Amendments to the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004
3.—(1) The Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004(1) is amended as follows.
(2) In Article 30(1) for “may, if the certificate has expired, and shall, if it has been revoked,” substitute “shall”.
(3) In Article 38—
(a)after paragraph (1)(a) omit—
“and”
(b)after paragraph (1)(b) insert—
“; and
(c)send a copy of the record of each transaction involving a firearm within 72 hours of the transaction to the Chief Constable.”.
(c)after paragraph (6) insert—
“(6A) A person who fails to comply with paragraph (1)(c) shall be guilty of an offence.”;
(d)in paragraph (7)(a) after “any” insert “other”.
(4) After Article 38 insert—
“Recording of transactions in firearms by Chief Constable
38A.—(1) This Article applies where the Chief Constable receives a copy of a record of a transaction involving a firearm in accordance with Article 38(2)(a).
(2) The Chief Constable must keep a record which includes the following information—
(a)a description of the firearm which includes the matters mentioned in paragraph 6(a) to (d) of Schedule 3;
(b)the names and addresses of the seller or transferor and the purchaser or transferee.
(3) The record mentioned in paragraph (2) must be kept—
(a)on a computerised data filing system;
(b)for a period of not less than 20 years from the date of the transaction.”
(5) In Schedule 3 after paragraph 5 insert—
“6. References in paragraphs 1 to 5 to a description of a firearm include—
(a)the make and type or distinctive name of the firearm;
(b)the model;
(c)the calibre; and
(d)the serial number.”.
(6) In Schedule 5 after the entry relating to Article 37(5) insert—
“Article 38(6A) /Failure to send copy of record of transaction to the Chief Constable/Summary/3 months or level 5 or both”.