Section 16 | The FCA and financial services interfaces: penalties and levies

(1)Subsections (2) and (3) are about the provision that regulations made by the Treasury under this Part providing for the FCA to enforce requirements under FCA interface rules may (among other things) contain in relation to financial penalties.

(2)The regulations may require or enable the FCA—

(a)to set the amount or maximum amount of, or of an increase in, a penalty imposed in respect of failure to comply with a requirement imposed by the FCA in exercise of a power conferred by regulations under section 14 (whether imposed by means of FCA interface rules or an FCA additional requirement), or

(b)to set the method for determining such an amount.

(3)Regulations made in reliance on subsection (2)—

(a)must require the FCA to produce and publish a statement of its policy with respect to the amount of the penalties;

(b)may require the policy to include specified matters;

(c)may make provision about the procedure for producing the statement;

(d)may require copies of the statement to be provided to specified persons;

(e)may require the FCA to have regard to a statement published in accordance with the regulations.

(4)The Treasury may by regulations—

(a)impose, or provide for the FCA to impose, a levy on data holders or third party recipients for the purpose of meeting expenses incurred, or to be incurred, during a period by the FCA, or by a person acting on the FCA’s behalf, in performing duties, or exercising powers, imposed or conferred on the FCA by regulations under section 14, and

(b)make provision about what must or may be done with funds raised by means of the levy.

(5)Regulations under subsection (4) may only provide for a levy in respect of expenses of the FCA to be imposed on persons that appear to the Treasury to be capable of being directly affected by the exercise of some or all of the functions conferred on the FCA by regulations under section 14.

(6)Regulations under subsection (4) providing for the FCA to impose a levy must—

(a)make provision about how the rate of the levy is to be determined;

(b)make provision about how the period in respect of which the levy is payable is to be determined;

(c)require the FCA to publish information about the rate, the period and how they are determined.

(7)Regulations under subsection (4) may (among other things) make provision about—

(a)interest on any unpaid amounts payable by way of a levy;

(b)the recovery of such unpaid amounts.