(1)A person who contravenes the general prohibition is guilty of an offence and liable—
(a)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine, or both.
(2)In this Act “an authorisation offence” means an offence under this section.
(3)In proceedings for an authorisation offence it is a defence for the accused to show that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence.