UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 22(3) of The Bovines and Bovine Products (Trade) Regulations 1999

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 A person contravening or failing to comply with paragraph (1) or (2) above, or with any other provision of these Regulations, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable–

a on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment for

a term not exceeding three months or to both;

b on conviction on indictment, to

a fine or to imprisonment for

a term not exceeding two years or to both.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 22(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. Not doing what the provision requires under the Bovines and Bovine Products (Trade) Regulations 1999, by the time it requires it to be done.
  2. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

expressed as the statutory maximum (the prescribed sum): the same words mean £5,000 in England and Wales and £10,000 in Scotland.

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 April 1999
In force from
1 May 1999
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 replace the Bovines and Bovine Products (Trade) Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1998 No. 1135). They give effect in Great Britain to Commission Decisions 98/692/EC (OJ No. L328, 4.12.98, p. 28) and 98/564/EC (OJ No. L273, 9.10.98, p. 37) which amended Council Decision 98/256/EC (OJ No. L113, 15.4.98, p. 32) concerning emergency measures to protect against bovine spongiform encephalopathy in relation to the despatch to third countries and member States of bovine animals and embryos and meat and other products and by-products derived from bovine animals. Together with equivalent Regulations in Northern Ireland, the Regulations make new provision for derogations from the despatch abroad prohibitions contained in the Council Decision in respect of the United Kingdom meat and products eligible for the Date Based Export Scheme (DBES). The Regulations also continue with the equivalent Northern Ireland Regulations to make provision for the preparation and despatch abroad of meat and products eligible for the Export Certified Herds Scheme (ECHS) and the despatch abroad of meat, products and by-products produced in Great Britain from imported beef. The Regulations continue the existing controls on products and by-products produced from UK-slaughtered bovine animals. Regulation 2 contains definitions and these include a definition of “additional mark” which has to be applied to goods for despatch abroad. Regulation 3 makes provision in relation to trade in live bovine animals, bovine embryos, mammalian meat and bone meal and related products. Regulation 4 makes provision in relation to trade in meat, products, by-products and materials derived from bovine animals slaughtered in the United Kingdom. Regulation 5 makes provision in relation to trade in meat, products, by-products and materials derived from bovine animals not slaughtered in the United Kingdom. Regulation 6 makes provision in relation to the production of gelatin and collagen, the consignment of material containing bovine vertebral column to establishments registered under regulation 7, the despatch abroad and consignment and movement for that purpose of imported fresh meat, the consignment of export eligible goods in officially sealed vehicles and the consignment and movement of the imported products and by-products referred to in articles 5 and 8(e) of the Council Decision. Regulation 6(10) prohibits the placing on the market in Great Britain of fresh meat, minced meat, meat preparations, meat products or other products of animal origin which bear, or are labelled or packaged with, an additional mark. Regulation 7 makes provision for the registration of establishments for the production of controlled bovine by-products and regulation 8 imposes requirements on the operators of these establishments. Regulation 9 makes provision in relation to the use of controlled bovine by-products and other products in the production of products liable to enter the human food or animal feed chains or destined for use in cosmetics, medical or pharmaceutical products. Regulation 10 provides for the approval of establishments for the slaughter of DBES eligible animals and regulation 11 imposes requirements on the operators of establishments approved under regulation 10. Regulation 12 makes provision for the approval of establishments used for the production of foreign origin export eligible goods, DBES goods and ECHS goods and foreign origin bovine by-products. Regulation 13 imposes requirements on the operators of establishments approved under regulation 12. Regulation 14 makes provision for the Minister to charge reasonable fees in respect of costs reasonably incurred by him or on his behalf in connection with the issue of certificates, the application of the additional mark and official seals, the registration and approval of establishments, the inspection or supervision of establishments registered or approved under the Regulations and the carrying out of official checks in relation to the eligibility of bovine animals for the purposes of the DBES. Regulation 15 makes provision in relation to powers of search and powers of stop and search. Regulation 16 provides powers of entry to premises. Regulation 17 provides power to seize goods. It also makes provision for the destruction of a consignment of goods where there is a risk of them being dealt with illegally. Regulation 18 provides for sampling and other checks and examinations. Regulation 19 confers power on customs officers to detain vehicles and vessels. Regulation 20 makes provision for suspension notices and orders, suspending the use of business premises for the receipt or despatch of the goods and by-products referred to in regulation 20(1). Regulation 21 provides offences of obstruction. Regulation 22 provides for offences and penalties. Regulation 23 makes provision for offences due to the fault of another person and the defence of due diligence. Regulation 24 provides that the Regulations are enforced by the Minister and local authorities, as defined in regulation 2(1), and regulation 25 makes provision for the service of notices and other documents. Regulation 26 revokes the Bovines and Bovine Products (Trade) Regulations 1998 and makes savings provisions. Schedule 1 sets out the required methods of operation for DBES slaughterhouses. Schedule 2 sets out the required methods of operation for the preparation of export eligible goods in export dedicated establishments. Schedule 3 sets out the required methods of operation for the preparation of foreign origin export eligible goods in establishments which are not export dedicated establishments. Schedule 4 makes provision for the additional mark for foreign origin export eligible goods and Schedule 5 makes provision for the additional mark for DBES goods, ECHS goods prepared in Great Britain, goods containing any DBES goods or ECHS goods (whether or not prepared in Great Britain), or foreign origin export eligible goods consisting of, or derived from, fresh meat which has been deboned and from which all adherent tissues, including obvious nervous and lymphatic tissues, have been removed. Schedule 6 makes provision for official seals. A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared and placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Copies can be obtained from the International Trade Unit of the Animal Health (BSE) Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Government Buildings, Hook Rise South, Tolworth, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 7NF.

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