UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 11(1) of The Olive Oil (Marketing Standards) Regulations 2014

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 A person is guilty of an offence if that person—

a fails to comply with

a compliance notice;

b intentionally obstructs an authorised officer exercising

a power under these Regulations;

c fails, without reasonable excuse, to give any assistance or information that the authorised officer may reasonably require for the enforcement of the EU Regulations or the performance of that officer’s functions under these Regulations;

d knowingly gives false or misleading information to an authorised officer; or

e without reasonable excuse, fails to produce

a label, document or record, including—

i the entry and withdrawal registers required to be kept under Article 7a of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91, and

ii the documentation described in Article

7 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/2012, when reasonably required to do so by an authorised officer.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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, knowingly).

“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: knowingly, intentionally; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

fficer exercising a power under these Regulations; c fails, without reasonable excuse, to give any assistance or information that the authorised officer may reasonably require for the enforcement of the EU Regulations or the performance of that officer’s functions under these Regulations; d knowingly gives false or misleading information to an

What would breach regulation 11(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. Refusing to let an inspector onto premises they are entitled to enter under the Olive Oil (Marketing Standards) Regulations 2014.
  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
Unlimited
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

level 5 is unlimited in England and Wales for offences committed on or after 12 March 2015 (LASPO 2012 s.85, S.I. 2015/664).

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
30 January 2014
In force from
Not determined
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 enforce in the United Kingdom Article 78(1)(g) and (2) of and Part VIII of Annex VII to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (OJ No L 347, 20.12.2013, p671), Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/2012 on marketing standards for olive oil (OJ No L 12, 14.1.2012, p14) and Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91 on the characteristics of olive oil and olive-residue oil and on the relevant methods of analysis (OJ No L 248, 5.9.1991, p1) (“the EU Regulations”). Part 2 sets out the powers of authorised officers. Regulation 4 provides for the appointment of authorised officers. Regulation 5 empowers an authorised officer to serve a compliance notice on any person who has not complied with or is not likely to comply with the EU Regulations. Regulation 6 confers powers of entry on authorised officers for the purposes of the execution and enforcement of these Regulations and the EU Regulations. Regulation 7 sets out the powers of authorised officers when they enter premises. Part 3 (regulations 8 to 10) sets out the procedures for appealing against a compliance notice. In relation to regulation 8, rule 22(1)(b) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009 (S.I. 2009/1976) sets out the time limit for the receipt of notice of appeal by the First-tier Tribunal (within 28 days of the date on which notice of the act or decision to which the proceedings relate was sent to the appellant). Part 4 sets out offences and penalties. Under regulation 11(2) a person guilty of an offence under these Regulations is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale. Regulation 12 provides for a due diligence defence, regulation 13 for time limits for proceedings and regulations 14 and 15 for offences by, and proceedings against, businesses. Part 5 contains miscellaneous provisions. Regulation 16 provides for the payment of costs of counter-assessments. Regulation 17 sets out the enforcement authorities for the purposes of these Regulations. Regulation 19 (which applies in England only) requires the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of these Regulations and publish a report within 5 years of the date of their coming 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, in relation to England, remain as they are or be revoked or amended. A further instrument would be needed to revoke or amend them. A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available at www.gov.uk or from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR. It is also annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum for these Regulations which is available alongside these Regulations on www.legislation.gov.uk.

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