{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/late-payment-of-commercial-debts-interest-act-1998/section-3",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/late-payment-of-commercial-debts-interest-act-1998/section-3.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1998/20",
  "legislation_title": "Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/late-payment-of-commercial-debts-interest-act-1998",
  "path": "section/3",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "3",
  "heading": "Qualifying debts.",
  "text": "(1) A debt created by virtue of an obligation under a contract to which this Act applies to pay the whole or any part of the contract price is a “qualifying debt” for the purposes of this Act, unless (when created) the whole of the debt is prevented from carrying statutory interest by this section.\n(2) A debt does not carry statutory interest if or to the extent that it consists of a sum to which a right to interest or to charge interest applies by virtue of any enactment (other than section 1 of this Act).\nThis subsection does not prevent a sum from carrying statutory interest by reason of the fact that a court, arbitrator or arbiter would, apart from this Act, have power to award interest on it.\n(3) A debt does not carry (and shall be treated as never having carried) statutory interest if or to the extent that a right to demand interest on it, which exists by virtue of any rule of law, is exercised.\n(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\n(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "S. 3(4)(5) repealed (E. W. NI.) (7.8.2002) by S.I. 2002/1674, reg. 2(3)S. 3(4)(5) repealed (S.) (7.8.2002) by S.S.I. 2002/335, reg. 2(4) (with reg. 4)"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 3 fully in force; s. 3 not in force at Royal Assent see s. 17(2); s. 3 in force for specified purposes: at 1.11.1998 by S.I. 1998/2479, art. 3; at 1.7.1999 by S.I. 1999/1816, art. 3; at 1.9.2000 by S.I. 2000/2225, art. 3(1), Sch.; at 1.11.2000 by S.I. 2000/2740, art. 3(1); S. 3 in force (E. W. NI.) in so far as not already in force at 7.8.2002 by S.I. 2002/1673, art. 2; S. 3 in force (S.) in so far as not already in force at 7.8.2002 by S.S.I. 2002/337, art. 2"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/20/section/3",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T09:22:57.968528+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}