# Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025, Section 53: Amount of penalty relating to fraud

Extent: E+W

(1) A penalty imposed on a person under section 51(a) may not exceed 100% of the payment to which it relates.
(2) Where a penalty is imposed under section 51(a) in relation to conduct which does not result in a person receiving a payment, subsection (1) is to be read as if the reference to “the payment” were to the payment which, in the opinion of the Minister, a person would have received if a payment had been made in consequence of the conduct.
(3) A penalty imposed on a person under section 51(b) may not exceed 100% of—
(a) any loss caused to the public authority, or
(b) if higher, the benefit gained by the person,
as a result of the fraud in question.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/28/section/53 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/public-authorities-fraud-error-and-recovery-act-2025/section-53
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.