Section 18 – Free distribution and nominal pricing
56.Section 18(1) of the Act contains a power for the Scottish Ministers to make regulations to prohibit or restrict in the course of a business the giving away of NVPs (and coupons for those products) for free including retailing them for a nominal sum. Section 18(2) contains a non-exhaustive list of the kind of provision which may also be made in regulations, covering enforcement, offences, and penalties, defences and exceptions. It also makes clear that regulations can make further provision about the circumstances in which a product or coupon is to be treated as being made available for a nominal sum.
57.Section 18(3) specifies the maximum penalty which regulations may prescribe for offences as, on summary proceedings, imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (currently £10,000) or both and, on conviction on indictment, imprisonment not exceeding two years or an unlimited fine or both.
