UK Offence Report

Prohibitions

regulation 18 of The Horse Identification (Scotland) Regulations 2009 (revoked)

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

18 It is an offence to– a destroy or deface an identification document; b alter any entry in an identification document; c make a forged identification document; d knowingly be in possession of a forged identification document; or e provide any information in an application for an identification document knowing it to be false or misleading.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 (knowing it to be, knowingly).

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, knowing it to be.

What would breach regulation 18?

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 Horse Identification (Scotland) Regulations 2009.
  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
£10,000
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

expressed as the statutory maximum (the prescribed sum): the same words mean £5,000 in England and Wales and £10,000 in Scotland.

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
3 June 2009
In force from
1 July 2009
Extent
S

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.

These Regulations make provision in Scotland for the enforcement of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 504/2008. These Regulations revoke and replace the Horse Passports (Scotland) Regulations 2005. They also revoke the Horse Passports (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2007. They provide for identification of horses by means of an identification document which is to be linked to an animal by an electronic microchip. The microchip contains a unique life number which will be recorded on the identification document and within a National Equine Database. Part 1 of the Regulations extends the rules on equine identification to include zebra and other exotic Equidae not previously covered. Part 2 of the Regulations creates offences for breach of provisions of the Commission Regulation, and provides for the administration of veterinary medicinal products for horses intended for human consumption. Part 3 provides that the Regulations are enforced by the local authority, except in certain specified circumstances, and confers powers on inspectors. Breach of the Regulations is an offence punishable on summary conviction by a fine up to the statutory maximum or three months imprisonment, or both. On indictment the penalty is an unlimited fine or two years imprisonment, or both (regulation 23). A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared and placed in the Scottish Parliament Reference Centre. Copies can be obtained from the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department, Pentland House, 47 Robb’s Loan, Edinburgh, EH14 1TY.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same 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 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 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