UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 13(6) of The Beef Carcase (Classification) (England) Regulations 2004 (revoked)

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

6 If any person—

a makes an entry which he knows to be false in any record which is required to be kept by virtue of regulation 8(1) or (2) or, with intent to deceive, makes use of any entry which he knows to be false;

b with intent to deceive—

i applies to

a regulated carcase or part of such

a carcase

a mark prescribed by Article 1(1) of the Commission Regulation, or

ii applies to

a label attached by virtue of regulation

5 an indication prescribed by Article 1(2) of that Regulation;

c applies to

a regulated carcase or part of such

a carcase

a mark so closely resembling

a mark prescribed by Article 1(1) of the Commission Regulation as to be calculated to deceive; or

d applies to

a label attached by virtue of regulation

5 an indication so closely resembling an indication prescribed by Article 1(2) of the Commission Regulation as to be calculated to deceive, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment for

a term not exceeding three months or both, or on conviction on indictment to

a fine or to imprisonment for

a term not exceeding two years or 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
breaching the provision
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
Legal burden on the defendant

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (with intent to).

The provision gives a defence the defendant must prove, on the balance of probabilities. A legal burden of that kind can be read down to a merely evidential one under section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 where placing it on the defendant would be disproportionate (R v Lambert [2001] UKHL 37; Sheldrake v DPP [2004] UKHL 43).

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: with intent to.

The defence, as drafted

14 It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under these Regulations to prove that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence by himself or by a person under his control.

What would breach regulation 13(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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Beef Carcase (Classification) (England) Regulations 2004.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
3 months
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

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
12 May 2004
In force from
7 June 2004
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, which apply in relation to England only, provide for the administration and enforcement of the Community system of classification of beef carcases as required by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 344/91 laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90 to extend the scope of the Community scale for the classification of carcases of adult bovine animals (OJ No L 41, 14.2.91, p.15). The Regulations consolidate with minor amendments the Beef Carcase (Classification) Regulations 1991, Beef Carcase (Classification) (Amendment) Regulations 1994 and the Beef Carcase (Classification) (Amendment) Regulations 1998 which are revoked. In particular they— a make provision for exemptions from the Community system (regulation 3); b require every occupier of a regulated slaughterhouse to give the Secretary of State particulars of his business (regulation 4); c authorise certain carcases to be identified using labels rather than marks (regulation 5); d make provision for the granting of classification licences (regulation 6); e require occupiers of regulated slaughterhouses to keep, retain and produce records (regulation 8); f give the Meat and Livestock Commission power to carry out classification requirements for regulated carcases and make provision for its entering into agreements with the occupiers of regulated slaughterhouses for such a purpose (regulation 9); g confer on authorised officers of the Secretary of State powers of entry and inspection for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the Community system and Regulations, and require that reasonable assistance be given to them at their request (regulations 10 and 11); h provide for the service of notices (regulation 12); and i create offences and penalties, and provide for defences (regulations 13 and 14). In addition, these Regulations introduce provision for granting licences for the use of automated grading equipment for the classification of carcases as permitted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1215/03 (OJ No L 169, 8.7.03, p.32) (regulation 7). A full regulatory impact assessment has not been prepared for this instrument as it has no impacts on the costs of business.

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”
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