International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs Act, 1987

Offences relating to use of certificates of compliance, certification plates and designated marks.

11.—(1) A person shall be guilty of an offence if he—

(a) in making application for a certificate of compliance or a certification plate or in giving any information required of him under this Act, makes a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular, or recklessly makes any statement which is false in a material particular;

(b) forges, alters or uses with intent to deceive any certificate or plate denoting compliance of transport equipment with ATP requirements or, with intent to deceive, makes or possesses any document or plate closely resembling any such certificate or plate;

(c) without reasonable excuse, affixes or causes or permits to be affixed and remain fixed to transport equipment a designated mark while there is not in force in respect of that transport equipment a certificate or plate denoting compliance with ATP requirements or, with intent to deceive, affixes or applies to transport equipment a mark closely resembling a designated mark.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable—

(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both such fine and such imprisonment, or

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(3) Section 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 (which provides for the procedure where a person pleads guilty in the District Court to an indictable offence) shall apply in relation to an offence under subsection (1) as if, in lieu of the penalties provided for in subsection (3) of the said section 13, there were specified therein the penalties provided for by subsection (2) of this section and the reference in section 2 (a) of the said section 13 to the penalties provided for in subsection (3) of that section shall be construed accordingly.

(4) Where an offence under subsection (1) is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any person being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body, or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person shall also be guilty of an offence under that subsection.