Finance (No. 2) Act 1997

General provisions about penalties etc. U.K.

17 (1) Where a company which has become liable to a tax-geared penalty subsequently becomes liable to another such penalty, the amount or, as the case may be, maximum amount of the subsequent penalty shall be treated as reduced so that the aggregate of the tax-geared penalties to which the company has become liable does not exceed the greater or greatest of them. U.K.

(2) In sub-paragraph (1) above “tax-geared penalty” means (subject to sub-paragraph (3) below)—

(a) a penalty under paragraph 2(1) or 14(1) above, or

(b) a penalty under paragraph 2(2) above falling within paragraph 2(3)(b) or (c) above.

(3) Where a company has become liable to both—

(a) a penalty falling within paragraph 2(3)(b) above, and

(b) a penalty falling within paragraph 2(3)(c) above,

the aggregate of those penalties shall be treated as only one tax-geared penalty for the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) above.

(4) The provisions of the Management Act set out in sub-paragraph (5) below shall apply, subject to the modifications set out in sub-paragraph (6) below, in relation to penalties under this Schedule as they apply in relation to the penalties mentioned in those provisions.

(5) The provisions applied by sub-paragraph (4) above are—

(a) section 100 (determination of penalties);

(b) section 100A(2) and (3) (provision supplementary to section 100);

(c) section 100C (penalty proceedings before Commissioners);

(d) section 100D (penalty proceedings before courts);

(e) section 102 (mitigation of penalties);

(f) section 103 (time limit for penalty proceedings); and

(g) section 103A (interest on penalties).

(6) The modifications mentioned in that sub-paragraph are—

(a) in section 100(2), for the words from “a penalty” onwards there shall be deemed to be substituted a reference to a penalty by virtue of paragraph 13(3) above;

(b) subsection (6) of section 100 shall be deemed to be omitted;

(c) in section 100A(3), the reference to tax shall be deemed to be a reference to windfall tax;

(d) in section 100C(1), the words “General or” shall be deemed to be omitted; and

(e) in section 103, the references to tax in subsection (1) shall be deemed to be references to windfall tax, and subsection (2) shall be deemed to be omitted.

(7) An appeal may be brought against any determination under section 100 of the Management Act of a penalty under this Schedule.

(8) Subject to sub-paragraph (9) below, the provisions of this Schedule relating to an appeal against an assessment to windfall tax shall apply (with the necessary modifications) in relation to any appeal under sub-paragraph (7) above.

(9) Paragraph 10 above shall not apply to an appeal under sub-paragraph (7) above and the powers of the Special Commissioners on an appeal under that sub-paragraph shall be those set out in section 100B(2)(a) and (b) of the Management Act.

(10) Subsection (3) of section 100B of the Management Act (further appeals) shall apply where there has been an appeal under sub-paragraph (7) above as it applies where there has been an appeal under subsection (1) of that section.

(11) The liabilities of any person under this Part shall be without prejudice to any criminal liability arising in relation to the same matter.