Commentary on Sections Part 2: Political Donations Etc and Expenditure Section 12: Defence to charge of failing to return donation from impermissible donor
57.Section 12 amends section 56 of the 2000 Act by inserting a new subsection (3A). New subsection (3A) provides that if a party or a treasurer is charged with an offence of accepting an impermissible donation, the party or party treasurer will not be guilty if they can show that they took all reasonable steps to verify that the donor was a permissible donor, and having done so, believed that that was the case.