UK Offence Report

Records of decisions, etc.

regulation 46(6) of The Non-Domestic Rating (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The provision has been revoked and no saving provision preserving liability for earlier conduct was found.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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 46(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 Non-Domestic Rating (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 Non-Domestic Rating (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 revoke and replace the Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) Regulations 1990, together with the instruments which amended them, which are numbered S.I. 1990/769, S.I. 1990/1822, S.I. 1990/2025, S.I. 1991/723 and S.I. 1992/611. They are in many respects identical to the Regulations before revocation. Some changes have been made in consequence of the introduction of the council tax by the Local Government Finance Act 1992; others are minor variations to procedure for consistency with the Council Tax (Alterations of Lists and Appeals) Regulations 1993 and the Valuation and Community Charge Tribunals (Amendment) Regulations 1993. There are changes in the order and numbering. The Regulations concern the alteration of non-domestic rating lists (which are compiled under the Local Government Finance Act 1988— “the 1988 Act”). They cover the alteration of non-domestic rating lists by valuation officers, proposals for such alterations from other persons (“proposers”) and appeals to what are now called valuation tribunals (formerly valuation and community charge tribunals) where there is a disagreement about a proposal between the valuation officer and another person. Part II deals with proposals for alterations (regulations 4 and 5), the procedure following proposals (regulations 6 to 12), the time from which an alteration is to have effect (regulations 13 to 16) and the manner in which a valuation officer notifies other persons of an alteration he has made (regulation 18). Part II relates only to local nondomestic rating lists. Part III applies the provisions of Part II, modified as appropriate, to cross-country pipe-lines which are required to be shown in central non-domestic rating lists. Part IV makes provision for the alteration of central non-domestic rating lists. It deals with the central valuation officer’s duty to alter the list to conform with instruments which prescribe its contents (regulation 21), the time from which an alteration is to have effect (regulation 22), the manner in which the central valuation officer notifies other persons of an alteration made by him (regulation 23), proposals for alterations by other persons (regulation 24) and the procedure following the making of such proposals (regulations 25 to 28). Part V deals with appeals against completion notices under Schedule 4A to the 1988 Act and against amounts certified by the valuation officer under Schedule 7A (nondomestic rating in 1990–1995) to the 1988 Act. Part VI prescribes the procedure for appeals where there is a disagreement about the alteration of rating lists or about the validity of proposals for their alteration. The main changes from S.I. 1990/582 as amended are to be found in regulation 43 (decisions), regulation 45 (review of decisions), regulation 46 (records) and regulation 47 (appeals). Decisions may now be given orally, although they are to be confirmed in writing and the confirmation or notification is to be accompanied by a statement of reasons without the need for a request. The procedure for review is adapted to coordinate with that for appeals to the Lands Tribunal. The tribunal no longer has power to review a decision on the ground that the interests of justice require it except in those transitional cases defined in regulation 54. There is now additionally a right to appeal to the Lands Tribunal in respect of a decision or order made on an appeal against a completion notice. Part VII provides for the manner in which notices under the Regulations may be served and for the retention of records by the valuation officer (regulations 50 and 51). Regulation 52 prescribes the description of information to be supplied to valuation officers by relevant authorities. Regulation 53 revokes the earlier regulations listed in the first paragraph of this Note. Regulation 54 makes transitional provision in relation to certain regulations for proposals served, and list alterations made, before these regulations come into force. Transitional provision is also made for decisions or orders notified between 1st October 1992 and 31st March 1993 where an application for review is made before 1st October 1993.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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