Paragraph 15 Offences for failing to comply with notices
A person to whom a notice under regulation 10 or 11 is addressed commits an offence if the person—
fails to comply with the notice, or
in purported compliance with the notice—
makes a statement that the person knows to be false in a material particular, or
recklessly makes a statement that is false in a material particular.
Where the person is a legal entity, an offence is also committed by every officer of the entity who is in default.
A person does not commit an offence under sub-paragraph (1)(a) (or sub-paragraph (2) as it applies in relation to that sub-paragraph) if the person proves that the requirement to give information was frivolous or vexatious.
A person guilty of an offence under this paragraph is liable—
on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine (or both);
on summary conviction—
in England and Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine (or both);
in Scotland and Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (or both).