UK Offence Report

Section 4 (penalty for unauthorised dealing in stamps etc.) (1) If any person . . . deals in any manner in…

SCHEDULE of The National Savings Stamps Regulations 1969

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

Section 4 (penalty for unauthorised dealing in stamps etc.) (1) If any person . . . deals in any manner in stamps, without being duly authorised or licensed so to do, or, being so licensed, acts in contravention of his licence, he shall for every such offence be liable to

a fine not exceeding £20.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
selling or supplying something the instrument restricts
Fault element
Mixed — some elements strict, some not
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

The prosecution must prove the conduct, and - for those elements the provision qualifies (Fraudulently, knowingly) - the state of mind it names. The remaining elements carry no fault requirement, so they are strict.

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: no fault word in the offence-creating words, but the surrounding provision uses knowingly, Fraudulently - which element it governs was not determined; qualified by lawful excuse (an element).

The defence, as drafted

printed or impressed from a genuine die; (9) Knowingly, and without lawful excuse (the proof whereof shall lie on the person accused), has in his possession any forged die or stamp or any stamp which has been fraudently printed or impressed from a genuine die . . . , shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction on indictment be li

What would breach SCHEDULE?

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. Selling the goods under the National Savings Stamps Regulations 1969 where the instrument prohibits the sale outright.
  2. Supplying without carrying out a check the instrument requires first, even where the sale would otherwise be lawful.
  3. Offering for sale counts as well as selling: displaying stock is enough where the provision reaches an offer.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£20
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
22 September 1969
In force from
1 October 1969
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.

These Regulations apply to national savings stamps, with the necessary modifications, certain provisions of the Stamp Duties Management Act 1891 and section 63 of the Post Office Act 1953. The Regulations replace similar provisions (in Regulation 3 of and Schedule 1 to the Savings Certificates Regulations 1933 (S.R. & O. 1933/1149)) which are being revoked by the Savings Certificates (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1969 (S.I. 1969/1334).

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 0.68.

Basis
the provision states a penalty in older drafting
Confidence
0.68 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