Vehicle and Driving Licences Act 1969

28 Alteration of penalties and offences and the application of sums under 1962 c. 13 ss. 17, 18 and 21 etc.

(1) In section 17(1) and (2) of the Act of 1962 (under which a fine of £50 or imprisonment for six months may be imposed on summary conviction for offences under those subsections) for the words from " fifty pounds " onwards there shall be substituted the words " two hundred pounds or on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years ".

(2) The said section 17(1) and (2) shall have effect subject to the following further amendments, that is to say—

(a) in subsection (1)(b) for the word " book " there shall be substituted the word " document ";

(b) in subsection (2)(a) (which penalises a false declaration in connection with an application for a licence under the Act of 1962 for a vehicle) the reference to such an application shall include a reference to an application for an allocation in pursuance of section 6 or section 20 of this Act; and

(c) in subsection (2)(b) (which penalises the furnishing of false particulars in connection with a change of registration of a vehicle) the reference to the Act of 1962 shall be construed as including a reference to this Act and for the words " in connection with a change of registration " there shall be substituted the words " relating to, or to the keeper ".

(3) For section 17(3) of the Act of 1962 (under which a fine of £20 may be imposed for any infringement of regulations under that Act) there shall be substituted the following subsection:—

(3) Regulations under this Act may provide that a person who contravenes or fails to comply with any specified provision of the regulations shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of an amount not exceeding—

(a) in the case of a contravention or failure to comply with requirements imposed in pursuance of section 16(a) of this Act, fifty pounds ;

(b) in any other case, twenty pounds.

(4) In section 18 of the Act of 1962 (under which information may be required as to the identity of persons alleged to be concerned in an offence under section 7 or section 12(9) of that Act)—

(a) after the words " section seven " in subsections (1) and (2)(a) there shall be inserted the words " subsection (4) of section ten ";

(b) for the word " owner" in subsection (1)(a) there shall be substituted the words " person keeping "; and

(c) in subsection (3) for the words " twenty pounds " there shall be substituted the words " fifty pounds ";

and in section 12(8) of the [1967 c. 54.] Finance Act 1967 (under which information may be required as to the identity of the keeper of a vehicle alleged to have been used in contravention of the said section 7) for the words " twenty pounds " there shall be substituted the words " fifty pounds ".

(5) Nothing in any of the foregoing provisions of this section shall apply to an offence committed before that provision comes into force.

(6) In section 21 of the Act of 1962 (which provides for the application of fines imposed and penalties recovered by virtue of that Act), the references to that Act shall include references to this Act, excluding sections 14 and 22; and in section 21(2) of the Act of 1962, after the word " and" where it first occurs there shall be inserted the words " penalties and ".