{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/spirit-drinks-regulations-2008/regulation-21",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/spirit-drinks-regulations-2008/regulation-21.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2008/3206",
  "legislation_title": "The Spirit Drinks Regulations 2008",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/spirit-drinks-regulations-2008",
  "path": "regulation/21",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "21",
  "heading": "Defences",
  "text": "(1) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under these Regulations to prove that they took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence.\n(2) A may not rely on a defence that involves an allegation that the commission of the offence was due to the act or default of B unless—\n(a) at least seven clear days before the hearing A has given to the prosecutor a notice in writing giving such information identifying or assisting in the identification of B as was then in their possession; or\n(b) the court grants them leave.\n(3) In proceedings for an offence under regulation 4(1) as read with the provisions of Regulation 110/2008 mentioned in Part 2 of Schedule 2 insofar as they apply to the advertisement of spirit drinks, or an offence under regulation 4(2) committed by the way in which a spirit drink is advertised, it is a defence for the person charged with the offence to prove that—\n(a) at the time of the alleged offence they were a person whose business it was to publish or arrange for the publication of advertisements;\n(b) they received the advertisement for publication in the ordinary course of business; and\n(c) they did not know, and had no reason to suspect, that publication of the advertisement would constitute an offence under these Regulations.\n(4) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under regulation 9(4) to prove that they reasonably believed—\n(a) that it was lawful to disclose the information disclosed; or\n(b) that the information disclosed had already and lawfully been made available to the public.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/3206/regulation/21",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T03:20:04.998706+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."
}