Updated civil penalties notice
HMRC have updated their guide to ‘Civil Penalties – Fixed, Geared and Daily‘. This replaces the previous version which was published as recently as in July 2010. The guide covers how and when HMRC might impose excise civil penalties under the Finance Act 1994, and the types of penalties that apply.
The four different types of excise civil penalties that can be imposed and which are covered in the updated guide are:
- Fixed Penalty – this consists of a fixed sum of money, chargeable for breaches of certain regulations.
- Geared Penalty – this consists of a set percentage of the duty involved subject to a minimum amount.
- Daily penalty – this consists of a fixed sum of money chargeable for each day certain breaches continue. This daily penalty may only be imposed if either of the previous penalties have already been issued for the same breach.
- Breach of Walking Possession Agreement – this consists of a set percentage of the duty or penalty that gave rise to distress action.
The guide makes clear that these penalties do not imply any dishonesty or intention to evade tax or duty.