UK Offence Report

Unauthorised application of authorised marks

regulation 18(1) of The Measuring Instruments (Taximeters) Regulations 2006 (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

1 Subject to paragraph (2),

a person shall be guilty of an offence if, in the case of

a taximeter, he—

a affixes an authorised mark to the instrument otherwise than in accordance with these Regulations;

b alters or defaces an authorised mark affixed to the instrument;

c removes an authorised mark affixed to the instrument; or

d affixes any other marking to the instrument which is likely to deceive any person as to the meaning or form, or both, of an authorised mark.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Legal burden on the defendant

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 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: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

The defence, as drafted

ions, it shall be a defence for that person to show that he took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence. 2 Where, in proceedings against a person for such an offence, the defence provided by paragraph (1) involves an allegation that the commission of the offence was due to— a the act or default of another; or b reliance on inform

What would breach regulation 18(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. Doing what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Measuring Instruments (Taximeters) Regulations 2006.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

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
24 August 2006
In force from
29 September 2006
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 implement Directive 2004/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on measuring instruments (OJ No. L135, 30.4.2004, p.1) (“the Directive”) in relation to taximeters, which are measuring instruments covered by the Directive. Part 1 provides that these Regulations apply, with certain exceptions, to taximeters intended for use for the protection of the consumers which are first placed on the market or put into use on or after the 30th October 2006. Part 2 deals with the requirements for placing on the market and putting into use. These are that taximeters are compliant with the essential requirements, that the manufacturer has demonstrated such compliance with the essential requirements and that the instruments have the CE marking, the M marking and the identification number of the relevant notified body affixed to them (regulation 4(1)). It is an offence under regulation 4(2) to place on the market and put into use a taximeter without complying with the requirements of regulation 4(1). The essential requirements are set out in Schedule 1. Compliance with the essential requirements can be demonstrated in accordance with the provisions in regulation 5. Regulation 6 sets out the different conformity assessment procedures available to a manufacturer to demonstrate compliance. The technical documentation required is set out in Schedule 3. Regulations 7 to 11 and Schedule 2 contain provisions relating to the eligibility and designation of persons as notified bodies and with the administrative procedures relating to their appointment, functions and fees. Requirements relating to the marking of taximeters are set out in regulation 12 and Schedule 4. Regulation 13 provides for a presumption of conformity of a taximeter with other applicable directives conferred by the CE marking. Part 3 deals with enforcement of these Regulations. Regulation 14 provides that the Secretary of State may act as an enforcement authority in relation to Part 2 and for that purpose may appoint any person to act on his behalf. Regulation 15 (compliance notice procedure) and regulation 16 (immediate enforcement action) confer powers on the enforcement authorities to take action in respect of non-compliant taximeters. Regulation 17 permits a review by the Secretary of State of notices issued by other enforcement authorities under regulations 15 and 16. Regulation 18 details the offences relating to the unauthorised application of authorised marks. Regulation 19 provides a power of entry and inspection for enforcement officers. Regulation 20 provides for offences relating to the obstruction of an enforcement officer. A person guilty of an offence under Part 2 or Part 3 is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (which is currently £5,000) (regulation 21). A defence of due diligence in relation to any offence under these Regulations is provided for in regulation 22 and the liability of persons other than the principal offender is set out in regulation 23. Part 4 (regulations 24 to 26) deals with miscellaneous matters including the application of the Regulations to Northern Ireland to the extent set out in Schedule 5 (regulation 26). A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that these Regulations will have on the costs of business is available from the Department of Transport, zone 3/12; Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR (telephone number: 020 7944 2278). As these Regulations transpose the Directive in relation to taximeters, a transposition note setting out how it has been transposed into UK law has been prepared and can be obtained from the above address. Copies of these documents have been placed in the library of each House of Parliament. These documents may also be accessed on the OPSI website www.opsi.gov.uk. Copies of the EC Directives referred to in these Regulations can be obtained from the Stationery Office. The Metropolitan Conditions of Fitness may be obtained from the Transport for London website www.tfl.gov.uk/pco/pdfdocs/CoF081004.pdf. A hard copy of this document may be obtained from the Public Carriage Office, 15 Penton Street, London, N1 9PU (Telephone: 0845 6027 000). The Notice to Owners and Manufacturers of Motor Cabs and Taximeters regarding Taximeters to be used on Taxicabs in the Metropolitan Police District and the City of London may also be obtained from the Public Carriage Office.

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