s 5B Article 4 and 5 offences: investigation and enforcement costs
(1) This Article applies where a person is convicted of— (a) an offence under Article 4 in respect of a contravention of paragraph (1) of that Article; or (b) an offence under Article 5 in respect of a failure to comply with paragraph (1) of that Article. (2) The court by or before which the offender is convicted may make an order requiring him to pay— (a) to the Department or a district council a sum which appears to the court not to exceed the costs arising from investigations of the Department or the district council which resulted in the conviction; and (b) to the Department a sum which appears to the court not to exceed the costs arising from the seizure by the Department under Article 5E of a vehicle involved in the offence. (3) The costs arising from the seizure of a vehicle as specified in paragraph (2)(b) may include the cost of disposing of the contents of the vehicle. (4) The power of a court to make an order under this Article is in addition to its power to make an order under section 2 of the Costs in Criminal Cases Act (Northern Ireland) 1968 (award of costs against accused).