Section 25 — Offences relating to notification

(1) A person commits an offence if the person—

(a) fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with section 24(2) or (5), or

(b) notifies to the police, in purported compliance with section 24(2) or (5), any information which the person knows to be false.

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

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding [F1 the general limit in a magistrates’ court], to a fine or to both;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, to a fine or to both.

(3) In relation to an offence committed before [F2 2 May 2022] the reference in section (2)(a) to [F3 the general limit in a magistrates’ court] is to be read as a reference to 6 months.

(4) A person commits an offence under subsection (1)(a) on the day on which the person first fails, without reasonable excuse, to comply with section 24(2) or (5).

(5) The person continues to commit the offence throughout any period during which the failure continues.

(6) But the person may not be prosecuted more than once in respect of the same offence.

(7) Proceedings for an offence under this section may be commenced in any court having jurisdiction in any place where the person charged with the offence lives or is found.

Amendment notes

1. F1 Words in s. 25(2)(a) substituted (7.2.2023 at 12.00 p.m.) by The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/149), regs. 1(2), 2(1), Sch. Pt. 1 table
2. F2 Words in s. 25(3) substituted (28.4.2022) by The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Commencement No. 33) and Sentencing Act 2020 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 2022/500), regs. 1(2), 5(1), Sch. Pt. 1
3. F3 Words in s. 25(3) substituted (7.2.2023 at 12.00 p.m.) by The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/149), regs. 1(2), 2(1), Sch. Pt. 1 table