Part 3: Sale and delivery of knives Section 40: Defences to offence under section 38 or 39
This section sets out the defences available to a seller for the offence of delivering, or arranging delivery of, a bladed product to a residential premises (section 38) and to a delivery company for the offence of delivering a bladed product to persons under 18 (section 39).
	Subsection (1) provides a defence where the seller took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the delivery of a bladed product to a residential premise (the offence under section 38).
	Subsection (2) applies where a UK based seller delivers a bladed product to a residential premises themselves. It provides a defence to the offence under section 38 where the seller can show that they had arrangements in place that were likely to ensure that the item would be handed to a person aged 18 or over and took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to ensure this happened on delivery. This permits delivery of bladed products to residential premises where age verification takes place at the point of delivery.
	Subsection (3) applies where a UK based seller arranges the delivery of a bladed product to a residential premises by a delivery company. It provides a defence to the offence under section 38 where the seller can show that they had arrangements in place which required the deliverer to have procedures in place which were likely to ensure that the item would be handed to a person aged 18 or over and that they (the seller) took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to ensure the item was handed to a person aged 18 or over on delivery. This permits delivery of bladed products to residential premises where age verification takes place at the point of delivery.
	Subsections (4) to (6) provide defences for a seller charged with delivery or arranging delivery of a bladed product to residential premises (under section 38) where:
the bladed product was designed, manufactured or adapted for the buyer in accordance with specifications provided by the buyer (subsections (4) and (5)). These defences are aimed at bespoke, handmade knives such as specialist chef’s knives; or
the bladed product is for use for relevant sporting purposes or for historic re-enactment (subsection (6). Historical re-enactment is defined in subsection (14) and relevant sporting purposes are defined in subsection (15).
	Subsection (7) provides a defence for delivery companies to the offence of delivering a bladed product to an under 18 (section 39) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, where they took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.
	Subsection (8) provides a defence for delivery companies to the offence of delivering a bladed product to an under 18 (section 39) in Scotland, where they can show that they believed the person they delivered the product to was aged 18 or over and took reasonable steps to establish that persons age or could not reasonably have suspected the person was under the age of 18. Subsections (9) and (10) specify conditions to be met for a person to be treated as having taken reasonable steps.
	Subsections (11) and (12) make provision for the burden of proof that will apply to an accused person in Scotland who seeks to rely on the defences in this section.
	Subsections (13) and (14) provide the Secretary of State, Department of Justice in Northern Ireland and Scottish Ministers with the power to create further defences to the section 38 and 39 offences by regulations.
	This section forms part of the law of the United Kingdom.