UK Offence Report

Records of decisions, etc.

regulation 31(6) of The Council Tax (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) Regulations 1993

The provision has been revoked and no saving provision preserving liability for earlier conduct was found.

What the provision says

6 If without reasonable excuse

a person having custody of records intentionally obstructs

a person in exercising the right conferred by paragraph (5) he shall be liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

1 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (intentionally).

“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: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: intentionally; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

6 If without reasonable excuse a person having custody of records intentionally obstructs a person in exercising the right conferred by paragraph (5) he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

What would breach regulation 31(6)?

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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Council Tax (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) Regulations 1993.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£200
Standard scale
Level 1
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
Revoked
Revoked by
The Council Tax (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2009
Revoked on
1 October 2009
Made
18 February 1993
In force from
1 April 1993
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: the instrument was revoked by a later instrument found in this corpus.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations provide for the alteration of council tax valuation lists (which come into force in England and Wales on 1st April 1993) and for appeals to valuation tribunals where there is disagreement about an alteration between a listing officer and another person making a proposal for the alteration of a list. Part II deals with restrictions on the alteration of the valuation bands shown in a list (regulation 4), proposals for alterations (regulation 5), the procedure following the making of such proposals (regulations 6 to 13), the day from which an alteration has effect (regulation 14) and the manner in which a listing officer notifies other persons of an alteration made by him (regulation 15). Part III makes provision for the procedure in relation to appeals about the validity of proposals for the alteration of valuation lists and where there is disagreement about the making of such alteration. Provision is made for the review of decisions of a valuation tribunal (regulation 30) and for appeals to the High Court on questions of law arising out of decisions and orders of valuation tribunals (regulation 32). With the agreement of the persons concerned, disputes which would otherwise be the subject of an appeal to a valuation tribunal are to be referred to arbitration (regulation 33). Part IV provides for the manner in which notices under the Regulations may be served (regulation 35), for the application of valuation assumptions (regulation 36), for the disclosure of particulars delivered documents (regulation 37) and for the retention of records by listing officers (regulation 38).

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 0.72.

Basis
the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
Confidence
0.72 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