CCPG29020 - Reviews and appeals: new information provided
Actions for the penalty decision maker
Traders may provide new information about a contravention at any time. If you, as the review officer receive new information it is for you to consider it, see ARTG4630.
Where you have issued a warning letter, you must consider whether the new information provides a basis for amending the decision contained in your warning letter.
Where we have charged a penalty, you should consider whether you should change the penalty in light of the new information.
For example, you may need to consider:
- Did a contravention occur at all
- Does the new information amount to a reasonable excuse, or
- In the case of a penalty notice, is mitigation, or the amount of mitigation, still appropriate.
Once you have considered the new information you should take one of the following actions:
- If the new information does not change your decision, you should notify the trader, allowing them a further 30 days in which to accept the review offer or appeal to the tribunal, see ARTG3080
- If the trader sends information after your decision, you consider it and it does not change your decision, you should notify the trader and refer the case to review and appeals team as per CCPG11900
- If the new information provided leads you to allow higher mitigation, you should amend the penalty and issue an amended penalty notice
- If you decide to cancel the penalty because of the new information provided, you should write to the trader to tell them that the penalty is cancelled
- If you cancel the penalty because we accept that no penalty is due even though there is a contravention, you must issue a letter of written instruction. It should record that the trader has received education and advice in respect of areas of non-compliance identified as a result of the intervention, see CCPG25200
- If you cancel the penalty because there was no contravention, you do not need to do anything further
- If the penalty is cancelled or varied by Review and Appeals team and a repayment is due to the trader, notify PN301 Team by email. Include supporting documents to allow repayment to be made.
In all cases where you amend or cancel a penalty you must notify the PN301 Team by email.