UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 24(1) of The Marketing of Fruit Plant and Propagating Material (England) Regulations 2017

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 It is an offence for

a person to—

a fail to comply with

a notice served under—

i regulation 19 (information notice);

ii regulation 20 (prohibition on movement notice);

iii regulation 21(1)(a) (enforcement notice);

iv regulation 21(1)(b) (prohibition notice).

b fail, without reasonable excuse, to give any assistance that

a person may require for the performance of that person’s functions under these Regulations.

c intentionally obstruct an inspector in the exercise of any powers conferred by these Regulations.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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

“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; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

tice); iv regulation 21(1)(b) (prohibition notice). b fail, without reasonable excuse, to give any assistance that a person may require for the performance of that person’s functions under these Regulations. c intentionally obstruct an inspector in the exercise of any powers conferred by these Regulations.

What would breach regulation 24(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 Marketing of Fruit Plant and Propagating Material (England) Regulations 2017.
  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
£1,000
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
25 April 2017
In force from
1 June 2017
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 these Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations, which apply in England, continue to implement Council Directive 2008/90/EC on the marketing of fruit plant propagating material and fruit plants intended for fruit production (OJ No L 267, 8.10.2008, p 8). They also implement— Commission Implementing Directive 2014/96/EU on the requirements for the labelling, sealing and packaging of fruit plant propagating material and fruit plants intended for fruit production, falling within the scope of Council Directive 2008/90/EC (OJ L 298, 16.10.2014, p. 12); Commission Implementing Directive 2014/97/EU implementing Council Directive 2008/90/EC as regards the registration of suppliers and of varieties and the common list of varieties (OJ L 298, 16.10.2014, p. 16); Commission Implementing Directive 2014/98/EU implementing Council Directive 2008/90/EC as regards specific requirements for the genus and species of fruit plants referred to in Annex I thereto, specific requirements to be met by suppliers and detailed rules concerning official inspections (OJ No L, 298, 16.10.2014, p. 22). They revoke and replace the Marketing of Fruit Plant Material Regulations (S.I. 2010/2079). Part 1 of the Regulations is introductory. The fruit plants and propagating material (plant material) to which the Regulations apply is set out in regulation 4 and Schedule 3. Part 2 contains requirements for marketing plant material (regulation 5). In order to be marketed, plant material must comply with requirements set out for certification (regulation 9 and Schedule 5) and packaging, sealing and labelling (regulation 10 and Schedule 2). Plant material must be, or be in the process of being, registered (Schedule 4) and have been granted, or an application made for, plant variety rights (regulation 7). CAC material must comply with requirements set out in Schedule 1 and be accompanied by a supplier’s document (Schedule 2). Regulation 4 sets out exceptions to these general requirements. Part 3 requires the registration of suppliers (regulation 11) and a register of suppliers (regulation 13). Suppliers are required to monitor the production of plant material (regulation 14) and keep records (regulation 15). Part 4 deals with the enforcement of these Regulations and sets out inspectors’ powers, including a power to serve a notice on any person to require that person to provide information and a power to prohibit the movement of plant material suspected of failing to comply with these Regulations. An inspector also has a power to serve a notice on any person acting in contravention of these Regulations to require that person to comply with the Regulations or to prohibit that person from acting in breach of them. Under regulation 23(1) a person who fails to comply with any such notice or to give assistance to the inspector is guilty of an offence. Under regulation 23(2) a person guilty of an offence under the Regulations is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale. Part 5 sets out administrative provisions including arrangements for official measures (regulation 26), a transitional provision (regulation 27), consequential amendments (regulation 28) and a review clause (regulation 31). An impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact, or no significant impact, on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. An Explanatory Memorandum and transposition note will be published alongside this instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.

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.

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