National minimum wage equivalence declarations Section 3: Request for declaration
Section 3 requires harbour authorities to request that operators of services within the scope of the Act provide them with a national minimum wage equivalence declaration (an equivalence declaration) (see section 4) where they have reasonable grounds to believe that ships providing the service will call at their harbour at least 120 times in a relevant year.
	"Relevant year" is defined in section 3(6) as being a period of 12 months beginning with a date specified in regulations and then each successive period of 12 months.
	This duty is subject to any direction given by the Secretary of State not to request an equivalence declaration.
	The section provides that a harbour authority which does not comply with the duty to request an equivalence declaration commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction in England and Wales to a fine and in Scotland and Northern Ireland to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.
	This section also includes a power for the Secretary of State to make regulations specifying the period within which harbour authorities must request an equivalence declaration, the form of such declarations and the manner and period following a request in which declarations are to be provided.