United Kingdom Statutory Instruments

"biodiesel" means biofuel which is a fatty acid methyl-ester produced from vegetable or animal oil;

"bioethanol" means biofuel which is ethanol produced from biomass or the biodegradable fraction of waste;

"biofuel" means liquid or gaseous fuel for transport produced from biomass;

"biomass" means the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from agriculture (including vegetal and animal substances), forestry and related industries, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal waste;

"blend" means motor fuel containing mineral oil derivatives and any biofuel;

"enforcement authority" means - 

(a) the act or default of another; or

(b) reliance on information given by another,

that person shall not, without the leave of the court, be entitled to rely on the defence unless, not less than seven clear days before the hearing of the proceedings (or, in Scotland the trial diet), he has served a notice under sub-paragraph (3) on the person bringing the proceedings.

    (3) A notice under this sub-paragraph shall give such information identifying or assisting in the identification of the person who committed the act or default or gave the information as is in the possession of the person serving the notice at the time he serves it.

    (4) A person shall not be entitled to rely on the defence provided by sub-paragraph (1) by reason of his reliance on information supplied by another, unless he shows that it was reasonable in all the circumstances for him to have relied on the information, having regard in particular to  - 

(a) the steps which he took, and those which might reasonably have been taken, for the purpose of verifying the information; and

(b) whether he had any reason to disbelieve the information.

Liability of persons other than principal offender
     2.  - (1) An employee or agent contravenes these Regulations if as a result of his act he causes the sale or offer for sale in contravention of Regulation 3(2) whether or not proceedings are taken against his employer or principal.

    (2) Where a body corporate is guilty of an offence under these Regulations (including where it is so guilty by virtue of sub-paragraph (1)) in respect of any act or default which is shown to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

    (3) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, sub-paragraph (2) shall apply 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 corporate.

    (4) Where a Scottish partnership is guilty of an offence under these Regulations (including where it is so guilty by virtue of sub-paragraph (1)) in respect of any act or default which is shown to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a partner in the partnership, both he and the partnership, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(a) intentionally obstruct a duly authorised officer of an enforcement authority acting in pursuance of any provision of these Regulations;

(b) intentionally fail to comply with any requirement properly made to him by such an officer under any provision of these Regulations; or

(c) without reasonable cause fail to give any such officer of an enforcement authority who is so acting any other assistance or information which he may reasonably require of him for the purposes of the exercise of the officer's functions under any provision of these Regulations.

    (2) No person shall, in giving any information which is required of him by virtue of sub-paragraph (1)(c) - 

(a) make any statement which he knows is false in a material particular; or

(b) recklessly make a statement which is false in a material particular.

Powers of search etc.
     4.  - (1) A duly authorised officer of an enforcement authority may, at all reasonable hours and on - 

(a) identifying himself and producing authority in writing from the enforcement authority which appointed him for the exercise by him of powers conferred on the authority by these Regulations; and

(b) stating the purpose of his actions and his grounds for undertaking them,

exercise any of the powers set out in sub-paragraph (2).

    (2) The powers referred to in sub-paragraph (1) are - 

(a) he may, for the purpose of ascertaining whether an offence under these Regulations has been committed, inspect any relevant equipment and enter any premises other than premises used only as a dwelling;

(b) if he has reasonable cause to suspect that an offence under these Regulations has been committed, he may, for the purpose of ascertaining whether it has been committed, require any person carrying on or employed in connection with a business to produce any records relating to the biofuel or blend in question and he may take copies of those records or any part of them;

(c) if he has reasonable cause to suspect that an offence under these Regulations has been committed, he may seize and detain any sample of the biofuel or blend for the purpose of ascertaining whether the offence has been committed;

(d) he may seize and detain records which he has reason to believe may be required as evidence in proceedings for an offence under these Regulations;

(e) he may, for the purpose of exercising his powers of seizure under this sub-paragraph, but only if and to the extent that it is reasonably necessary in order to secure that the provisions of these Regulations are duly observed, require any person having authority to do so to break open any container and, if that person does not comply with the requirement or if there is no person present having authority to open it, he may do so himself.

    (3) For the purposes of paragraphs (b) and (d) of sub-paragraph (2), the officer may require information stored electronically to be made available to him in printed form.

    (4) If a justice of the peace is satisfied by any written information on oath -