Part I E+W+S Provisions as to Possession, Handling and Distribution of Weapons and Ammunition; Prevention of Crime and Measures to Protect Public Safety

Prohibition of certain weapons and control of arms traffic E+W+S

[F1 5AExemptions from requirement of authority under s.5. E+W+S

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, the authority of the Secretary of State [F2 or the Scottish Ministers (by virtue of provision made under section 63 of the Scotland Act 1998)] shall not be required by virtue of subsection (1A) of section 5 of this Act for any person to have in his possession, or to purchase, acquire, sell or transfer, any prohibited weapon or ammuni tion if he is authorised by a certificate under this Act to possess, purchase or acquire that weapon or ammunition subject to a condition that he does so only for the purpose of its being kept or exhibited as part of a collection.

(2) No sale or transfer may be made under subsection (1) above except to a person who—

(a) produces the authority of the Secretary of State [F2 or the Scottish Ministers (by virtue of provision made under section 63 of the Scotland Act 1998)] under section 5 of this Act for his purchase or acquisition; or

(b) shows that he is, under this section or a licence under the Schedule to the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 (museums etc.), entitled to make the purchase or acquisition without the authority of the Secretary of State [F2 or the Scottish Ministers (by virtue of provision made under section 63 of the Scotland Act 1998)].

(3) The authority of the Secretary of State [F2 or the Scottish Ministers (by virtue of provision made under section 63 of the Scotland Act 1998)] shall not be required by virtue of subsection (1A) of section 5 of this Act for any person to have in his possession, or to purchase or acquire, any prohibited weapon or ammunition if his possession, purchase or acquisition is exclusively in connection with the carrying on of activities in respect of which—

(a) that person; or

(b) the person on whose behalf he has possession, or makes the purchase or acquisition,

is recognised, for the purposes of the law of another member State relating to firearms, as a collector of firearms or a body concerned in the cultural or historical aspects of weapons.

(4) The authority of the Secretary of State [F2 or the Scottish Ministers (by virtue of provision made under section 63 of the Scotland Act 1998)] shall not be required by virtue of subsection (1A) of section 5 of this Act for any person to have in his possession, or to purchase or acquire [F3 , or to sell or transfer,], any expanding ammunition or the missile for any such ammunition if—

[F4 (a) he is authorised by a firearm certificate or visitor’s firearm permit to possess, or purchase or acquire, any expanding ammunition; and

(b) the certificate or permit is subject to a condition restricting the use of any expanding ammunition to use in connection with any one or more of the following, namely—

(i) the lawful shooting of deer;

(ii) the shooting of vermin or, in the course of carrying on activities in connection with the management of any estate, other wildlife;

(iii) the humane killing of animals;

(iv) the shooting of animals for the protection of other animals or humans.]

(5) The authority of the Secretary of State [F2 or the Scottish Ministers (by virtue of provision made under section 63 of the Scotland Act 1998)] shall not be required by virtue of subsection (1A) of section 5 of this Act for any person to have in his possession any expanding ammunition or the missile for any such ammunition if—

(a) he is entitled, under section 10 of this Act, to have a slaughtering instrument and the ammunition for it in his possession; and

(b) the ammunition or missile in question is designed to be capable of being used with a slaughtering instrument.

(6) The authority of the Secretary of State [F5 or the Scottish Ministers (by virtue of provision made under section 63 of the Scotland Act 1998)] shall not be required by virtue of subsection (1A) of section 5 of this Act for the sale or transfer of any expanding ammunition or the missile for any such ammunition to any person who produces a certificate by virtue of which he is authorised under subsection (4) above to purchase or acquire it without the authority of the Secretary of State [F5 or, in the case of an authority which they may give (by virtue of provision made under section 63 of the Scotland Act 1998), the Scottish Ministers].

[F6 (7) The authority of the Secretary of State [F2 or the Scottish Ministers (by virtue of provision made under section 63 of the Scotland Act 1998)]shall not be required by virtue of subsection (1A) of section 5 of this Act for a person carrying on the business of a firearms dealer, or any servant of his, to have in his possession, or to purchase, acquire, sell or transfer, any expanding ammunition or the missile for any such ammunition in the ordinary course of that business.]

(8) In this section—

(a) references to expanding ammunition are references to any ammunition which F7 . . . incorporates a missile which is designed to expand on impact; and

(b) references to the missile for any such ammunition are references to anything which, in relation to any such ammuni tion, falls within section 5(1A)(g) of this Act.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 5A inserted (1.1.1993) by S.I. 1992/2823, reg. 3(4)

F2 Words in s. 5A(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(7) inserted (1.7.1999) by S.I. 1999/1750, art. 6(1), Sch. 5 para. 3(3)(a); S.I. 1998/3178, art. 3

F3 Words in s. 5A(4) inserted (1.7.1997) by 1997 c. 5, s. 10(2)(a); S.I. 1997/1535, art. 3(b), Sch. Pt. I

F4 S. 5A(4)(a)(b) substituted (1.7.1997) by 1997 c. 5, s. 10(2)(b); S.I. 1997/1535, art. 3(b), Sch. Pt. I

F5 Words in s. 5A(6) inserted (1.7.1999) by S.I. 1999/1750, art. 6(1), Sch. 5 para. 3(3)(b)(i)(ii); S.I. 1998/3178, art. 3

F6 S. 5A(7) substituted (1.7.1997) by 1997 c. 5, s. 10(7); S.I. 1997/1535, art. 3(b), Sch. Pt. I

F7 Words in s. 5A(8) repealed (1.7.1997) by 1997 c. 5, s. 10(8); S.I. 1997/1535, art. 3(b), Sch. Pt. I