Skip to main content
Version status: Amended
Version date: 27 June 2023 - onwards
Version 5 of 5

170 False statement offences in connection with information notices

This format of the bill is taken from the text of stage 1st reading published on 22 September 2022 by House of Commons

For section 15 of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 substitute -

"15 Failure to comply with notice under section 12 or 13

(1) A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a notice under section 12 or 13 commits an offence.

(2) Where the offence is committed by a legal entity, the offence is also committed by every officer of the entity who is in default.

(3) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that the requirement to give information was frivolous or vexatious.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable -

(a) on summary conviction in England and Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates' court or a fine (or both);

(b) on summary conviction in Scotland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (or both);

(c) on summary conviction in Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (or both);

(d) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine (or both).

15A False statements under section 12 or 13: basic offence