New regulations on late payment
In the latest instalment of her legal digest, construction lawyer Najma Dunnett looks at the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations.
In these economically challenging times, businesses, especially those in the construction sector, need all the help they can get in encouraging prompt payment and aiding cash flow. Indeed poor payment practices, rife in the construction industry, blight many businesses and contributed to the introduction of the Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1998. Now, further help is at hand in the form of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013 which came into force on 16 March.
The Regulations amend the Act by imposing limits on payment periods of:
- 30 calendar days when the purchaser of goods/services is a public authority.
- 60 calendar days when the purchaser is another business, but this can be extended if expressly agreed in the contract and provided it is not grossly unfair to the supplier.
Find out more about late payments.
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