Commentary on Sections Section 11: Penalties
56.Any offence under the Act committed by an individual under sections 1, 2 or 6 is punishable either by a fine or imprisonment for up to 10 years (12 months on summary conviction in England and Wales or Scotland or 6 months in Northern Ireland), or both. An offence committed by a person other than an individual is punishable by a fine. In either case, the fine may be up to the statutory maximum (currently £5000 in England and Wales or Northern Ireland, £10000 in Scotland) if the conviction is summary, and unlimited if it is on indictment. The section 7 offence can only be tried upon indictment.
57.Section 154 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which is not yet in force, sets the maximum sentence that can be imposed by a Magistrates’ Court in England and Wales at 12 months. Where an offence under this Act is committed before section 154 comes into force, the Magistrates’ Court’s power is limited to 6 months (subsection (4)(a)).