Part 3: Sale and delivery of knives Section 38: Delivery of bladed products to residential premises etc
This section makes provision in relation to a new offence for UK based sellers and the delivery of bladed products to residential premises. It provides that where a sale is carried out remotely, it is an offence for a seller to deliver or arrange for the delivery of a bladed product to a residential premise or to a locker, subject to the defences set out in section 40 of the Act (subsections (2) and (3).
	Section 38 applies where a seller or person acting on the seller’s behalf sells a bladed product to another person, and they are not in each other’s presence at the time of the sale (i.e. the sale was made remotely, whether by telephone or online). A bladed product is an article which is or has a blade and is capable of causing serious injury to a person by cutting of the skin (section 41).
	Subsection (4) makes provision to ensure that the offence applies to both individuals and companies by specifying when a seller is "not in the presence" of the buyer.
	Subsections (5) to (7) set out the definitions of "residential premises" and "lockers". Importantly, where a person carries on a business from a premises it is not a residential premises. This will ensure that those individuals whose business operates from their home address will continue to be able to receive delivery of bladed products which may be required for their business.
	Subsections (8) to (9) specify the penalties for this offence. The maximum penalty on summary conviction in England and Wales is 51 weeks imprisonment or a fine or both and on summary conviction in Scotland or Northern Ireland, is six months imprisonment or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both. The 51 weeks maximum sentence in England and Wales is contingent on section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 coming into force and until that time the maximum sentence will be six months.
	This section forms part of the law of the United Kingdom.