The Zimbabwe (Sale, Supply, Export, Technical Assistance, Financing and Financial Assistance and Shipment of Equipment) (Penalties and Licences) Regulations 2004

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Zimbabwe (Sale, Supply, Export, Technical Assistance, Financing and Financial Assistance and Shipment of Equipment) (Penalties and Licences) Regulations 2004 and shall come into force on 8th March 2004.

(2) In these Regulations—

“the EC Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 314/2004 of 19th February 2004 concerning certain restrictive measures in respect of Zimbabwe(1); and

“customs and excise Acts” has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979(2).

Offences

2.—(1) Any person who, except under the authority of a licence granted by the Secretary of State under these Regulations, directly or indirectly infringes any of the following prohibitions in the EC Regulation:

(a) Article 2(a), prohibiting the grant, sale, supply or transfer of technical assistance related to military activities, and to the provision, manufacture, maintenance and use of arms and related material of all types, to any person, entity or body in, or for use in Zimbabwe;

(b) Article 2(b), prohibiting the provision of financing or financial assistance related to military activities for any sale, supply, transfer or export of arms and related material to any person, entity or body in, or for use in Zimbabwe;

(c) Article 2(c), prohibiting the participation, knowingly and intentionally, in activities the object or effect of which is to promote the transactions referred to in Article 2(a) or 2(b);

(d) Article 3(a), prohibiting the sale, supply, transfer or export of equipment which might be used for internal repression, as listed in Annex I to the EC Regulation, whether or not originating in the Community, knowingly and intentionally, to any person, entity or body in, or for use in Zimbabwe;

(e) Article 3(b), prohibiting the grant, sale, supply or transfer of technical assistance, related to the equipment listed in Annex I to the EC Regulation, to any person, entity or body in, or for use in Zimbabwe;

(f) Article 3(c), prohibiting the provision of financing or financial assistance related to the equipment listed in Annex I to the EC Regulation, to any person, entity or body in, or for use in Zimbabwe;

(g) Article 3(d), prohibiting the participation, knowingly and intentionally, in activities the object or effect of which is to promote the transactions referred to in Articles 3(a), (b) or (c),

shall be guilty of an offence and may be arrested.

Licences

3.—(1) Authorisation for the transactions set out in regulation 2, as provided for in Article 4 of the EC Regulation, shall in the United Kingdom be by way of a licence in writing granted by the Secretary of State.

(2) If, for the purpose of obtaining a licence, any person,

(a) makes any statement or furnishes any document or information which to his knowledge is false in a material particular, or

(b) recklessly makes any statement or furnishes any document or information which is false in a material particular,

he shall be guilty of an offence; and any licence granted in connection with the application for which the false statement was made or the false document or information furnished shall be void as from the time it was granted.

(3) Any person who, having acted under the authority of a licence granted under this Regulation, fails to comply with any of the requirements or conditions to which the licence is subject shall be guilty of an offence, unless —

(a) the licence had been previously modified by the Secretary of State without that person’s consent, and

(b) the alleged failure to comply would not have been a failure had the licence not been so modified.

Penalties

4.—(1) A person guilty of an offence under regulation 2, 3(2) or (3) shall be liable —

(a) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both; or

(b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum.

(2) Notwithstanding that the offences in regulation 2 are not, by virtue of the term of imprisonment for which a person may be sentenced in respect of them, arrestable offences within the meaning of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984(3) and the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989(4), section 24(1) of that Act (in England and Wales) and Article 26(2) of that Order (in Northern Ireland) shall apply to the offences as if they were mentioned therein, and the offences shall accordingly be arrestable offences within the meaning of the Act and the Order.

(3) Section 138 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (provision as to arrest of persons) shall apply to the arrest of any person for any offences under regulation 2 as it applies to the arrest of any person for offences under the customs and excise Acts.

(4) Sections 145 to 148 and 150 to 155 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (proceedings for offences, mitigation of penalties, proof and other matters) shall apply in relation to offences and penalties under these Regulations and proceedings for such offences as they apply in relation to offences and penalties and proceedings for offences under the customs and excise Acts.

(5) Nothing in subsections (1) to (4) of section 145 of the said Act (institution of proceedings for offences under the customs and excise Acts to be by order of the Commissioners) shall prevent the institution of proceedings by the Secretary of State for any of the offences under regulation 2.

Revocation

5.  — The revocation specified in Schedule 1 to these Regulations shall have effect.

Nigel Griffiths,

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Small Business and Enterprise,

Department of Trade and Industry

1st March 2004