UK Offence Report

Offences: breach of regulations etc.

regulation 27(5) of The Goods Vehicles (International Road Transport Permits and Haulage Within the EU) Regulations 2024

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

5 A person commits an offence if the person, without reasonable excuse—

a breaches

a prohibition under regulation 26, or

b causes or permits

a breach of

a prohibition under that regulation.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
contravening a requirement of the instrument
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
An element of the offence, for the prosecution to prove

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.

“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: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision; qualified by reasonable excuse (an element; prosecution disproves once raised).

The defence, as drafted

5 A person commits an offence if the person, without reasonable excuse— a breaches a prohibition under regulation 26, or b causes or permits a breach of a prohibition under that regulation.

What would breach regulation 27(5)?

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. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Goods Vehicles (International Road Transport Permits and Haulage Within the EU) Regulations 2024, whatever the reason for doing it.
  2. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£2,500
Standard scale
Level 4
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
21 May 2024
In force from
11 June 2024
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 regulate the use of goods vehicles on journeys to, in or through the countries and territories in relation to which the United Kingdom has a relevant international agreement (within the meaning given by section 1(4) of the Haulage Permits and Trailer Registration Act 2018 (c. 19) (“the 2018 Act”)) relating to the transport of goods by road, and the movement of goods between two points in the EU. These Regulations revoke and replace the International Road Transport Permits (EU Exit) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/1204). Regulation 3 defines or otherwise explains expressions used in the Regulations (some of which are also used below). Part 2 makes provision in relation to permits. In summary: regulation 4 prohibits the operator of a goods vehicle from using it without a permit on a journey for the carriage of goods to, in or through the countries in relation to which the United Kingdom has a relevant international agreement and makes provision for when the prohibition does not apply; regulation 5 sets out the types of permits available to an operator to authorise the use of a goods vehicle on a journey otherwise prohibited under regulation 4; regulation 6 provides that the number of permits available for a country is to be determined in accordance with the agreement relating to that country; regulation 7 authorises the Secretary of State to charge fees for permits; regulations 8 and 9 set out the procedure for permit applications; regulation 10 sets out how the Secretary of State decides whether to grant a permit; regulation 11 authorises the Secretary of State to grant a permit subject to conditions; regulation 12 provides for the duration of permits; regulation 13 requires that where there is a decision not to grant a permit reasons must be given to the applicant; regulation 14 authorises the Secretary of State to grant a temporary exemption from the prohibition imposed by regulation 4 for the purpose of enabling an emergency or some other special need to be dealt with. Part 3 includes enforcement provisions additional to those set out in sections 6, 7 and 8 of the 2018 Act. In summary: regulation 15 authorises the Secretary of State to direct an operator to remedy a breach of a condition attached to a permit; regulation 16 authorises the Secretary of State to cancel an operator’s permit in certain circumstances; regulations 17 and 18 provide for an operator to appeal the cancellation of a permit. Part 4 prohibits the operator of a goods vehicle from using it on a commercial journey for the carriage of goods between member States or within a member State unless certain requirements are met and makes provision for enforcement equivalent to those in sections 6, 7 and 8 of the 2018 Act. In summary: regulation 19 defines or otherwise explains expressions used in Part 4; regulation 20 prohibits the use of a goods vehicle in certain circumstances unless the use is authorised by an ECMT permit or the operator complies with the limit on journeys in regulation 21 and (in more limited circumstances) the requirements in regulation 22; regulation 21 sets out the limit on journeys for the purpose of regulation 20(1); regulation 22 sets out that the requirements for the purposes of regulation 20(2) are that the operator must make a posting declaration at or before the time the journey commences and the driver must carry a copy of the posting declaration during the journey; regulation 23 imposes a requirement on the operator of certain vehicles in certain circumstances to comply with posting enquiries made by a member State to, in or through which the vehicle is used; regulation 24 provides stopping officers and Northern Ireland examiners with the power to stop a goods vehicle for the purposes of checking whether the driver is carrying a copy of a posting declaration; regulation 25 makes provision in certain circumstances for an examiner to require a driver to produce a copy of a posting declaration and to inspect the vehicle, and to detain the vehicle for these purposes; regulation 26 enables an examiner to prohibit a goods vehicle in the United Kingdom from being taken to a member State if it appears that the vehicle is being used on a journey between two places in the EU and a posting declaration has not been made; regulation 27 provides for offences where relevant provisions in the Regulations are not complied with and where a person obstructs an examiner exercising powers conferred by this Part. Part 5 contains miscellaneous provisions: regulation 28 requires the Secretary of State to review the regulatory provision in these Regulations at least once every five years; regulation 30 makes incidental or consequential amendments to the Drivers’ Hours and Tachographs (Amendment) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/596). Information on locating the text of the relevant international agreements to which these Regulations relate may be found online at www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-treaties. Hard copies can be obtained on request from the International Road Haulage Permit Office: email irhp@dvsa.gov.uk or telephone 020 8158 0250. The agreements relevant to each listed country are set out in the table below. (A) Listed country (B) Relevant agreement(s) Armenia Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics concerning International Road Transport with Administrative Memorandum done at London on 22nd January 1988 (“the UK-USSR Agreement”) The ECMT agreements Austria Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the one part, and the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the other part, done at Brussels and London on 30th December 2020 (“the Trade and Cooperation Agreement”) The ECMT agreements Azerbaijan Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan on International Road Transport done at Baku on 23rd February 2023 The ECMT agreements Belarus Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Belarus concerning International Motor Vehicle Carriage done at Minsk on 18th March 2019 The ECMT agreements Belgium The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Bulgaria The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Croatia The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Czech Republic The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Denmark The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Estonia The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Finland The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements France The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Georgia Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Georgia on International Road Transport done at London on 13th November 1997 The ECMT agreements Germany The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Greece The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Hungary The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Ireland The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Italy The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Kazakhstan Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on International Road Transport done at London on 22nd November 2006 Kyrgyzstan The UK-USSR Agreement Latvia The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Lithuania The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Luxembourg The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Malta The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Morocco Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco on the International Carriage of Goods by Road with Administrative Memorandum done at Marrakesh on 15th April 1994 Netherlands The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Poland The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Portugal The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Romania The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Russia The UK-USSR Agreement The ECMT agreements Slovakia The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Slovenia The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Spain The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Sweden The Trade and Cooperation Agreement The ECMT agreements Tajikistan The UK-USSR Agreement Tunisia Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Tunisian Republic on the International Carriage of Goods by Road done at London on 10th March 1982 Turkey Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Turkey concerning International Road Transport done at Ankara on 9th September 1977 The ECMT agreements Turkmenistan The UK-USSR Agreement Ukraine Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ukraine on International Road Transport done at London on 13th December 1995 The ECMT agreements Uzbekistan The UK-USSR Agreement A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. An Explanatory Memorandum is published alongside this instrument at 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.

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