Large companies and their directors will face criminal proceedings and fines if they do not disclose twice a year their treatment of suppliers, as part of a crackdown to stamp out bad payment practices blamed for tens of thousands of business failures every year. Under new rules that come into force in April, large firms will have to publish details of their payment practices and performance on a website that is being set up by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). BEIS will pursue criminal legal action against the companies, and their directors, if firms fail to provide updates on their conduct twice a year, the Government will say today . If convicted of a criminal offence in magistrates’ courts, directors and companies will be fined. Big firms are facing growing scrutiny over late payments, with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) estimating that if suppliers are paid on time, some 50,000 business failures could be averted each year. According to Bacs, the payments processing company, there is more than £26bn in late payments outstanding to smaller businesses.
Larger companies could have to face civil and criminal proceedings if they fail to state their treatment of suppliers , twice a year , in order to severely reduce bad payment practices . With the new rules coming into play in April , all reports concerning firms ' payment practices will have to be filed on a new basis from the institute for Energy , Energy & Industrial Strategy .