UK Internal Market - Office for the Internal Market: Penalties

Overview

The UK Government is seeking views on the maximum penalties the Office for the Internal Market (OIM) can impose for non-compliance with a request for information, under the UK Internal Market Act 2020.

Please read the consultation document found on GOV.UK before responding to the questions. 

Why your views matter

The Government is seeking views on:

• the maximum penalty for the intentional obstruction or delay of any person in the exercise of the power at section 41(7) of the Act – the copying of documents produced in accordance with an information notice. Such a penalty must be a fixed amount.
• the maximum level of penalty the OIM can administer for non-compliance with a request for information. The penalty could be a single fixed amount, a daily rate or both.

The responses received from this consultation will help inform the Government’s approach to setting the maximum level of penalties. Following the consultation, the Government expects to introduce secondary legislation under section 43 of the Act to specify the maximum amounts of penalties the OIM can impose. This legislation will allow the OIM to levy penalties for non-compliance with information requests. This draft legislation has been provided for information alongside this consultation, and can be found on GOV.UK or attached at the bottom of this page.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the implementation of the OIM is informed by a robust evidence base. The consultation is open to anyone with an interest and we would welcome views from a wide range of stakeholders.

What happens next

The Government will carefully consider the responses received before making a final decision on the maximum penalty rates. The Government aims to respond to this consultation within 12 weeks of the close of this consultation.