Other offences connected with immobilisation

regulation 8(2) of The Vehicle Excise Duty (Immobilisation, Removal and Disposal of Vehicles) Regulations 1997

Status not determined
Strict liability
Either way
Tax, customs and excise

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 a person makes a declaration with a view to securing the release of a vehicle from an immobilisation device purported to have been fixed in accordance with these Regulations, b the declaration is that the vehicle is or was an exempt vehicle, and c the declaration is to the person’s knowledge either false or in any material respect misleading. that person is guilty of an offence.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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: breaching the provision
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 8(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.

Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Vehicle Excise Duty (Immobilisation, Removal and Disposal of Vehicles) Regulations 1997.

Penalty

Mode of trial: Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown 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.

Fraud, bribery and money laundering offences: definitive guideline Magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2014
Covers fraud, false accounting, bribery and money laundering, including offences committed by organisations.
Imposition of community and custodial sentences: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
When a community order or custody is justified at all, and the presumption against short custodial sentences.
Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 June 2017
The sliding scale of credit for pleading guilty, from one third at the first stage of proceedings downwards.
General guideline: overarching principles All courts in England and Wales · in force from 1 October 2019
The guideline a court uses when there is no offence-specific guideline, which is the position for the overwhelming majority of offences created by statutory instrument. It sets out how culpability and harm are assessed from first principles.
Totality: definitive guideline All courts in England and Wales
How to sentence more than one offence at once so that the total is just and proportionate - frequently in point here, because regulatory prosecutions commonly charge several breaches of the same instrument.

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: 9 October 1997
In force from: 30 November 1997
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

These Regulations replace the Vehicle Excise Duty (Immobilisation, Removal and Disposal of Vehicles) Regulations 1996, as amended by the Vehicle Excise Duty (Immobilisation, Removal and Disposal of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations 1997, which only applied in Greater London and provided that a vehicle could only be removed if it had previously been immobilised. The Regulations provide for the immobilisation and removal of unlicensed mechanically propelled vehicles found stationary on public roads in England and Wales. Regulation 4 sets out circumstances in which the Regulations do not apply. Regulation 5 enables a person authorised by the Secretary of State to fix an immobilisation device to an unlicensed vehicle. Regulation 6 states the conditions to be fulfilled (including the payment of prescribed charges specified in Schedule 1) for the release of a vehicle from an immobilisation device. Offences in connection with immobilisation (including unlawful interference with an immobilisation device and falsely claiming exemption to secure the release of a vehicle) are created by regulations 7 and 8. Part III (regulations 9 to 14) provides for the removal and disposal of vehicles under the Regulations, for the retention of a removed vehicle until prescribed charges are paid and for the conditions under which a removed vehicle can be recovered. A vehicle may be removed although it has not previously been immobilised. It is made an offence to obtain possession of a removed vehicle by falsely claiming that it is exempt from vehicle excise duty. When a vehicle has been disposed of, the owner can claim a sum equal to the proceeds of sale after deduction of prescribed charges. Regulation 15 provides for the issue of a voucher on the making of a “surety payment”under regulation 6 or 12, where a vehicle is released after immobilisation or removal but a licence for the vehicle is not produced, and for obtaining a refund of the surety payment when the vehicle is licensed. Regulation 16 creates offences relating to false declarations in connection with obtaining vouchers or refunds and to the forgery, or fraudulent alteration or use, of vouchers. Provision is made by regulation 17 for disputes about charges paid to secure the release of a vehicle from an immobilisation device, or to secure possession of it after its removal, to be referred to a person authorised by the Secretary of State. An appeal against the determination of the authorised person can be made to a magistrates' court.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

Where— a a person makes a declaration with a view to securing possession of a vehicle purported to have been…regulation 13(1)
Where a person who, in connection with— a obtaining a voucher under regulation 15, or b obtaining a refund…regulation 16(1)
A person is guilty of an offence if he forges, fraudulently alters, fraudulently uses or fraudulently lends…regulation 16(2)
Removal of or interference with immobilisation notice or deviceregulation 7(2)
Removal of or interference with immobilisation notice or deviceregulation 7(3)
Where these Regulations would apply in relation to a vehicle but for the provisions of regulation 4(1) and…regulation 8(1)

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

This provision on legislation.gov.uk The authoritative text. Check it before relying on anything here.
The Vehicle Excise Duty (Immobilisation, Removal and Disposal of Vehicles) Regulations 1997 Every offence this instrument creates, and its explanatory note
Tax, customs and exciseOther offences on the same subject
Offences created in 1997