The Notification of Existing Substances (Enforcement) Regulations 1994

Offences in relation to the notification of information about existing substances

7.—(1) It shall be an offence for a person—

(a) to fail to comply with any provision of the Council Regulation;

(b) to make a statement which he knows to be false or misleading in a material particular, or recklessly to make a statement which is false or misleading in a material particular, where the statement is made in purported compliance with a requirement to furnish any information imposed by or under any provision of the Council Regulation;

(c) intentionally to make a false entry in any register, book, notice or other document required by any provision of the Council Regulation to be kept, served or given or, with intent to deceive, to make use of any such entry which he knows to be false.

(2) Where an inspector, under regulations 4 and 5 above, or a health and safety inspector, under sections 20 and 21 of the 1974 Act, exercises his powers for the purposes of enforcing the Council Regulation, it shall be an offence for a person—

(a) to fail to comply with or contravene any requirement imposed by an enforcement notice served under regulation 5 above or with an improvement notice served under section 21 of the 1974 Act including any such notice as modified on appeal;

(b) without reasonable excuse to fail to comply with any requirement imposed under regulation 4 above or under section 20 of the 1974 Act;

(c) to prevent any other person from appearing before or from answering any question to which an inspector, by virtue of regulation 4 above, or a health and safety inspector, by virtue of section 20 of the 1974 Act, may require an answer;

(d) intentionally to obstruct an inspector or a health and safety inspector in the exercise or performance of his powers or duties under regulation 4 above or section 20 of the 1974 Act;

(e) to fail to comply with an order made by a court under regulation 8 below.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under sub-paragraph (a) or (e) of paragraph (2) above or under sub-paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of paragraph (1) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or on conviction on indictment to a fine.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under sub-paragraph (b), (c), or (d) of paragraph (2) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(5) Where an offence under paragraph (1) above is committed by reason of a failure to do something at or within a time fixed by any of the provisions of the Council Regulation, the offence shall be deemed to continue until that thing is done.

(6) Where—

(a) an entry is required to be made in any register or other record as to the observance of any provision of the Council Regulation; and

(b) the entry has not been made;

that fact shall be admissible as evidence in proceedings for an offence under paragraph (1) above that the provision has not been observed.

(7) Summary proceedings for an offence under paragraph (1) or (2) above may be commenced at any time within six months from the date on which there comes to the knowledge of the chief inspector or the Executive evidence sufficient in the opinion of the chief inspector or the Executive to justify a prosecution for that offence; and for the purposes of this paragraph—

(a) a certificate of the chief inspector or the Executive stating that such evidence came to his or its knowledge on a specified date shall be conclusive evidence of that fact; and

(b) a document purporting to be such a certificate and to be signed by or on behalf of the chief inspector or the Executive shall be presumed to be such a certificate unless the contrary is proved.

(8) In the application of paragraph (7) above to Scotland—

(a) for the words from “there comes” to “that offence” there shall be substituted the words “evidence sufficient to justify a report to the Lord Advocate with a view to consideration of the question of prosecution, comes to the knowledge of the chief inspector or the Executive”;

(b) at the end of paragraph (b) there shall be added the words

“and

(c) section 23(2) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Act 1954(1) (date of commencement of proceedings) shall have effect as it has effect for the purposes of that section.”.

(9) Proceedings for an offence under paragraph (1) or (2) above shall not, in England and Wales, be instituted except by an inspector or a health and safety inspector or by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(10) In England and Wales an inspector, if authorised to do so by the Secretary of State for the purposes of section 23(5) of the 1990 Act, or a health and safety inspector, if authorised to do so by the Executive for the purposes of section 39 of the 1974 Act may, although not of counsel or a solicitor, prosecute before a magistrates' court proceedings for an offence under paragraph (1) or (2) above.

(1)

1954 c. 48.