Section 24 Provisions as to shortening guns and converting imitation firearms into firearms

No person other than a registered firearms dealer shall shorten the barrel of a smooth-bore gun to a length less than twenty inches.

No person other than a registered firearms dealer shall convert into a firearm anything which, though having the appearance of being a firearm, is so constructed as to be incapable of discharging any missile through the barrel thereof.

If any person contravenes any of the foregoing provisions of this section he shall for each offence be liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or to both such imprisonment and fine, or, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or to both such imprisonment and fine.

If any person commits an offence under section one of this Act by purchasing, acquiring or having in his possession a smooth-bore gun which has been shortened, or a firearm which has been converted, as aforesaid (whether by a registered firearms dealer or not), without holding a firearm certificate authorising him to purchase, acquire or possess it, he shall be liable, either—