FHDDS51440 | Penalties, sanctions and offences: penalties – policy: Trading without approval - level of proof

You must clearly establish from the facts (a) that there has been a contravention and (b) the behaviour that led to the contravention, i.e. whether it was deliberate or not, and if deliberate whether or not the contravention was concealed.

You must also consider whether the person has established that there is a reasonable excuse for the contravention.

Although we accept that proceedings for certain penalties are criminal for the purpose of human rights legislation, see the Compliance Handbook CH300000, the civil standard of proof continues to apply to such cases. This standard of proof is the balance of probabilities.

This means that if the contravention is non-deliberate you must have sufficient evidence to show that the contravention occurred and when. If the contravention is deliberate you will also need sufficient evidence to show that the contravention was, on the balance of probabilities, deliberate.