Agriculture and Horticulture Act 1964

17 Pleading of warranty as defence. E+W+S

(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, where in proceedings for an offence in relation to any produce under section 14(1) or (2) above it would have been a defence for the person charged to prove that the produce conformed to a prescribed grade, it shall be a defence for him to prove—

(a) that he bought or took delivery of the produce as being of a quality falling within that grade, and with a written warranty to that effect; and

(b) that at the time of the commission of the offence he had no reason to believe the statement contained in the warranty to be inaccurate, that he then did believe in its accuracy and that he had taken such steps (if any) as were reasonably practicable to check its accuracy; and

(c) that he took all reasonable steps to ensure that the quality of the produce was the same at the time of the commission of the offence as when it left the possession of the person by whom the warranty was given.

(2) Where the proceedings are in respect of an offence committed by the person charged in the course of his employment, it shall be a defence for him to prove—

(a) that if his employer had been charged the employer would have had a defence under subsection (1) above in respect of a warranty, and

(b) that at the time of the commission of the offence the person charged had no reason to believe the statement contained in the warranty to be inaccurate.

(3) Where the person charged intends to set up a defence under this section he shall, not later than three days before the date of the hearing,—

(a) send to the prosecutor a copy of the warranty with a notice stating that he intends to rely on it and specifying the name and address of the person by whom it is alleged to have been given, and

(b) send to the last-mentioned person a notice giving the date and place of the hearing and stating that he intends to rely on the warranty.

(4) The person by whom the warranty is alleged to have been given shall be entitled to appear at the hearing and give evidence.

(5) If the person charged in any such proceedings as aforesaid wilfully attributes to any produce a warranty given in relation to any goods not including that produce, he shall be guilty of an offence.

(6) For the purposes of this section a grade designation entered in an invoice relating to any produce or indicated by a label affixed to the produce or the container thereof shall be deemed to be a written warranty that the produce conforms to the grade indicated by that designation.