UK Offence Report

Information and offences

regulation 5(3) of The Charges for Inspections and Controls Regulations 1997

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

3 Any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply within

a reasonable time with

a demand made under paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding level

5 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
failing to do something the instrument requires
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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.

“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: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

3 Any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply within a reasonable time with a demand made under paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

What would breach regulation 5(3)?

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. On these words an offence is committed where a person fails to comply within a reasonable time with a demand made under paragraph (1).
  2. Not doing what the provision requires under the Charges for Inspections and Controls Regulations 1997, by the time it requires it to be done.
  3. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ 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 (1998-01-01); 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
8 December 1997
In force from
1 January 1998
Extent
E+W+S

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 give effect to Article 2 of Council Directive 85/73/EEC on the financing of veterinary inspections and controls covered by Directives 89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC, 90/675/EEC and 91/496/EEC (OJ No. L162, 1.7.96, p.4). The text of Council Directive 85/73/EEC is set out in the Annex to Council Directive 96/43/EC (OJ No. L162, 1.7.96, p.1). The said Article 2 requires member States to ensure that (in accordance with Annex B to Council Directive 85/73/EEC) fees are collected to cover the costs occasioned by the inspections and controls provided for by Council Directive 96/23/EC on measures to monitor certain substances and residues thereof in live animals and animal products (OJ No. L125, 23.5.96, p.10). These Regulations— lay down provisions requiring the fees mentioned in paragraph 2 above to be paid (regulation 3); lay down provisions relating to the liability for and recovery of those fees (regulation 4); enable the appropriate Minister to require information and supporting evidence to be supplied to him for the purpose of enabling that Minister to calculate those fees and create offences of supplying false or misleading information and failing to comply with a demand to supply information (regulation 5); revoke those provisions of the Meat (Hygiene, Inspection and Examinations for Residues) (Charges) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/361, as amended) which relate to the subject-matter of these Regulations (regulation 6). Regulations 4(10), (11)(a) and (13) and 5(2) and (3) are made under section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 (1972 c. 68). A regulatory appraisal has been prepared in respect of these Regulations. A copy of it has been deposited in the library of each House of Parliament.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same 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”; the provision states liability on summary conviction; the provision states a penalty in older drafting
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