You must cancel a civil penalty notice if the individual makes an application for registration before the time for payment of the civil penalty,1
or if either as a result of direct communications from the individual or from other information:2
you are satisfied that the individual is not entitled to be registered at the address at which you gave the invitations to register
you are satisfied that the individual is registered at a different address
you discover that any of the requirements for sending a notice requiring a individual to register had not been met
You have discretion to cancel a civil penalty notice if you consider it appropriate to do so.3
For example:
An individual may have been away for the vast majority of the period between the requirement to register and the civil penalty notice. Depending on the circumstances, it may be appropriate to cancel the civil penalty and set a new deadline for receiving an application.
An individual may not have responded to your invitations and requirement to register on the grounds of a disability or an inability to read or write. Again, in these circumstances, you should consider cancelling the civil penalty and offer any assistance which may be necessary to enable the individual to make an application.
An individual may not have responded to your ITR because they had concerns that their safety could be compromised by providing you with personal information. In those circumstances, you should assess whether they would qualify for registering as an anonymous elector and, where appropriate, cancel the civil penalty and explain the anonymous registration process to them.