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Forged hallmarks
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13. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 12:
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“12A. (1) It shall be an offence for a person to—
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(a) strike a hallmark, stamp or other mark on, or
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(b) otherwise cause a hallmark, stamp or other mark to be applied to,
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an article of precious metal where that hallmark, stamp or other mark is a forged hallmark and he or she knows or believes such hallmark, stamp or other mark to be a forged hallmark.
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(2) It shall be an offence for a person to sell an article of precious metal that bears a hallmark, stamp or other mark where that hallmark, stamp or other mark is a forged hallmark and he or she knows or believes such hallmark, stamp or other mark to be a forged hallmark.
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(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—
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(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both, or
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(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.
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(4) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person shall be treated as striking a forged hallmark on an article of precious metal if he or she alters an approved hallmark or a mark referred to in Regulation 3(d) of the Regulations of 2001 so as to make the hallmark or mark concerned false in any respect in relation to that article (whether or not it is false in some other respect apart from that alteration).
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(5) In this section, ‘sell’, in relation to an article of precious metal, means sell by wholesale or retail and includes—
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(a) offer or expose for sale,
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(b) invite the making by a person of an offer to purchase,
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(c) distribute free of charge, and
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(d) supply for any of these purposes (whether or not for profit).”.
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