UK Offence Report

4 It is an offence for a person— a to fail to comply with an obligation on that person in Article 7 of the…

regulation 4 of The Quality Standards for Green Bananas (England and Wales) Regulations 2012

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 It is an offence for

a person—

a to fail to comply with an obligation on that person in Article

7 of the Commission Regulation;

b to fail to comply with

a written undertaking an authorised officer has accepted from that person under regulation 13(1);

c to fail to comply with

a movement control notice served under regulation 15(1);

d to fail to comply with

a warning notice served under regulation 14(1);

e intentionally to obstruct an authorised officer acting for the purpose of the enforcement of these Regulations or the checks under the Commission Regulation, or

a person accompanying such an authorised officer under regulation 6(4)(a) (including obstruction by the unauthorised alteration, concealment or removal of

a label, demarcation tape or any other material used by an authorised officer);

f without reasonable excuse, proof of which lies on that person, to—

i fail to give an authorised officer acting for the purpose of the enforcement of these Regulations or the checks under the Commission Regulation any assistance or information;

ii fail to provide any record or facilities that an authorised officer may reasonably require; or

iii supply to an authorised officer any information knowing it to be false, inaccurate or misleading.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
obstructing an official exercising a power
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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

“Without reasonable excuse” here is an element of the offence rather than a defence, so its absence is for the prosecution to prove (R v Charles [2009] EWCA Crim 1570).

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: intentionally, knowing it to be; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

ape or any other material used by an authorised officer); f without reasonable excuse, proof of which lies on that person, to— i fail to give an authorised officer acting for the purpose of the enforcement of these Regulations or the checks under the Commission Regulation any assistance or information; ii fail to provide any record or faciliti

What would breach regulation 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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Quality Standards for Green Bananas (England and Wales) Regulations 2012.
  2. Sending an official away, or telling staff to say nothing, where the power being exercised does not depend on anyone's consent.
  3. Physically blocking an examination, or removing something an officer has said they intend to inspect.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

this is the level 5 value when the instrument came into force (2012-05-11); the standard scale is keyed to the date the offence was committed, and for conduct today the same words mean an unlimited fine.

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
21 March 2012
In force from
11 May 2012
Extent
E+W

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 provide for the enforcement in England and Wales of EU marketing standards for bananas set out in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1333/2011 laying down marketing standards for bananas, rules on the verification of compliance with those marketing standards and requirements for notifications in the banana sector (OJ No L 336, 20.12.2011, p 23). Annex I of the Commission Regulation sets out detailed requirements relating to quality, size, presentation and marking of bananas at the “un-ripened green stage” of marketing after preparation and packaging where the bananas are intended for supply fresh to the consumer. The marketing standards are applicable to bananas falling within CN code 0803 00, excluding plantains, fig bananas and bananas intended for processing, and apply to bananas originating in third countries at the stage of release for free circulation, to bananas originating in the EU at the stage of first landing at a Community port, and to bananas delivered fresh to the consumer in the producing region at the stage of leaving the packing shed. These Regulations designate the Secretary of State as the competent national authority for England and Wales and provide for the Secretary of State to provide information and to appoint authorised officers (regulation 3). Under regulation 4, it is an offence to fail to comply with Article 7 of the Commission Regulation, a written undertaking, a movement control notice or a warning notice. It is also an offence under that regulation to intentionally obstruct an authorised officer or to fail to give information or to give false information to an authorised officer. Regulation 5 sets out the maximum penalty for an offence under the Regulations. Regulation 6 provides authorised officers with powers to enter premises, other than dwellings, and with the power to apply for a warrant to enable entry (including to dwellings). Regulation 7 confers powers on authorised officers to enable inspections and effective enforcement including seizure powers and requires authorised officers to fulfil certain duties in relation to certain items seized. Regulations 8 to 11 confer powers on authorised officers to affix labels indicating various types of non-compliance with respect to the marketing standards. Regulation 12 prescribes certain information to be contained in those labels. Authorised officers are also given powers to accept written undertakings (regulation 13) and to issue warning notices and movement control notices - the latter to prohibit or restrict the movement of bananas (regulations 14 and 15). Regulations 16 and 17 detail requirements, including procedural requirements, relevant to notices. Regulation 18 provides a right of review to those served with a notice. Regulations 19 and 20 contain provisions relating to the commission of an offence due to the fault of another person and to the commission of offences by bodies corporate etc. Regulation 21 requires the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of these Regulations and to publish a report within five years after the Regulations come into force and within every five years after that. Following a review it will fall to the Secretary of State to consider whether the Regulations should remain as they are, or be revoked or amended. A further instrument would be needed to revoke the Regulations or to amend them. Regulation 22 disapplies certain Acts in England and Wales in respect of bananas. A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument because the only impact which is foreseen is an impact on the public sector of not more than £5m and no political or media interest is foreseen.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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 0.90.

Basis
the provision says “it is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.90 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