Section 42 Duty to report remote sales of knives etc in bulk: England and Wales and ScotlandI1

In the Criminal Justice Act 1988, after section 141C insert—

“Duty to report remote sales of knives etc in bulk

141D

(1)

A person (“the seller”) must, in accordance with requirements specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State by statutory instrument, report to the person specified in the regulations any reportable sales the seller makes of bladed articles.

(2)

A reportable sale of bladed articles occurs where the seller, in any of the ways set out in subsection (4), sells—

(a)

six or more bladed articles, none of which form a qualifying set of bladed articles;

(b)

two or more qualifying sets of bladed articles;

(c)

one or more qualifying sets of bladed articles and five or more bladed articles that do not form a qualifying set.

(3)

“Qualifying set of bladed articles” means three or more bladed articles packaged together for sale as a single item, where each bladed article is a different size or shape from the others.

(4)

The ways are—

(a)

in a single remote sale where the bladed articles are to be delivered to an address in the United Kingdom, or

(b)

in two or more remote sales in any period of 30 days—

(i)

to one person, where the bladed articles are to be delivered to one or more addresses in the United Kingdom, or

(ii)

to two or more persons, where the bladed articles are to be delivered to the same residential premises in the United Kingdom.

(5)

A sale of bladed articles is “remote” if the seller is not in the presence of the person (“the buyer”) to whom the bladed articles are sold at the time of the sale.

(6)

For the purposes of subsection (5) the seller is not in the presence of the buyer at the time of the sale if—

(a)

where the seller is an individual, the seller or a person acting on the seller’s behalf is not in the presence of the buyer at that time;

(b)

where the seller is not an individual, a person acting on the seller’s behalf is not in the presence of the buyer at that time.

(7)

A sale is not reportable if the buyer—

(a)

informs the seller that the buyer is carrying on a business, and

(b)

is—

(i)

registered for value added tax under the Value Added Tax Act 1994, or

(ii)

registered as a company under the Companies Act 2006.

(8)

A person who fails to comply with subsection (1) commits an offence.

(9)

It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (8) to show that the person took all reasonable precautions, and exercised all due diligence, to avoid commission of the offence.

(10)

A person is to be taken to have shown a matter for the purposes of this section if—

(a)

sufficient evidence of the matter is adduced to raise an issue with respect to it, and

(b)

the contrary is not proved beyond reasonable doubt.

(11)

A person who commits an offence under subsection (8) is liable—

(a)

on summary conviction in England and Wales, to a fine;

(b)

on summary conviction in Scotland, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(c)

on conviction on indictment in Scotland, to a fine.

(12)

In this section—

• “bladed article” means an article to which section 141A applies, other than a knife which does not have a sharp point and is designed for eating food;

• “residential premises” means premises used for residential purposes (whether or not also used for other purposes).

(13)

Regulations made by the Secretary of State under subsection (1) may in particular include requirements about—

(a)

how reports are to be made,

(b)

when reports are to be made, and

(c)

the information reports must include.

(14)

A statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (1) is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(15)

The Secretary of State may by regulations made by statutory instrument amend—

(a)

the number of bladed articles specified in subsection (2)(a);

(b)

the number of qualifying sets specified in subsection (2)(b);

(c)

the number of qualifying sets specified in subsection (2)(c);

(d)

the number of bladed articles specified in subsection (2)(c);

(e)

the period specified in subsection (4)(b).

(16)

A statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (15) may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.

(17)

The Secretary of State must consult the Scottish Ministers before making regulations under this section.”

In the Offensive Weapons Act 2019—