Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (Commencement No. 5) Order 2002 and shall come into force on 7th August 2002.

(2) This Order extends to England and Wales, and Northern Ireland(2).

Contracts in relation to which the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 comes into force on 7th August 2002

2.  The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, so far as not then in force, shall come into force on 7th August 2002.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order brings into force the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 for all remaining commercial contracts for the supply of goods or services not already covered by the preceding four commencement orders. The previous Orders covered contracts between (respectively as suppliers and purchasers) small businesses and large businesses, small businesses and public authorities and small businesses and other small businesses. This is the fifth Commencement Order.

This Order partially implements Directive 2000/35/EC of the European Parliament and Council of 29th June 2000 on combating late payment in commercial transactions. A Transposition Note detailing the manner of implementation of this Directive is available at www.dti.gov.uk or from Investment Directorate, Small Business Service, St Mary’s House, c/o Moorfoot, Sheffield S1 4PQ. Tel: 0114-259-7847.

Note as to Earlier Commencement Orders

(This note is not part of the Order)

The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 has been applied to the following different types of commercial contracts for the supply of goods and services by commencement order made prior to the date of this Order.