UK Offence Report

Penalties

regulation 31(1) of The Dairy Produce Quotas 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 Subject to paragraph (2), any person who— a fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement imposed on him by or under these Regulations or the Community legislation, or b in connection with these Regulations or the Community legislation, makes a statement or uses a document which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes a statement or uses a document which is false in a material particular, shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or, on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
making a false or misleading statement
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 (recklessly).

“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: recklessly; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

1 Subject to paragraph (2), any person who— a fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement imposed on him by or under these Regulations or the Community legislation, or b in connection with these Regulations or the Community legislation, makes a statement or uses a document which he knows to be false in a material parti

What would breach regulation 31(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. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Dairy Produce Quotas Regulations 1993.
  2. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
  3. Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

this is the level 5 value when the instrument came into force (1993-04-01); the standard scale is keyed to the date the offence was committed, and for conduct today the same words mean an unlimited fine.

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
29 March 1993
In force from
1 April 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 revoke and replace the Dairy Produce Quotas Regulations 1991. They implement in the United Kingdom Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3950/92 (OJ No. L405, 31.12.92, p. 1) establishing an additional levy in the milk and milk products sector and Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 536/93 (OJ No. L57, 20.3.93, p. 12) establishing detailed rules for the levy, which consolidate and amend earlier legislation relating to the levy and which are together referred to in these Regulations as “the Community Legislation” (regulation 2). Under the Community legislation, a levy continues to be payable on dairy produce sold by direct sale by a producer or delivered by him wholesale to a dairy business, unless the sales or deliveries are within a reference quantity described in that legislation. The Community legislation establishes the system of what are commonly called “milk quotas” and in these Regulations the term “quota” is used to refer to the reference quantities described in the Community legislation. The main changes are as follows: Minor changes have been made to certain of the definitions in order to update them (regulation 2). Where wholesale deliveries are made, the levy is stated to be payable through purchasers of dairy produce (regulation 4 and Schedule 4); the Community legislation permits Member States a choice between collecting levy in this way or calculating it by reference to individual producers. Changes are made to the provisions governing the registration of producers and purchasers in order to ensure that the requirements of the Community legislation are met and that all producers who are in a position to make wholesale deliveries are registered, even where not currently making deliveries (regulations 6 and 27). A requirement for purchasers to register with the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce is also introduced (the Intervention Board being the authority designated to ensure the collection of levy) (regulation 27). Regional restrictions on the mobility of quota are removed, except in relation to transfers of quota which would affect the overall quantity of quota available in certain Scottish Islands areas (regulation 7). A national reserve is established and provision made for allocations from it (regulation 13). The restriction on the quantity of quota which a producer who makes wholesale deliveries may temporarily transfer is removed (regulation 14). Provisions on the temporary reallocation of quota (which is undertaken in certain exceptional circumstances in order to minimise levy liability) are updated in line with the Community legislation (regulation 15). A provision is introduced in relation to the fat content of the milk supplied by certain producers who are commencing production to allow them to claim a higher representative figure where their herd contains certain breeds (regulation 18). Provision is introduced, pursuant to the Community legislation, to allow for the confiscation of quota where a producer who is registered with a purchaser has not made deliveries (or made a temporary transfer of quota) for a twelve-month period, or where a direct seller of dairy produce has not supplied a declaration of his sales or has supplied a declaration which indicates that he has made no sales. The producer from whom quota is withdrawn may, however, have the quota restored to him within a six-year period from the date of withdrawal (regulation 32). A change is made to the provisions governing arbitrations which decide the apportionment of quota to allow arbitrators to take into account milk production on a holding during the last five-year period in which production took place (the previous regulations referred to a five-year period preceding a change of occupation) (Schedules 1, 2 and 3).

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