Article 19 Financial penalties in the event of discrepancies in the quantities of euro banknotes or euro banknote paper

If a discrepancy in the quantity of partly printed or finished euro banknotes or in the quantity of partly finished or finished euro banknote paper is brought to the attention of the ECB in accordance with point (6) of Article 9 or occurs during a euro secure item activity at a manufacturing site of the accredited manufacturer, the ECB may impose a financial penalty on the accredited manufacturer, in addition to any decision taken pursuant to Articles 16, 17 and 18, in any of the following verified cases:

Before taking a decision on a financial penalty, the ECB shall verify that the discrepancy in the quantity of partly printed or finished euro banknotes or in the quantity of partly finished or finished euro banknote paper is due to an instance of non-compliance with the security requirements laid down in a separate decision.

When determining the amount of the financial penalty to be imposed in relation to a verified discrepancy, the ECB shall take into account the face value either of the following:

The ECB may apply a financial penalty different from the face value or equivalent face value determined pursuant to paragraph 3, taking into account the seriousness of the non-compliance with the security requirements in each specific case.

Under no circumstances may the ECB impose a financial penalty exceeding EUR 500 000.

When taking a decision on financial penalties, the ECB shall follow the procedures laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2532/98 and European Central Bank Regulation (EC) No 2157/1999 (ECB/1999/4)^f1.