UK Offence Report

Unauthorised application of authorised marks

regulation 15(4) of The Measuring Instruments (Gas Meters) 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

4 A person shall be guilty of an offence if he places on the market or puts into use

a relevant instrument—

a which, to his knowledge, bears—

i an authorised mark affixed otherwise than in accordance with these Regulations;

ii an authorised mark that has been altered or defaced otherwise than in the circumstances referred to in paragraph (2) or (3); or

iii any marking which is likely to deceive any person as to the meaning or form, or both, of an authorised mark; or

b from which, to his knowledge, an authorised mark has been removed.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
selling or supplying something the instrument restricts
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 informa

What would breach regulation 15(4)?

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 places on the market or puts into use a relevant instrument— a which, to his knowledge, bears— i an authorised mark affixed otherwise than in accordance with these Regulations.
  2. Selling the goods under the Measuring Instruments (Gas Meters) Regulations 2006 where the instrument prohibits the sale outright.
  3. Supplying without carrying out a check the instrument requires first, even where the sale would otherwise be lawful.
  4. Offering for sale counts as well as selling: displaying stock is enough where the provision reaches an offer.

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
1 October 2006
In force from
30 October 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 (O.J. No. L135, 30.4.04, p.1) (“the Directive”) in relation to gas meters. Part 1 provides that these Regulations apply, with certain exceptions, to gas meters for use for trade 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 gas meters are compliant with the essential requirements; that the manufacturer has demonstrated such compliance with the essential requirements; that the meters have the CE marking, the M marking and the identification number of the relevant notified body affixed to them and that the meters are put into use in the manner set out in Part 2 of Schedule 1 (regulation 4(1)). It is an offence under regulation 4(2) to place on the market and put into use a gas meter without complying with the requirements of regulation 4(1)(a) to (c); and non-compliance with the requirements of regulation 4(1)(d) would mean the meter would lose the protection afforded by regulations 28 and 29 for meters which are put into use in accordance with the Regulations. The essential requirements are set out Part 1 of 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 the administrative procedures relating to their appointment, functions and fees. Requirements relating to the marking of gas meters are set out in regulation 12 and Schedule 4. Regulation 13 provides for a presumption of conformity of a gas meter with other applicable directives conferred by the CE marking. Part 3 deals with enforcement of these Regulations. Regulation 14 provides that the Regulations shall be enforced by the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority (“GEMA”) in relation to England, Wales and Scotland, and the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation (“NIAER”) in relation to Northern Ireland. These bodies may appoint other persons to act on their behalf. Regulation 15 details the offences relating to the unauthorised application of authorised marks. Regulation 16 (compliance notice procedure) and regulation 17 (immediate enforcement action) confer powers on the enforcement authorities to take action in respect of non-compliant gas meters. Regulation 18 provides powers of entry and inspection for enforcement officers. Regulation 19 provides for offences relating to the obstruction of an enforcement officer. Regulation 20 permits a review by GEMA or NIAER of notices issued by other enforcement authorities under regulations 16 and 17. A person guilty of an offence under the Regulations 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 29) deals with miscellaneous matters including the application of the Regulations to Northern Ireland to the extent set out in Schedule 5 (regulation 24). Regulation 25 empowers GEMA and NIAER to enter into arrangements for GEMA to act on behalf of NIAER as respects the carrying out of functions under the Regulations. Regulations 28 and 29 make consequential amendments to the existing legislation governing gas meters. These Regulations have been notified to the European Commission and the other member States in accordance with Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (O.J. No. L204, 21.7.98, p.37), as amended by Directive 98/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (O.J. No. L217, 5.8.98, p.18). A Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) in respect of these Regulations is available and a copy can be obtained from the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML), Stanton Avenue, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 0JZ or from its website at www.nwml.gov.uk. As these Regulations transpose the Directive, a transposition note (TN) setting out how the Government has transposed the Directive into United Kingdom law has been prepared. Copies of the RIA and TN are available from NWML as above. Copies of these documents have been placed in the libraries of both Houses 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”
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