Social Security Act 1975

146 Offences and penalties

(1) If a person fails to pay, at or within the time prescribed for the purpose, any contribution which he is liable under Part I of this Act to pay, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not more than £50.

(2) Subsection (1) above does not apply to Class 4 contributions recoverable by the Inland Revenue.

(3) If a person—

(a) buys, sells or offers for sale, takes or gives in exchange, or pawns or takes in pawn a contribution card or a used contribution stamp; or

(b) affixes a used contribution stamp to a contribution card; or

(c) for the purpose of obtaining any benefit or other payment under this Act, whether for himself or some other person, or for any other purpose connected with this Act—

(i) knowingly makes any false statement or false representation, or

(ii) produces or furnishes, or causes or knowingly allows to be produced or furnished, any document or information which he knows to be false in a material particular,

he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not more than £400, or to imprisonment for a term not more than 3 months, or to both.

(4) In this Act " contribution card " means any card issued under regulations for the purpose of payment of contributions by affixing stamps to it; and in any proceedings under subsection (3) above with respect to used stamps a stamp shall be deemed to have been used if it has been affixed to a contribution card or cancelled or defaced in any way whatsoever and whether or not it has actually been used for the payment of a contribution.

(5) Subject to other express provisions of this Act, regulations may provide for the recovery on summary conviction of penalties for offences under this Act of contravening or failure to comply with regulations; but penalties so provided shall not exceed—

(a) for any one offence, £50 ; or

(b) for an offence of continuing any such contravention or failure after conviction, £10 for each day on which it is so continued;

but this subsection does not apply to a contravention of, or failure to comply with, regulations requiring a person to submit himself to medical treatment.