Part 1: Corrosive products and substances Sale and delivery of corrosive products Section 2: Defence to remote sale of corrosive products to persons under 18
Section 2 sets out how the defence to the offence of selling a corrosive product to persons under 18 applies in relation to remote sales. A remote sale is any sale where the seller or a person acting on the seller’s behalf was not in the presence of the buyer at the time of the sale. This includes, for example, when the sale was made online, by mail order or over the telephone. Subsection (2) ensures that the offence applies to both individuals and companies.
	Where the seller is charged with an offence under section 1 in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, the seller will not be regarded as having taken all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence unless, as a minimum, they prove they have met the following conditions:
Condition A – that, at the time of any alleged offence being committed, a seller had a system in place for checking the age of anyone purchasing corrosive products that was likely to prevent anyone under the age of 18 from purchasing that product;
Condition B – that any package containing a corrosive product that is dispatched from the seller is clearly marked in a way that indicates that the package both contains a corrosive product and that, on final delivery, it should only be delivered into the hands of a person aged 18 or over (whether the buyer or their representative);
Condition C – is that the seller must prove they took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to ensure that the package would be handed over to a person aged 18 or over. This applies whether the retailer delivers the package themselves or through a third party; and
Condition D – that the seller did not deliver the package, or arrange for it to be delivered, to a locker as defined in subsection (11) of section 2.
	In Scotland, under subsection (4), it is a defence to the offence for the seller to show those same conditions are met. Under subsection (5), the seller will be considered to have shown a condition where they have produced sufficient evidence to raise an issue in relation to the defence and the contrary has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt.
	This section forms part of the law of the United Kingdom.