CCPG27310 - Penalty notice: deciding on the amount of a penalty: introduction
Penalties are charged in addition to any duties or taxes that may be due.
Once we have decided that it is appropriate to issue a penalty, we must set the amount of that penalty.
Normally we should set a first penalty at £250, although we may set a higher amount dependent on the circumstances surrounding the contravention, having considered the trader’s compliance history or if this is considered a serious error.
We should then set the penalties for subsequent contraventions in larger amounts.
In the case of a contravention which is a failure to produce records or information, we should set progressively higher penalties the longer the failure continues, subject to a limit. If the failure continues, we should consider alternative action.
»Ê¹ÚÌåÓýappre are maximum amounts for penalties. »Ê¹ÚÌåÓýapp maximum penalty amounts are given in the Schedules of contraventions.
We must also consider mitigation of a penalty. This may be done as a result of considering evidence before issuing the penalty notice.
We may also consider mitigation, if suitable evidence is produced after we have issued the penalty notice and, if appropriate; we will reduce the amount of the penalty.
For more detailed guidance on