Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Strict liability definition

What does Strict liability mean? In practice, strict liability describes criminal or regulatory offences where the prosecution need not prove mens rea for one or more elements of the actus reus; once the prohibited conduct or state of affairs is established, liability follows. It is typically encountered in statutory “public welfare” or regulatory offences (for example, health and safety, environmental protection, food safety and some road traffic provisions), and in limited areas such as the age element in certain sexual offences. There is no single statutory definition. Whether an offence is of strict liability is determined by statutory wording as interpreted by the courts. Across England...

Offshore tax evasion: strict liability criminal offences under TMA 1970 ss 106B–106D—elements, £25,000 threshold, defences and penalties (United Kingdom)

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate Crime expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note sets out the criminal offences concerning offshore tax evasion found in section 106 of the Taxes Management Act 1970 (TMA 1970).

Offences under the TMA 1970

Under the TMA 1970, the offences include:

failing to notify that one is chargeable to tax
failing to submit a return
delivering an inaccurate return

Who may be guilty of the offences?

Any individual who has not fully or correctly revealed that they are chargeable to income tax (IT), capital gains tax (CGT), or both, in relation to offshore matters. The government has indicated that ordinary principles of criminal secondary liability also apply, so the offence extends to an agent who knowingly files returns that omit tax due. See Practice Note: Joint enterprise and secondary liability.

Elements of the offences which the prosecution has to prove

The components of the offences are described in the sections that follow. Certain key terms apply to all three offences, including:

‘threshold amount’—£25,000 (currently set at the statutory minimum of £25,000, and capable of being increased in future by further...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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