1. (a) Liability for penalty Any person who—

   1. (1) has a duty to report or may have a duty to report any information under section 6047(d), and
   2. (2) fails to keep such records as may be required by regulations prescribed under section 6047(d) for the purpose of providing the necessary data base for either current reporting or future reporting,

   shall pay a penalty for each calendar year for which there is any failure to keep such records.

2. (b) Amount of penalty

   1. (1) In general The penalty of any person for any calendar year shall be $50, multiplied by the number of individuals with respect to whom such failure occurs in such year.
   2. (2) Maximum amount The penalty under this section of any person for any calendar year shall not exceed $50,000.

3. (c) Exceptions

   1. (1) Reasonable cause No penalty shall be imposed by this section on any person for any failure which is shown to be due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect.
   2. (2) Inability to correct previous failure No penalty shall be imposed by this section on any failure by a person if such failure is attributable to a prior failure which has been penalized under this section and with respect to which the person has made all reasonable efforts to correct the failure.
   3. (3) Pre-1983 failures No penalty shall be imposed by this section on any person for any failure which is attributable to a failure occurring before January 1, 1983, if the person has made all reasonable efforts to correct such pre-1983 failure.

(Added Pub. L. 97–248, title III, § 334(c)(1), Sept. 3, 1982, 96 Stat. 627; amended Pub. L. 99–514, title XVIII, § 1848(e)(1), Oct. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. 2857.)

Amendments 1986—Pub. L. 99–514 substituted “section 6047(d)” for “section 6047(e)” in section catchline and in subsec. (a).

Effective Date of 1986 Amendment Amendment by Pub. L. 99–514 effective, except as otherwise provided, as if included in the provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1984, Pub. L. 98–369, div. A, to which such amendment relates, see section 1881 of Pub. L. 99–514, set out as a note under section 48 of this title.

Effective Date Section effective Jan. 1, 1985, see section 334(e)(3) of Pub. L. 97–248, set out as a note under section 3405 of this title.

Plan Amendments Not Required Until January 1, 1989 For provisions directing that if any amendments made by subtitle A or subtitle C of title XI [§§ 1101–1147 and 1171–1177] or title XVIII [§§ 1800–1899A] of Pub. L. 99–514 require an amendment to any plan, such plan amendment shall not be required to be made before the first plan year beginning on or after Jan. 1, 1989, see section 1140 of Pub. L. 99–514, as amended, set out as a note under section 401 of this title.