The Rural Development (Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2007

Offences and penalties

13.—(1) A person is guilty of an offence if—

(a) for the purposes of obtaining a rural development payment for himself or any other person, he knowingly or recklessly makes a statement which is false or misleading in a material particular;

(b) he intentionally obstructs an authorised person, or a person accompanying him and acting under his instructions, in the exercise of his powers under regulation 3 or 5(2); or

(c) without reasonable cause, he fails to comply with a request made under regulation 4.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (1)(a) is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (1)(b) or (c) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(4) Where an offence under these Regulations committed by a body corporate is shown—

(a) to have been committed with the consent or connivance of an officer, or

(b) to be attributable to any neglect on his part,

the officer as well as the body corporate is guilty of the offence and is liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(5) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (4) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body.

(6) “Officer”, in relation to a body corporate, means a director, member of the committee of management, chief executive, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body, or a person purporting to act in any such capacity.