Cap. 318 Art. 97Time and manner of making claims.

(1) It shall be a condition of any person’s right to any benefit, pension, allowance, injury grant or assistance granted under the provisions of this Act that -

(a) he makes a claim therefor on the official form of the

Department for that benefit, pension, allowance, injury grant or assistance or in such other manner as the

Director may otherwise determine in respect of any particular benefit, pension, allowance, injury grant or assistance or with respect to any particular claim, and that this claim is officially received by the Department within the respective time limits laid down in sub-article (2);

(b) he produces such certificates, documents, information and evidence for the purpose of determining his right to such benefit, pension, allowance, injury grant or assistance as the Director may, from time to time, require and for that purpose attends at such office or place as the Director may appoint.

(2) The time limits referred to in sub-article (1)(a) shall be as follows:

(a) in the case of Sickness Benefit and Injury Benefit, ten days starting from the first day of incapacity for work, and in the case of an injury grant/injury pension that may be payable as a consequence of the after effects of an injury, within a month of the diagnosis of such after effects;

(b) in the case of Unemployment Benefit or Special Unemployment Benefit, Social Assistance, Medical Assistance, an Age Pension, an Increased Severe Disability Assistance, Severe Disability Assistance, Disability Assistance, an Assistance for the Visually Impaired, a Carer’s Allowance, Increased Carer’s Allowance, a Pension in respect of Invalidity or a Supplementary Allowance, five days starting from the day in respect of which the claim is made;

(c) in the case of a Marriage Grant, a Maternity Benefit, a Children’s Allowance, a Disabled Child Allowance or a Pension in respect of Retirement or Widowhood, six months starting from -

(i) the day on which the child is born, in respect of a Maternity Benefit, a Children’s Allowance and a Disabled Child Allowance;

(ii) the day on which the person concerned reaches his retirement, in the case of a Pension in respect of Retirement;

(iii) the day on which the female concerned becomes a widow, in the case of a Pension in respect of Widowhood; and

(iv) the day of marriage, in the case of a Marriage Grant: Provided that if no claim is made for any of the aforesaid benefits, pensions, allowances or assistance within the aforesaid time limits, entitlement to such benefits, pensions, allowances and assistance shall only accrue as from the date on which the relevant claim is accepted by the Director as having been officially received by the Department; sohowever that in the case of a Marriage Grant or Maternity Benefit no entitlement to such benefit shall accrue after the lapse of the period referred to in paragraph (c): Provided further that -

(i) for the purposes of this sub-article any such claim as aforesaid in this sub-article shall not be accepted as having been officially received by the Department unless and until it bears such official departmental stamp as may be determined by the Director, which stamp shall include the date on which such a claim had been so officially received by the Department; and

(ii) where the person making a claim for such benefit, pension, allowance or assistance as aforesaid proves to the satisfaction of the Director that any delay in having his claim officially received by the Department was not due to any negligence on his part, the Director may, at his discretion, consider the claim as having been officially received in good time, either -

(a) if such a delay does not exceed a period of one hundred and four weeks, or

(b) in the case of a Disabled Child Allowance if the delay was due in the time taken to process conclusive medical evidence of such disability, or

(c) in the case of a Children’s Allowance, if such allowance was in payment prior to the first Saturday of July, 1996, and the Director is satisfied that the beneficiary had not been requested to submit a declaration in accordance with the provisions of Part VII of the Second Schedule to this Act.

(3) Where at any time prior to the 23rd February, 1990, any person submitted to the Director a claim for Children’s Allowance or Special Allowance under this Act and, for whatever reason such allowance remained unpaid or suspended by the date aforesaid in this sub-article, such person may notwithstanding that such person had failed to appeal to the Umpire appointed under this Act or to take any other action competent to him at law, submit a fresh claim to the Director for such allowance by not later than 30th April,