UK Offence Report

1 Any person who supplies gas through a meter— a which has not been overhauled in accordance with a…

regulation 4B(1) of The Gas (Meters) (Amendment) Regulations 1993

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 Any person who supplies gas through a meter— a which has not been overhauled in accordance with a requirement imposed under regulation 3B(1) above; or b which has not been replaced in accordance with a requirement of a notice published under regulation 4A(2)(b) above; shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 regulation 4B(1)?

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 Gas (Meters) (Amendment) Regulations 1993 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
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
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
16 June 1993
In force from
12 July 1993
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 amend the Gas (Meters) Regulations 1983 (“the 1983 Regulations”). Regulation 4 of these Regulations inserts a new regulation 3(1)(cc) into the 1983 Regulations to prescribe standards for new designs, mainly electronic-based, of domestic gas meters. The regulation also includes consequential amendments. Regulation 5 of these Regulations inserts a new regulation 3A into the 1983 Regulations to deal with the importation of gas meters manufactured in another Member State. This provision exercises the power under section 17(1) of the Gas Act 1986 to make arrangements for meters manufactured in other Member States to be stamped by a person other than a meter examiner. The new procedure provides for mutual recognition by the United Kingdom of equivalent standards of controls and tests carried out by other Member States where they have been suitably tested by the metrological authority in that Member State or by a laboratory accredited in that Member State as conforming with the harmonised European Standard of competence (EN 45001). Regulation 6 inserts a new regulation 3B into the 1983 Regulations to provide for the periodic overhaul of gas meters. Regulation 7 amends regulation 4 of the 1983 Regulations (re-examination of disputed meters) to extend its provisions to new meters covered by these Regulations. Regulation 8 inserts a new regulation 4A into the 1983 Regulations to provide for revocation of approval of pattern and construction if defects are found in meters in service or they can no longer be manufactured to approved pattern. This regulation also inserts into the 1983 Regulations a new regulation 4B which creates offences in relation to the periodic overhaul of meters (regulation 6) and the requirement to replace meters (regulation 8).

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 0.92.

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