Section 76 — Offences under regulations

Extent: E+W+S

Snapshot: 2026-08-24

Reproduced from legislation.gov.uk (Crown Copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0). Amendments made after 2026-08-24 may not be reflected — always check the official text .

(1) Where regulations under this Chapter create an offence, they may provide for the offence to be triable—

(a) only summarily, or

(b) summarily or on indictment.

(2) Where the regulations provide for the offence to be triable only summarily, they may provide for the offence to be punishable—

(a) on summary conviction in England or Wales, by imprisonment for a term not exceeding the maximum term for summary offences or a fine (or both);

(b) on summary conviction in Scotland, by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (or both);

or (in either case) by any lesser punishment.

(3) Where the regulations provide for the offence to be triable summarily or on indictment, they may provide for the offence to be punishable—

(a) on summary conviction in England or Wales, by imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates’ court or a fine (or both);

(b) on summary conviction in Scotland, by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (or both);

or (in any of those cases) by any lesser punishment.

(4) In subsection (2)(a), “the maximum term for summary offences” means—

(a) if the offence is committed before the time when section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 comes into force, six months;

(b) if the offence is committed after that time, 51 weeks.