At the moment, people can be fined with a fixed-penalty notice if they repeatedly break the rules covering rubbish collections, such as recycling incorrectly or leaving waste out on the wrong day.

BBC: Council rubbish bin collection fines to be scrapped

Firms could be fined 20% of turnover, with individuals liable to penalties of 40% of their salary and bonuses.

BBC: FSA issued record fines in 2009

Announcements were made from loudspeakers in local mosques warning that tribesmen found with such phones would be fined and the device confiscated.

BBC: Obituary: Mullah Nazir

Although it is the first to be fined for delays to payouts, others have been hit with penalties for the way complaints have been handled.

BBC: Lloyds fined for PPI payment delay by FSA

If drug companies made so many claims with so little evidence, "they would be fined, " says Georgetown University physician Daniel Merenstein, who did the study of Lifeway's good bacteria.

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