Page:The Public General Acts and Church Assembly Measure 1960.pdf/17

 The foregoing provisions of this Act shall not affect the operation of any enactment which protects goods and chattels of any class from distress or which restricts in any other manner the right to obtain a warrant of distress or its execution.

A warrant of distress under this Act may be executed any where in England or Wales by any person to whom it is directed or by any constable acting within his police area.

The forms of warrant of distress in the First Schedule to this Act, or forms to the like effect, may be used in proceedings under this Act and, to save expense, one warrant of distress may be issued against any number of persons in default, as in the second of the said forms.

Any person aggrieved by a distress under this Act for a rate may appeal to the next court of quarter sessions for the area where the rate was made and the appeal shall be heard and finally determined in such sessions.

A distress under this Act shall not be deemed to be unlawful on account of any defect or want of form in the rate or assessment or in the warrant of distress and no person making the distress shall be deemed a trespasser on that account.

No person making a distress under this Act shall be deemed to be a trespasser from the beginning on account of any subsequent irregularity in the execution of the warrant of distress, but a person who has sustained special damage by reason of the irregularity may recover full satisfaction for the special damage (and no more) by proceedings in trespass or otherwise.

The magistrates' court issuing a warrant of distress under this Act may, if it thinks fit, include in the warrant an order that such sum as it may deem reasonable for the incurred in obtaining the warrant shall be levied under the warrant.

This section shall have effect subject to the restriction on the allowance of costs imposed by the Poor Rates Recovery Act, 1862 (which, in a case where several rates of the same or different kinds are due from the same person, authorises their inclusion in one warrant of distress or other document and directs that no costs be allowed if several such documents are used where one would be enough ).

The Minister of Housing and Local Government may make an order regulating the charges in respect of, and incidental to, the levying of distress for rates ; and a warrant of distress under this Act may provide that the charges attending the distress, to the amount authorised by the order, shall be levied under the warrant.