# The Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012, Regulation 26: Defences


(1) In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations, other than in relation to regulation 23(1)(a) or (2), it is a defence for the person charged to prove that they took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.
(2) A person is to be taken to have established the defence provided by paragraph (1) if they prove—
(a) that they acted under instructions given to them by their employer; or
(b) that they acted in reliance on information supplied by another person without any reason to suppose that the information was false or misleading,
and in either case that they took all such steps as were reasonably open to them to ensure that no offence would be committed.
(3) If, in any case, the defence provided by paragraph (1) involves an allegation that the commission of the offence was due to—
(a) an act or omission by another person, other than the giving of instructions to the person charged with the offence by their employer; or
(b) reliance on information supplied by another person,
the person charged shall not, without the permission of the court, be entitled to rely on that defence unless within a period ending seven clear days before the hearing, they have served on the prosecutor a notice giving such information identifying or assisting in the identification of that other person as was then in their possession.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1657/regulation/26 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/plant-protection-products-sustainable-use-regulations-2012/regulation-26
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.