Information

34Offence

(1)

A person commits an offence if without reasonable excuse he fails to comply with a requirement F1imposed—

(a)

under section 32(2) or (3) or 33(2), or

(b)

by regulations made under section 32A.

F2(1A)

Proceedings may not be instituted against a person under subsection (1) for a failure to comply with a requirement imposed under section 32(2) or by regulations made under section 32A where—

(a)

the person has paid a penalty in respect of the same failure, or a failure to provide the same information, by virtue of regulations made under—

(i)

section 32B,

(ii)

paragraph 27BB of Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971, or

(iii)

section 24 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (penalty for breach of authority-to-carry scheme); or

(b)

proceedings have been instituted against the person under section 27 of the Immigration Act 1971 in respect of a failure to provide the same information.

(2)

But—

(a)

a person who fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement imposed under section 32(2) or 33(2) by a constable in England and Wales or Northern Ireland otherwise than in relation to a reserved matter (within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46)) shall not be treated as having committed the offence in Scotland (but has committed the offence in England and Wales or Northern Ireland), and

(b)

a person who fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement which is imposed under section 32(3) for the purpose of complying with a requirement to which paragraph (a) applies—

(i)

shall not be treated as having committed the offence in Scotland, but

(ii)

shall be treated as having committed the offence in England and Wales or Northern IrelandF3, and

(c)

where a person fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement imposed by regulations made under section 32A to provide information to the police in England and Wales—

(i)

if the required information does not relate to a reserved matter (within the meaning of the Scotland Act 1998), the person shall not be treated as having committed the offence in Scotland (but has committed the offence in England and Wales);

(ii)

if the required information does not relate to an excepted or reserved matter (within the meaning of the Northern Ireland Act 1998), the person shall not be treated as having committed the offence in Northern Ireland (but has committed the offence in England and Wales).

(3)

A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable on summary conviction to—

(a)

imprisonment for a term not exceeding 51 weeks in England and Wales or 6 months in Scotland or Northern Ireland,

(b)

a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale, or

(c)

both.

(4)

In relation to a conviction occurring before the commencement of section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) (51 week maximum term of sentences) the reference to 51 weeks in subsection (2)(a) shall be taken as a reference to three months.