Part 1The Pensions Regulator
Gathering information
F177AFixed penalty notices
(1)
The Regulator may issue a fixed penalty notice to a person if it considers that the person—
(a)
has failed to comply with a notice under section 72 or 72A,
(b)
has failed to comply with a requirement under section 75, or
(c)
has prevented or hindered an inspector exercising any power under section 73, 74 or 75.
(2)
A fixed penalty notice is a notice requiring the person to whom it is issued to pay a penalty within the period specified in the notice.
(3)
The penalty—
(a)
is to be determined in accordance with regulations, and
(b)
must not exceed £50,000.
(4)
A fixed penalty notice must—
(a)
state the amount of the penalty;
(b)
state the date by which the penalty must be paid, which must be at least 28 days after the date on which the notice is issued;
(c)
state the period to which the penalty relates;
(d)
specify the failure or conduct to which the penalty relates;
(e)
state that the Regulator may issue an escalating penalty notice under section 77B if the person fails to comply with a notice under section 72 or 72A;
(f)
notify the person to whom the notice is issued of the review process under section 43 of the Pensions Act 2008 and the right of referral to a tribunal under section 44 of that Act (as applied by subsection (5)).
(5)
The following sections of the Pensions Act 2008 apply to a penalty notice under this section as they apply to a penalty notice under section 40 of that Act—
(a)
section 42 (penalty notices: recovery);
(b)
section 43 (review of penalty notices);
(c)
section 44 (references to First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal).
(6)
This section does not apply in a case where section 40 of the Pensions Act 2008 or section 17 of the Pension Schemes Act 2017 applies.