295.Section 147 creates a civil penalty for failure to deliver specified documents to the Electoral Commission as required under Parts III to VII. Subsections (3) and (4), which are modelled upon the financial penalties to which public companies are liable for failure to submit accounts under section 242A of the Companies Act 1985, provide for a scale of penalties based upon the length of the period during which the party has failed to comply with the relevant requirements. However, unlike the equivalent penalties under the Companies Act, which are recovered administratively, the Commission will, under subsection (5), recover the penalties as a debt through the courts.
Commentary on Sections Part X : Miscellaneous and general Section 147 : Civil penalty for failure to deliver documents etc