天美影院

Careless contraventions can be best explained by an extract taken from the First-tier Tribunal decision in聽HMRC v David Collis聽where Judge Berner said:

鈥淭hat penalty applies if the inaccuracy in the relevant document is due to a failure on the part of the taxpayer (or other person giving the document) to take reasonable care. We consider that the standard by which this falls to be judged is that of a prudent and reasonable taxpayer in the position of the taxpayer in question.鈥�

The law defines 鈥榗areless鈥� as a failure to take reasonable care.

The courts find that reasonable care is best defined as the behaviour which is that of a prudent and reasonable person in the position of the person in question. This means examining what the person did or failed to do and deciding whether a prudent and reasonable person would have done that or failed to do that in those circumstances.

Each person has a responsibility to take reasonable care, but 鈥榬easonable care鈥� needs to take into account that person鈥檚 abilities and circumstances.

In considering whether 鈥榬easonable care鈥� has been taken, the test is simply one of 鈥榬easonableness鈥�. No other measure should be used when measuring 鈥榬easonable care鈥�. It should be measured only as an assessment of whether the action taken was 鈥榬easonable鈥�.

An example might be where a business has聽risk assessments聽(RAs) and聽policies, controls and procedures聽(PCPs) in place but has failed to follow the PCPs in some cases (see ECSH33200). The decision maker (DM) should consider carefully whether the business鈥檚 act was careless or deliberate and what sanctions are appropriate for the contraventions.

What might be considered unreasonable in one case, may not be unreasonable in another, depending on the circumstances. The DM needs to consider the facts of each case. The burden is on the person to satisfy the DM that they took reasonable care to comply with their obligations under The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017.