspection is not carried out.