There is hereby imposed a penalty on the failure of any assigned operator to pay any premium required to be paid under section 9704 with respect to any eligible beneficiary.

(1) Premiums for eligible beneficiaries There is hereby imposed a penalty on the failure of any assigned operator to pay any premium required to be paid under section 9704 with respect to any eligible beneficiary.

(2) Contributions required under the mining laws There is hereby imposed a penalty on the failure of any person to make a contribution required under section 402(h)(5)(B)(ii) of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to a plan referred to in section 402(h)(2)(C) of such Act. For purposes of applying this section, each such required monthly contribution for the hours worked of any individual shall be treated as if it were a premium required to be paid under section 9704 with respect to an eligible beneficiary.

The amount of the penalty imposed by subsection (a) on any failure with respect to any eligible beneficiary shall be $100 per day in the noncompliance period with respect to any such failure.

For purposes of this section, the term “noncompliance period” means, with respect to any failure to pay any premium or installment thereof, the period—

(1) beginning on the due date for such premium or installment, and

(2) ending on the date of payment of such premium or installment.

No penalty shall be imposed by subsection (a) on any failure if—

(1) In general No penalty shall be imposed by subsection (a) on any failure during any period for which it is established to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury that none of the persons responsible for such failure knew, or exercising reasonable diligence would have known, that such failure existed.

No penalty shall be imposed by subsection (a) on any failure if—

(A) such failure was due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect, and

(B) such failure is corrected during the 30-day period beginning on the 1st date that any of the persons responsible for such failure knew, or exercising reasonable diligence would have known, that such failure existed.

(3) Waiver In the case of a failure that is due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect, the Secretary of the Treasury may waive all or part of the penalty imposed by subsection (a) for failures to the extent that the Secretary determines, in his sole discretion, that the payment of such penalty would be excessive relative to the failure involved.

The person failing to meet the requirements of section 9704 shall be liable for the penalty imposed by subsection (a).

For purposes of this title, the penalty imposed by this section shall be treated in the same manner as the tax imposed by section 4980B.

(Added Pub. L. 102–486, title XIX, § 19143(a), Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3050; amended Pub. L. 104–188, title I, § 1704(t)(65), Aug. 20, 1996, 110 Stat. 1890; Pub. L. 109–432, div. C, title II, § 213(b)(1), Dec. 20, 2006, 120 Stat. 3027.)