- Latest available (Revised)
- Point in Time (12/03/2015)
- Original (As enacted)
Version Superseded: 22/02/2024
Point in time view as at 12/03/2015.
There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Finance Act 1996, Cross Heading: Criminal penalties.
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.
16(1)A person guilty of an offence under paragraph 15(1) above is liable—U.K.
(a)on summary conviction, to a penalty of [F1the statutory maximum] [F1£20,000] or of three times the amount of the tax, whichever is the greater, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to a penalty of any amount or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or to both.
(2)The reference in sub-paragraph (1) above to the amount of the tax shall be construed, in relation to tax itself or a payment falling within paragraph 15(2) above, as a reference to the aggregate of—
(a)the amount (if any) falsely claimed by way of credit, and
(b)the amount (if any) by which the gross amount of tax was falsely understated.
(3)A person guilty of an offence under paragraph 15(3) or (4) above is liable—
(a)on summary conviction, to a penalty of [F2the statutory maximum] [F2£20,000] (or, where sub-paragraph (4) below applies, to the alternative penalty there specified if it is greater) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to a penalty of any amount or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or to both.
(4)Where—
(a)the document referred to in paragraph 15(3) above is a return required under this Part of this Act, or
(b)the information referred to in paragraph 15(4) above is contained in or otherwise relevant to such a return,
the alternative penalty is a penalty equal to three times the aggregate of the amount (if any) falsely claimed by way of credit and the amount (if any) by which the gross amount of tax was understated.
(5)A person guilty of an offence under paragraph 15(5) above is liable—
(a)on summary conviction, to a penalty of [F3the statutory maximum] [F3£20,000] (or, if greater, three times the amount of any tax that was or was intended to be evaded by his conduct) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to a penalty of any amount or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years or to both;
and paragraph 15(2) and sub-paragraph (2) above shall apply for the purposes of this sub-paragraph as they apply respectively for the purposes of paragraph 15(1) and sub-paragraph (1) above.
(6)A person guilty of an offence under paragraph 15(6) above is liable on summary conviction to a penalty of [F4level 5 on the standard scale] [F4£20,000] or three times the amount of the tax, whichever is the greater.
(7)A person guilty of an offence under paragraph 15(7) above is liable on summary conviction to a penalty of [F5level 5 on the standard scale] [F5£20,000].
(8)In this paragraph—
(a)“credit” means credit for which provision is made by regulations under section 51 of this Act;
(b)“the gross amount of tax” means the total amount of tax due before taking into account any deduction for which provision is made by regulations under section 51(2) of this Act.
Textual Amendments
F1Sum substituted for figure in Sch. 5 para. 16(1)(a) (E.W.) (12.3.2015) by The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Fines on Summary Conviction) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/664), reg. 1(1), Sch. 2 para. 9(a) (with reg. 5(1))
F2Sum substituted for figure in Sch. 5 para. 16(3)(a) (E.W.) (12.3.2015) by The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Fines on Summary Conviction) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/664), reg. 1(1), Sch. 2 para. 9(b) (with reg. 5(1))
F3Sum substituted for figure in Sch. 5 para. 16(5)(a) (E.W.) (12.3.2015) by The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Fines on Summary Conviction) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/664), reg. 1(1), Sch. 2 para. 9(c) (with reg. 5(1))
F4Sum substituted for level in Sch. 5 para. 16(6)(a) (E.W.) (12.3.2015) by The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Fines on Summary Conviction) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/664), reg. 1(1), Sch. 2 para. 9(d) (with reg. 5(1))
F5Sum substituted for level in Sch. 5 para. 16(7)(a) (E.W.) (12.3.2015) by The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Fines on Summary Conviction) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/664), reg. 1(1), Sch. 2 para. 9(e) (with reg. 5(1))
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including: