UK Offence Report

Light passenger vehicles not to be sold without EC certificate of conformity

paragraph 65A(1) of SCHEDULE 2 of Motor Vehicles (EC Type Approval) Regulations 1992

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

1 Subject to subsections (3) to (6) below, any person who supplies

a light passenger vehicle—

a which has not been registered—

i under section

19 of the Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971, or

ii under the law of

a member State other than the United Kingdom, and

b in respect of which no EC certificate of conformity has effect, is guilty of an offence.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

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

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach paragraph 65A(1) of SCHEDULE 2?

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 Motor Vehicles (EC Type Approval) Regulations 1992 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
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

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
9 December 1992
In force from
Not determined
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 implement Council Directive 92/53/EEC. They also replace the Motor Vehicles (Type Approval) Regulations 1980 and the Motor Vehicles (Type Approval) (EEC) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987, save in so far as they relate to the type approval of tachographs. The Directive as read with Council Directives 70/156/EEC and 87/403/EEC makes provision for member States to set up a system for granting EC type approval for light passenger vehicles as defined in the Regulations. The Directives contain provisions prohibiting member States registering or permitting the sale or entry into service of the vehicles unless they are accompanied by a valid EC certificate of conformity. They prevent member States refusing the sale or entry into service of vehicles with a valid EC certificate of conformity. They also contain similar provisions for parts of motor vehicles (not limited to parts of light passenger vehicles). Part I of the Regulations contains preliminary provisions. Part II of the Regulations contains provisions relating to: a application to the Secretary of State for EC type approval; b the grant of EC type approval by the Secretary of State; c the duties of holders of type approval granted by the Secretary of State including a duty to supply an EC certificate of conformity with each vehicle and to affix an approval mark to each part that conforms with the approved type; and d the withdrawal suspension of EC type approval granted by the Secretary of State. Subject to specified exceptions, Part III of the Regulations prevents the Secretary of State as from 1st January 1996 (later in some cases) issuing a first licence or registering a light passenger vehicle unless it either has an EC certificate of conformity or has a Minister’s approval certificate issued under section 58(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Part IV of the Regulations contains miscellaneous provisions. These include provisions creating offences relating to EC type approval such as forging an EC type approval certificate or an EC certificate of conformity and making false statements. Schedule 2 amends the Road Traffic Act 1988. The effect of the amendments are as follows. a They enable a vehicle to be used and sold if an EC certificate of conformity has been issued in respect of it in cases where this would otherwise have been unlawful under section 63 or 65 of the 1988 Act. Those sections make it unlawful to use or sell prescribed classes of vehicles unless appropriate certificates have been issued under the Act showing that the vehicle meets prescribed type approval requirements. b They make it an offence in certain circumstances for a person to use an unregistered light passenger vehicle on a road or to sell such a vehicle if an EC certificate of conformity has not been issued in respect of it. The offence arises in relation to a vehicle if Part III of the Regulations would prevent the Secretary of State registering it. The offences do not come into force until 1st January 1996. c They enable a first licence to be issued for a vehicle with an EC certificate of conformity where this would otherwise have been prevented by section 66(4)(b) of the 1988 Act. That provision prevents first licences being issued for certain vehicles unless it appears from certificates issued under sections 54 to 58 that they comply with type approval requirements prescribed under the Act.

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