UK Offence Report

6 If any person— a knowingly or recklessly makes any false statement for the purpose of obtaining the…

regulation 6 of Deseasonalisation Premium (Protection of Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

6 If any person—

a knowingly or recklessly makes any false statement for the purpose of obtaining the payment to himself or any other person of

a premium;

b wilfully makes

a false entry in any book, account, record or other document relating to an application for premium or with intent to deceive makes use of any such entry which he knows to be false; he shall be liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for

a term not exceeding

3 months or both, or on conviction on indictment to

a fine or to imprisonment for

a term not exceeding

2 years or both.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
making a false or misleading statement
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (for the purpose of obtaining, knowingly, knowingly or recklessly, recklessly, wilfully, with intent to).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: knowingly, wilfully, with intent to, recklessly, for the purpose of obtaining, knowingly or recklessly.

What would breach regulation 6?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Deseasonalisation Premium (Protection of Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996.
  2. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
  3. Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

in Northern Ireland a reference to a level is construed as referring to the standard scale as it currently stands (Fines and Penalties (NI) Order 1984 art.5(3)), not as it stood when the instrument was made.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
20 December 1996
In force from
1 January 1997
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations.) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

Article 4c of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 805/68 (inserted by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2066/92 and amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 125/93, Council Regulation (EEC) No. 424/95, Council Regulation (EC) No. 2417/95 and Council Regulation (EC) No. 1588/96) provides for the payment to beef and veal producers of a deseasonalisation premium. Detailed rules for administration of the premium are laid down in Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3886/92, Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3887/92, Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3888/92 as amended by Commission Regulations (EEC) No. 538/93, Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1909/93 and Council Regulation (EC) No. 1648/95. Northern Ireland satisfies the conditions for the granting of the premium in 1997 and it will therefore be paid on eligible animals slaughtered during the period 1st January 1997 to 10th June 1997. These Regulations supplement the relevant provisions of the Council and Commission Regulations in respect of 1997. A producer may lodge an application with the Department of Agriculture (the Department) during the period 1st July 1997 to 12th September 1997 (regulation 3). The Regulations specify the circumstances in which premium may be recovered by the Department (regulation 4) and the rate of interest payable when a wrong payment is recovered (regulation 5). The Regulations also provide for offences relating to the making of false statements which are punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding level 5 (currently £5,000) on the standard scale or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or both, or on conviction on indictment with a fine or with imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or both (regulation 6). These Regulations revoke the Deseasonalisation Premium (Protection of Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.72.

Basis
the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
Confidence
0.72 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source