40.Subsections (1) and (2) define the penalties for committing the offences created by the Act. Disclosure of information contrary to section 6, and knowingly or recklessly giving false or misleading information contrary to section 7, are punishable in a magistrates' court by a fine up to the statutory maximum (currently £5,000), or after a jury trial by an unlimited fine or up to two years' imprisonment (or both). The maximum penalties for all the other offences are a fine up to the statutory maximum in a magistrates' court, or an unlimited fine after a jury trial.
41.The remainder of this section deals with cases where a corporate body or a Scottish partnership commits an offence under the Act. Subsections (3) and (5) render officers of a corporate body or partners in a Scottish partnership liable for the offence committed by the body or partnership if it can be proved that the offence was committed with their consent or connivance or was attributable to their neglect. Subsection (4) extends the definition of "director" to cover a member of a corporate body where the corporate body's members manage its affairs.
Commentary on Sections Section 9: Penalty for offences and offences by bodies corporate