UK Offence Report

Penalties

article 41(2) of The Ports Act 1991 (Levy on Disposals of Land, etc.) Order 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

2 Where a chargeable company fraudulently or negligently furnishes any incorrect information in response to a requirement under article 36 or 39, it shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £3,000.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 chargeable company
Conduct
breaching the provision
Fault element
Mixed — some elements strict, some not
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

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

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

Classifier’s reasoning: both a mens rea word and an objective standard appear in the offence itself.

What would breach article 41(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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Ports Act 1991 (Levy on Disposals of Land, etc.) Order 1992.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
£3,000
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
15 January 1992
In force from
16 January 1992
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.

Part I of the Ports Act 1991 provides for the transfer of the undertakings of certain statutory port authorities (trust ports) to companies formed under the Companies Act 1985, and for the disposal of the securities of such successor companies. This Order, which is made under section 17 of the Ports Act makes provision concerning the charging of levy under that section on gains accruing to chargeable companies on chargeable disposals of relevant land and relevant interests in land taking place within the levy period (viz the period often years beginning when the company ceases to be wholly-owned subsidiary of the port authority to which it is the successor company). Article 3 supplements the meaning of relevant interest in land given in section 17(2) (b) (i) and (ii) of the Ports Act. Articles 4 and 5 provide for when and by whom a disposal is to be regarded as being made. Subject to certain exceptions, all disposal are to be chargeable disposals (article 6), and a gain accruing to any member of a chargeable company’s group is to be regarded as a gain accruing to the company (article 7). Article 8 provides for the computation of gains, which is principally by reference to the law relating to the corporation tax on chargeable gains. Certain disposals give rise to no gain: these are, broadly, up to 20 disposals per company per year for not more than £4,000; and any disposal which, together with “associated disposals”, is for not more than £200,000. Further, no gains are regarded as accruing where the aggregate of all disposals does not exceed £500,000. Article 9 introduces Schedule 2, which makes various modifications to the corporation tax law as applied for levy purposes. Article 10 provides for disputes about valuation. Article 11 modifies for levy purposes the corporation tax law regarding the appropriation of land and interests to trading stock. Article 12 applies with modifications the corporation tax law regarding claims and elections. Articles 13 to 17 make provisions about the payment of levy and of interest on unpaid levy, and for repayment of overpaid levy or interest. Articles 18 to 26 make provision in respect of leases at rents, including for determining the consideration for such a lease (article 18) and for the computation of the gain on any subsequent disposal of the reversion (article 19). The consideration (market value) is to be redetermined if the lease is terminated early or renewed or extended (article 20) or if the tenant remains otherwise in occupation after expiry of the lease (article 21), with consequential adjustment of the levy (article 22). Levy, so far as referable to rent, may be paid by intstalments (articles 23 and 24). A lease of operational land (as defined) for operational purposes gives rise to no gain (article 25). Article 26 makes supplementary provision in respect of leases. Articles 27 to 32 make provision in respect of gains on the granting of options. The amount of the gain is to be as on exercise of the option (article 27); but levy referable to the consideration payable on exercise is deferred (article 28). If the option is exercised in the levy period, the amount of the gain may be recomputed (article 29). There are provisions for repayment of levy if an option lapses or becomes incapable of being exercised (articles 30 to 32). Articles 33 to 35 make provision in respect of transactions within the chargeable company’s group, in particular as to disposals within a wholly-owned group (article 33), as to a company’s ceasing to be a member of a group following a previous intra-group disposal to that company (article 34), and as to a decrease in the group’s equity holdingin a group member owning relevant land or a relevant interest (article 35). Articles 36 to 41 provide for administration and other matters. A chargeable company must furnish yearly a disposal statement (article 36), and in certain circumstances the appropriate Minister may make assessment of levy to the best of his judgment (article 37). Certain disputes may be referred to a referee (article 38). Article 39 makes supplementary requirements, eg. as to the supplying of information and the keeping of records. Article 40 provides for the service of documents, and article 41 for the penalties for contravention of certain requirements of the Order. Schedule 1 defines associated disposals (relevant to article 8(2) and (3) on small disposals). Schedule 2 modifies the law on corporation tax in its application for levy purposes. Schedule 3 specifies the information to be included in a disposal statement. Copies of the Statements of Asset Valuation Practice and Guidance Notes, referred to in article 36(7), may be obtained from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, 12 Great George Street, London SW 1P 3AD and Red Book Subscription Services, RICS Books, Surveyor Court, Westwood Way, Coventry CV 4 8JE.

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 0.68.

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