Which Form 843 Assessment 2011-2024

A civil penalty or civil fine is a financial penalty imposed by a government agency as restitution for wrongdoing. The wrongdoing is typically defined by a codification of legislation, regulations, and decrees. The civil fine is not considered to be a criminal punishment because it is primarily sought in order to compensate the state for harm done to it, rather than to punish the wrongful conduct. As such, a civil penalty in itself will not carry jail time or other legal penalties. For example, if a person were to dump toxic waste in a state park, the state would have the same right to seek to recover the cost of cleaning up the mess as would a private landowner, and to bring the complaint to a court of law if necessary. Civil penalties occupy a strange place in some legal systems because they are not criminal penalties. The state need not meet a burden of proof that is beyond a reasonable doubt. However, because the action is brought by the government and some civil penalties can run into the millions of dollars, it would be uncomfortable to subject citizens to them by a burden of proof that is merely a preponderance of the evidence. Therefore, the assessment of most civil penalties requires a finding of clear and convincing evidence before a civil defendant will be held liable. A defendant may well raise excuses, justifications, affirmative defenses, and procedural defenses. An administrative law judge or hearing officer may oversee the proceedings and render a judgment. The judgment is made on the balance of probabilities, meaning if it is more than 50 percent likely that the accused is responsible, then the accused shall be found guilty. In some cases, a civil penalty may be supplemented by other legal processes, including administrative sanctions or even...