Labour has again failed to fully comply with electoral laws requiring the prompt registration of large donations.

The Electoral Commission disclosed on Tuesday that the party had belatedly registered 12 donations totalling £130,339.75 that should have been reported in previous quarters.

The elections watchdog will now seek a meeting with general secretary David Triesman and will require an explanation for the late reporting.

Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 - which Labour introduced - there is a requirement for registered political parties to submit quarterly donation reports to the commission, detailing all donations over £5000 to main political party offices and over £1000 to constituency or local party offices.

Failure to register gifts on time is a criminal offence which can lead to a prison sentence of up to one year and an unlimited fine for the treasurer.

"The failure to submit donation details in the correct reporting period contravenes the control framework introduced by legislation in 2001," noted Chris Welford, director of registration and compliance at the commission.

"The commission will therefore follow its normal procedures for ascertaining the reasons for this late reporting, before deciding upon an appropriate course of action."

Labour has had continuing difficulties in complying with the terms of the legislation.

In the first quarter of this year Labour registered donations totalling £61,381 that should have been reported in previous quarters.

For the final quarter of 2002 the party detailed donations of £20,192 that should have been registered previously.

And in the third quarter of 2002 Labour revealed it had received £236,952 during the first quarter of that year and £1,815,549 for the second quarter.

Other parties - including the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party - have also been highlighted by the Electoral Commission for their occasional late returns.

A Labour spokesman said the latest omissions had come to light during the annual end-of-year audit.

The party had taken immediate steps to bring this to the attention of the Electoral Commission", he added.

"This situation arose out of simple human error, which we were quick to put right.

"The party had no intention of misreporting its donated income to the Electoral Commission - quite the opposite.

"We have discussed this matter with the Commission and are actively examining ways of working with them to ensure that oversights of this kind do not recur."