In relation to contracts concluded after 16 March 2013 the rights conferred on creditors by the Late Payments of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 have been given a boost by The Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013 which came into force on that date. The new regulations implement Directive 2011/7/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 2011 on combating late payment in commercial transactions. Broadly speaking the Regulations specify payment periods for contracts for goods or services, by providing that interest on outstanding payments starts to run after certain time periods depending upon when the goods or services are delivered or the relevant invoices received. In the case of contracts with public authorities interest will begin to run after 30 days and for contracts with other entities the relevant period is 60 days. Knowing the detail of these new regulations will help any suppliers who have not expressly provided for default interest in their terms and conditions.
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