{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/agriculture-act-1957/section-7",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/agriculture-act-1957/section-7.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/Eliz2/5-6/57",
  "legislation_title": "Agriculture Act 1957",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/agriculture-act-1957",
  "path": "section/7",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "7",
  "heading": "Penalties.",
  "text": "(1) If any person contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of an order under section five or section six of this Act, or knowingly has in his possession or control any livestock imported, removed or brought into the United Kingdom in contravention of an order under the said section six, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both.\n(2) If any person wilfully obstructs an authorised officer or other person in the exercise of powers conferred on him by an order under section five or section six of this Act, he shall be liable on summary conviction—\n(a) in the case of a first offence, to a fine not exceeding twenty poundslevel 3 on the standard scale;\n(b) in the case of a second or subsequent offence, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to a fine not exceeding fifty poundslevel 3 on the standard scaleor both.\n(3) If any person—\n(a) knowingly or recklessly makes any false statement for the purpose of obtaining for himself or any other person any sum payable in pursuance of an order under this Part of this Act:\n(b) with intent to deceive, removes alters, conceals or defaces any mark applied to produce in pursuance of any such order;\n(c) applies to produce, without due authority and with intent to deceive, any mark prescribed by or under any such order or applies to produce a mark so closely resembling a prescribed mark as to be calculated to deceive; or\n(d) wilfully makes a false entry in any book, account or record which is required to be produced in pursuance of any such order or, with intent to deceive, makes use of any such entry which he knows to be false;\nhe shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both, or on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.\n(4) Where an offence under this section which has been committed by a body corporate is proved 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 deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Act repealed (S.) (16.6.2025) by Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024 (asp 11), s. 38(2), sch. 2 Pt. 1; S.S.I. 2025/167, reg. 2, sch."
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words substituted by virtue of (E.W.) Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c. 48, SIF 39:1), ss. 38, 46, (S.) Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (c. 21, SIF 39:1), ss. 289F, 289G and (N.I.) 1984/703 (N.I. 3), arts. 5, 6"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Word beginning “level 3 ...” substituted (S.) by virtue of Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (c. 21, SIF 39:1), ss. 289E—289G"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Word added by Agriculture Act 1967 (c. 22), s. 70(2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "S. 7(2): Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c. 48, SIF 39:1), ss. 35 (in relation to liability on first and subsequent convictions), 38 (increase of fines) and 46 (substitution of references to levels on the standard scale) apply (E.W.) and S.I. 1984/703 (N.I. 3), arts. 5 (substitution of references to levels on the standard scale), 6 (increase of fines), 9 (in relation to liability on first and subsequent convictions) apply (N.I.)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C2",
      "text": "S. 7(2): Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (c. 21, SIF 39:1), s. 289E (in relation to liability on first and subsequent convictions), applies (S.)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C3",
      "text": "S. 7 applied by European Communities Act 1972 (c. 68, SIF 29:5), s. 6(3)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [
    {
      "type": "words substituted",
      "affecting": "ukpga/2003/44",
      "affecting_title": "Criminal Justice Act 2003"
    },
    {
      "type": "words substituted",
      "affecting": "ukpga/2003/44",
      "affecting_title": "Criminal Justice Act 2003"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/5-6/57/section/7",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T11:13:33.448642+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}