If, in response to a notice to owner, any person furnishes a statement which is false in a material particular and does so recklessly or knowing it to be false in that particular, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1000.

Proceedings for an offence in England and Wales under subsection (1) above may be brought within a period of six months from the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the prosecutor to warrant the proceedings came to his knowledge, but no such proceedings shall be brought by virtue of this section more than three years after the commission of the offence.

Proceedings in Scotland for an offence under subsection (1) above shall not be commenced after the expiration of a period of three years from the commission of the offence, but subject to that limitation, any such proceedings may be commenced at any time within six months after the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the procurator fiscal to justify the proceedings comes to his knowledge.

Proceedings may be commenced in accordance with subsection (3) above notwithstanding anything in section 331(1) of the M1Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975; and subsection (3) of that section (date of commencement of proceedings) shall apply for the purposes of this section as it applies for the purposes of that section.

For the purposes of subsections (2) and (3) above, a certificate signed by or on behalf of the prosecutor or, as the case may be, the procurator fiscal and stating the date on which such evidence as is there mentioned came to his knowledge shall be conclusive evidence of that fact; and a certificate stating that matter and purporting to be so signed shall be taken to be so signed unless the contrary is proved.