UK Offence Report

Declaration as to goods: powers of search

article 7(3) of The Export of Goods (Control) Order 1991

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

3 Any person who under the provisions of this article makes

a declaration which to his knowledge is false in

a material particular or recklessly makes any declaration which is false in

a material particular shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to

a customs penalty not exceeding two thousand pounds and on conviction on indictment to

a customs penalty of any amount or imprisonment for

a term not exceeding

2 years, or to 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 (recklessly).

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: recklessly.

What would breach article 7(3)?

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. On these words an offence is committed where a person under the provisions of this article makes a declaration which to his knowledge is false in a material particular or recklessly makes any declaration which is false in a material particular.
  2. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1991.
  3. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
  4. 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
Unlimited
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

'to a fine' with no stated maximum.

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
25 November 1991
In force from
31 December 1991
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 Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order revokes and replaces the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1989 and the amendments thereto. The changes (apart from minor or drafting changes) it effects are as follows:– 1. Export control is lifted on–equipment and technology for the production of superalloys; machinery and equipment for the manufacture of hydrofoil, surface effect and SWATH vessel structures and components; cobalt based alloys; nickel based alloys; hydraulic fluids which contain mineral oils and greases; silicone fluids and greases; synthetic lubricating oils and greases; equipment and technology for metal powder compaction; and equipment specially designed for the manufacture or testing of memory storage or switching devices or testing of materials composed of certain crystals or their assemblies; reduced in scope for–technology for certain numerically controlled machine tools and computer control units; water-screw propeller systems employing pre-swirl and post-swirl techniques; certain magnetic metals; certain fluorinated compounds; certain optical fibre cables; certain signal and spectrum analysers; certain electronic vacuum tubes (valves); certain integrated circuits; digital to analogue converters; analogue magnetic tape recorders and magnetic tape; certain superconductive electromagnets; certain electronic devices manufactured from superconductive materials; zirconium foil or strip; and lithium metal, hydrides and alloys; extended in scope on–test equipment for aircraft and gas turbine engines; diesel engine technology; non-fluorinated polymeric substances; toxicological agents and tear gas; special and other fissile materials for nuclear heat sources; plant, equipment and components for the separation of isotopes of natural and depleted uranium and other fissile materials; equipment and components for plant for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear reactor fuel elements; and maraging steels; extended in scope to include technological documents relating to–bombs, torpedoes, rockets and missiles; weapon fire control systems; tanks and military vehicles; military aircraft and helicopters; electronic equipment for military use; production equipment for military goods; military propellants; production of fibres; vibration test equipment; production equipment for compasses, gyroscopes and accelerometers; space-craft and launch vehicles; navigation, direction finding and radar equipment; telemetering and telecontrol equipment; certain photosensitive components; materials specially designed and manufactured for use as absorbers of electromagnetic waves; certain integrated circuits; gravity meters; and base materials; redefined or clarified in relation to–natural and depleted uranium; hafnium; tritium; equipment and components for plant for the reprocessing of irradiated nuclear reactor fuel elements; nuclear reactors; plant for production of heavy water, deuterium or deuterium compounds; plant for the production of uranium hexafluoride; equipment for the separation of isotopes of lithium; frequency changers (converters or inverters); inertial navigation systems, gyroscopes and accelerometers; analogue to digital converters; metal alloys and metal powders; equipment and technology for the production of metal alloys and metal powders; fibrous and filamentary materials; pyrolitic deposition technology; isostatic presses; and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) furnaces; introduced for–certain quartz crystals (for equipment specified in ML4); electrical pulsers capable of precisely timed multiple initiations of explosives; wet proofed platinized catalysts for promoting hydrogen isotopes exchange; equipment for the handling or processing of uranium hexafluoride; vacuum or controlled environment induction furnaces; certain solid state switches; cold cathode tubes, krytron and similar tubes and triggered spark gaps; high energy storage capacitors; ramjet, scramjet, pulse jet and combined cycle engines; flow forming and spin forming machines; propellants for space-craft and launch vehicles; production equipment for propellants; mixers for propellants; production equipment for inert gas and vacuum atomising; graphites; tungsten and alloys of tungsten; molybdenum and alloys of molybdenum; ground support vehicles for space-craft and launch vehicles; test benches and test stands for rockets and rocket motors; environmental and anechoic chambers; radiographic equipment; coatings for reduced observability in infrared or ultra violet wavelengths; production equipment and facilities for space-crafted launch vehicles, non-fluorinated polymeric substances, pumps, servo valves and control systems for propellants, certain high performance engines or certain gas turbine aero engines; technology for autoclaves and hydroclaves; resaturated pyrolized (carbon-carbon) materials; liquid and slurry propellant control systems; and pumps and servo valves for liquid and slurry propellant systems. Non-COCOM controlled items are prefixed PL and allocated an identification number. They have been located in Schedule 1 in the most appropriate place in the relevant Group and are not in numerical sequence. They are as follows: Page PL5001 15 PL5002 14 PL5003 9 PL5005 9 PL5006 9 PL5009 12 PL5014 13 PL5017 14 PL5018 9 PL5019 9 PL5020 13 PL5021 9 PL5024 10 PL5026 10 PL6001 16 PL6002 17 PL6003 17 PL6005 17 PL6006 17 PL6007 23 PL6008 23 PL6009 23 PL6010 23 PL6011 17 PL6012 16 PL6013 20 PL6014 17 PL6015 22 PL6016 21 PL7001 115 PL7002 115 PL7003 66 PL7004 59 PL7005 31 PL7006 117 PL7007 122 PL7008 68 PL7009 51 PL7010 57 PL7011 57 PL7012 115 PL7013 77 PL7016 57 PL7017 58 PL7018 58 PL7019 34 PL7020 72 PL7021 66 PL7022 78 PL7023 78 PL7025 113 PL7026 57 PL7027 25 PL7028 118 PL7029 32 PL7030 32 PL7031 24 PL7032 34 PL7033 47 PL7034 120 PL7035 115 PL7036 115 PL7037 58 PL7038 108 PL7039 87 PL7040 40 PL7041 40 PL7042 80 PL7043 83 PL7044 42 PL7045 40 PL7046 121 The entry numbers for some goods have been changed. Whenever goods are indicated in Schedule 1 by more than one letter, each prohibition in article 2 relating to the relevant letter applies to the export of the goods. Any particular goods may fall within more than one description in Schedule 1 to the Order. In such a case each prohibition (taking effect by such inclusion in that Schedule and the related provisions of article 2) applies to the export of the goods. This may mean that different entries prohibit the export of the goods to different countries. Copies of the British Standards referred to in these Regulations may be obtained from any of the sales outlets operated by the British Standards Institution (BSI), or by post from the BSI at 3 Lindford Wood, Milton Keynes, MK14 6LE.

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 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence
0.92 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