SPM90510 - Penalties - General

An authorised officer can take proceedings before the First-tier Tribunal to determine a statutory payment penalty relating to failures to provide information or access to documents under:

paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the Employment Act 2002 or

paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the Employment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 (SI2002/2836).

HMRC have authorised any officer in Pay Band Grade 6 or above serving in PSN, NIC &EO, SCI, LBS or Local Compliance to commence proceedings. Any appeal against the First-tier Tribunal penalty determination is direct to the Upper Tribunal, seeSPM90150.

Appeals against the determinations made by the Upper Tribunal may be made to the relevant appellate court on a point of law and where permission is given by the Upper Tribunal or relevant appellate court, that is, the Court of Appeal in England and Wales, Court of Session in Scotland, and Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland.

Penalty proceedings can be considered when

• anyone fails to comply with Formal Information Notice, see SPM90220 
• the employer refuses access to their statutory payment records, see SPM90240 
• the employer fails to give required statutory payment information to their employees, see SPM90260.

If the failure to comply with a Formal Information Notice is made good at any point before the imposition of an initial penalty by the First-tier Tribunal then no daily penalty arises.

Where an employer refuses access to their records, the Senior Manager should always contact the Tax Administration Advice Team. For more information, see COG905160 and the Compliance Handbook CH20000