UK Offence Report

Offences in connection with information requirements

regulation 11(4) of The Intra-EU Communications (EU Regulation) Regulations 2019 (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 (“B”) is guilty of an offence if—

a in pursuance of any information requirement, B provides any information that is false in any material particular; and

b at the time B provides it, B either knows it to be false or is reckless as to whether or not it is false.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

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

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach regulation 11(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 Intra-EU Communications (EU Regulation) Regulations 2019.
  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
Unlimited
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
3 June 2019
In force from
30 June 2019
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 Article 6 of the Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25th November 2015 laying down measures concerning open internet access and amending Directive 2002/22/EC on universal service and users’ rights relating to electronic communications networks and services and Regulation (EU) No 531/2012 on roaming on public mobile communications networks within the Union (“the Telecoms Single Market Regulation”) (OJ No L310/1, 26.11.2015) (OJ No 321/32, 17.12.2018, p) on retail charges for regulated intra-EU communications and amending Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 (“the Telecoms Single Market Regulation”) (OJ No L310/1, 26.11.2015). Article 6 of the EU Regulation as inserted by Article 50(5) of the BEREC Regulation requires that Member States lay down penalties applicable to infringements of Article 5a of the Telecoms Single Market Regulation. Regulation 1 provides that these Regulations come into force on 30th June 2019 and cease to have effect immediately before the end of 14th May 2024. Regulation 2 of these Regulations designates OFCOM as the national regulatory authority for the purpose of Article 5a. Regulation 3 requires OFCOM, when performing its functions under the EU Regulation or these Regulations, to take due account of all applicable guidelines issued by BEREC in accordance with Article 5a (6). Regulation 4 gives OFCOM the power to require the provision of information as considered necessary for the purpose of OFCOM carrying out functions under Article 5a. Regulation 5 provides for a notification procedure where OFCOM determines that there has been a breach of Article 5a or these Regulations. Regulation 6 provides for an enforcement procedure by OFCOM for notifications made pursuant to regulation 5. Regulation 7 provides that penalties may be imposed for breaches of Article 5a and these Regulations. In the case of continuing breaches, this regulation provides that OFCOM may impose a penalty not exceeding £500 per day for breach of information requirements and £20,000 for any other breach as OFCOM determine to be appropriate and proportionate. Regulation 8 specifies the amount of a penalty that may be imposed by OFCOM. A penalty of up to £2,000,000 may be imposed for breach of a requirement to provide OFCOM with information in relation to the implementation and enforcement of Article 5a. A penalty of up to 10% of turnover of “relevant business”, as defined in these regulations, may be imposed by OFCOM for all other breaches of Article 5a. Regulation 9 specifies the turnover of “relevant business” is to be calculated for the purposes of regulation 6 of these regulations. Regulation 10 specifies that OFCOM must pay all amounts received in respect of financial penalties into the Consolidated Fund. Regulation 11 makes it a criminal offence to breach an information requirement and sets out the relevant sanctions. Regulations 12 to 14 of these regulations provide that a person affected by a decision of OFCOM under Article 5a or these regulations may appeal that decision to the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Decisions of the Competition Appeal Tribunal may be appealed on a point of law to the Court of Appeal or the Court of Session in Scotland. Regulation 15 specifies the requirements for service of notifications and other documents. Regulation 16 specifies the requirements for notifications and documents in electronic form. A Transposition Note has been produced for these Regulations and is published with the Explanatory Memorandum alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

How this became law

This instrument became law without a debate or a vote. Under the negative procedure it took effect unless a motion to stop it succeeded, and none was tabled.

Neither House could have amended it. A statutory instrument is put to each House as a whole thing, to be approved or not; the Houses can reject an instrument or record their regret, but they cannot change a word of it. That is the constitutional position for every offence on this site.

The full procedural history →

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