Pensions Act 1995

Penalties

155 Breach of regulations under the Pension Schemes Act 1993

(1) For section 168 of the [1993 c. 48.] Pension Schemes Act 1993 (penalties for breach of regulations) there is substituted—

“168 Breach of regulations

(1) Regulations under any provision of this Act (other than Chapter II of Part VII) may make such provision as is referred to in subsection (2) or (4) for the contravention of any provision contained in regulations made or having effect as if made under any provision of this Act.

(2) The regulations may provide for the contravention to be an offence under this Act and for the recovery on summary conviction of a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(3) An offence under any provision of the regulations may be charged by reference to any day or longer period of time; and a person may be convicted of a second or subsequent offence under such a provision by reference to any period of time following the preceding conviction of the offence.

(4) The regulations may provide for a person who has contravened the provision to pay to the Regulatory Authority, within a prescribed period, a penalty not exceeding an amount specified in the regulations; and the regulations must specify different amounts in the case of individuals from those specified in other cases and any amount so specified may not exceed the amount for the time being specified in the case of individuals or, as the case may be, others in section 10(2)(a) of the Pensions Act 1995.

(5) Regulations made by virtue of subsection (4) do not affect the amount of any penalty recoverable under that subsection by reason of an act or omission occurring before the regulations are made.

(6) Where—

(a) apart from this subsection, a penalty under subsection (4) is recoverable from a body corporate or Scottish partnership by reason of any act or omission of the body or partnership as a trustee of a trust scheme, and

(b) the act or omission was done with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any persons mentioned in subsection (7),

such a penalty is recoverable from each of those persons who consented to or connived in the act or omission or to whose neglect the act or omission was attributable.

(7) The persons referred to in subsection (6)(b)—

(a) in relation to a body corporate, are—

(i) any director, manager, secretary, or other similar officer of the body, or a person purporting to act in any such capacity, and

(ii) where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, any member in connection with his functions of management, and

(b) in relation to a Scottish partnership, are the partners.

(8) Where the Regulatory Authority requires any person to pay a penalty by virtue of subsection (6), they may not also require the body corporate, or Scottish partnership, in question to pay a penalty in respect of the same act or omission.

(9) A penalty under subsection (4) is recoverable by the Authority and any such penalty recovered by the Authority must be paid to the Secretary of State.

(10) Where by reason of the contravention of any provision contained in regulations made, or having effect as if made, under this Act—

(a) a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, or

(b) a person pays a penalty under subsection (4),

then, in respect of that contravention, he shall not, in a case within paragraph (a), be liable to pay such a penalty or, in a case within paragraph (b), be convicted of such an offence.

(11) In this section “contravention” includes failure to comply, and “Scottish partnership” means a partnership constituted under the law of Scotland.

168A Offence in connection with the Registrar

(1) Any person who knowingly or recklessly provides the Registrar with information which is false or misleading in a material particular is guilty of an offence if the information—

(a) is provided in purported compliance with a requirement under section 6, or

(b) is provided otherwise than as mentioned in paragraph (a) above but in circumstances in which the person providing the information intends, or could reasonably be expected to know, that it would be used by the Registrar for the purpose of discharging his functions under this Act.

(2) Any person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum,

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment or a fine, or both”.

(2) In section 186 of that Act (Parliamentary control of orders and regulations), in subsection (3), after paragraph (c) there is inserted “or

(d) regulations made by virtue of section 168(2)”.