UK Offence Report

Forgery, false statements, etc

regulation 33(4) of The Road Vehicles (Approval) Regulations 2009 (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 commits an offence if, in supplying information or producing a document for the purpose of these Regulations, that person— a makes a statement which that person knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular, or b produces, provides, sends or otherwise makes use of a document which that person knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly produces, provides or sends or otherwise makes use of a document which is false in a material particular.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
making a false or misleading statement
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

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

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: recklessly.

What would breach regulation 33(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. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Road Vehicles (Approval) Regulations 2009.
  2. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
  3. Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined
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
24 March 2009
In force from
29 April 2009
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.

The primary purpose of these Regulations is to implement Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and trailers and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, known as the “Framework Directive” (OJ No L263, 9.10.2007, p.1). The Directive has been amended by Regulation (EC) No. 1060/2008, which, for the most part, updated its technical and administrative requirements (OJ No L292, 31.10.2008, p.1). The Regulations extend to the whole of the United Kingdom. Part 1 (regulations 1 to 5) provides for general preliminary matters. Regulations 3 and 4 define terms used in the Regulations, both general and those specifically concerning vehicles. Regulation 3 introduces Schedule 2 which provides for the interpretation of references to requirements in regulatory acts (i.e. Community instruments and UNECE Regulations). Regulation 5 specifies the types of vehicle to which the Regulations apply. It provides for exemptions, optional application and, with Part 1 of Schedule 3, for the gradual application of the Regulations to vehicles of different categories and classes. Part 2 (regulations 6 to 11) prescribes conditions relating to vehicle approval which must be satisfied before a vehicle may be registered or put into service on a road in the United Kingdom. Regulation 6 provides that a motor vehicle may not be registered or granted a first licence under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 unless it is covered by an appropriate approval. It also introduces Part 2 of Schedule 3 which provides for alternative requirements to apply in certain cases, either indefinitely or during a transitional period, and for certain temporary exemptions. Regulations 7 to 10 prescribe the conditions to be satisfied by suppliers of trailers in respect of the first use of such vehicles. They provide that a large trailer may not be put into service unless the approval authority (the Secretary of State) has given consent and that consent may only be given if the vehicle is covered by an appropriate approval. They further provide that a record of “pertinent information” must be kept for each trailer, in the case of a large trailer by the approval authority and in the case of a small trailer by or on behalf of the supplier. With Part 3 of Schedule 3 they make alternative provision for some trailers during a transitional period. Regulation 11 creates offences of supplying and using trailers without complying with prescribed conditions. Part 3 (regulations 12 to 23) makes provision for EC type approvals and related matters. Regulation 12 provides for applications for type approvals by reference to Directive 2007/46/EC and regulation 13 provides for the approval procedure and prescribes (also by reference to that Directive) the requirements which must be fulfilled for the grant of EC type approval. Regulation 14 provides for amendment to approvals. Regulation 15 requires manufacturers of vehicles which are type approved to issue certificates of conformity in the prescribed form. Regulations 16 and 17 provide for conformity of production procedures to be observed and regulation 18 for manufacturers of vehicles and equipment to co-operate by the appropriate exchange of safety information. Regulation 19 provides for the withdrawal or suspension of EC type approval in the event breach of the requirements as to conformity of production. Regulation 20 makes special provision for EC type approval of vehicles produced in small numbers (“small series”). Regulations 21 to 23 provide for cases where parts or equipment may compromise safety and for the recall of vehicles which are a risk to public safety or the environment. Part 4 (regulations 24 to 28) makes provision for vehicle approvals which are valid in the United Kingdom only and for related matters. Regulation 24 provides for applications for national type approval of vehicles produced in small numbers. Regulation 25 provides for the type approval procedure and prescribes, with Schedule 4, the technical requirements which must be fulfilled for the grant of such approvals. It also makes provision for conformity of production and the issue of certificates of conformity, the numbers of vehicles which may be produced being limited according to the type of vehicle in question (limits being specified in a table). Regulation 26 specifies the procedure for recognition of national type approvals issued in other Member States. Regulation 27 provides for individual approval of particular vehicles by the approval authority, including the recognition of vehicles approved under the national regimes of other Member States and, with Schedule 5, prescribes the technical requirements which must be fulfilled for the grant of such approvals. Regulation 28, with Schedule 6, prescribes the form of national certificates. Part 5 (regulations 29 to 32) makes provision about the validity of type approvals. Regulation 29 specifies the circumstances in which EC type approvals cease to be valid and regulation 30 the circumstances in which national small series type approvals cease to be valid. Regulations 31 and 32 provides for “end-of-series” vehicles, i.e. vehicles which have been produced in conformity with an EC or national type approval which has since ceased to be valid. With the consent of the approval authority vehicles manufactured 3 months or more before the date when the type approval ceased to be valid may be registered for a specified period after that date (12 or 18 months according to the number of stages of manufacture). Part 6 (regulations 33 to 42) makes provision for miscellaneous matters, including enforcement and the review of approval authority decisions. Regulation 33 creates offences of forgery of approvals and certificates of conformity and of making false statements, supplying false information or using a false document (e.g. a record of test results) for the purposes of the Regulations. Regulation 34 empowers the approval authority to enter premises used for a purpose connected with the Regulations to inspect those premises and any vehicles, documents, data and so on found on them, to copy data found on the premises and to remove items from the premises when necessary. Regulation 35 imposes a duty on the approval authority to give reasons when issuing notice of specified decisions, regulation 36 provides for the review of the authority’s decisions on type approval applications and other matters relating to type approval and regulation 37 provides for appeals against decisions on individual vehicle approval applications. Regulation 38 provides for the issue of duplicate certificates to replace those lost or destroyed, and regulation 39 for the services of notices under the Regulations. Regulations 40 and 41 relate to the provision of testing stations and the designation of technical services and regulation 42 makes a saving for applications made under the Motor Vehicles (EC Type Approval) Regulations 1998 which are now revoked. The effect of regulation 3(3) and Schedule 2 is to transpose also the following 3 Commission Directives: Directive 2008/74 /EC of 18 July 2008 (OJ No L192, 19.7.2008, p.51), which amends the type approval requirements in Directive 2005/55 (OJ No L275, 20.10.2005, p.1) and 2005/78 (OJ No L 313, 29.11.2005, p.1) as respects emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and 6) and access to vehicle repair and maintenance information; Directive 2008/89 of 24 September 2008 (OJ No L257, 25.9.2008, p.14), which amends the type approval requirements in Directive 76/756/EEC (OJ No L262, 27.9.76, p.1) as respects the installation of lighting and light-signalling devices on motor vehicles and trailers; and Directive 2009/1 of 7 January 2009 (OJ No OJ No L9, 14.1.2009, p.31), which amends the type approval requirements in Directive 2005/64/EC (OJ No L310, 25.11.2005, p.10) with regard to the reusability, recyclability and recoverability of motor vehicles. Regulation 3(3) and Schedule 2 also re-enact provisions in the Motor Vehicles (EC Type Approval) Regulations 1998 which implement certain transitional provisions of Directive 2003/97/EC, Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 of the European Parliament and Council. (The Official Journal references are respectively L25, 29.1.2004, p.1 and L171, 29.6.2007, p.1.) A full Impact Assessment of the effect this instrument will have on the costs of the business, voluntary and public sectors has been produced and is available from the Transport Technology and Standards Division, Department for Transport, Zone 2/01 Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR or may be accessed via the Department’s website at wwww.dft.gov.uk. A copy has been placed in the library of each House of Parliament. A Transposition Note is also available and may be accessed as above. A copy of Directive 2007/46/EC may be obtained from the Office of Public Sector Information or viewed in the Official Journal of the European Union via the EU website at http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex.

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 “commits 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