These Regulations make provision in respect of deactivated firearms and amend the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 in order to complete the implementation in the United Kingdom of Directive (EU) 2017/853 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 amending Council Directive 91/477/EEC on control of the acquisition and possession of weapons. Measures have also been implemented in respect of England and Wales and Scotland through the Firearms (Amendment) (No.2) Rules 2019.
Regulations 2 to 4 implement article 8 of the 1991 Directive which applies to firearms deactivated in accordance with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2403 as a result of article 1(19) of the 2017 Directive. Article 8 prohibits possession of such firearms unless they have been notified to a competent authority and requires notification of their transfer.
Regulation 2 makes it an offence to transfer a deactivated firearm unless notice of that transfer has been given in accordance with that regulation to the appropriate national authority. A person found guilty of an offence under regulation 2 is liable to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.
Regulation 3(1) makes it an offence for a person to be in possession of a deactivated firearm unless that person gives notice of the firearm in accordance with that regulation to the appropriate national authority or notice of the transfer of the firearm to that person has been given in accordance with regulation 2. Paragraph (2) of regulation 3 provides for an exception to paragraph (1) where the person is in possession of the deactivated firearm for a period of 14 days or less. Paragraph (5) provides a defence where a person to whom a deactivated firearm has been transferred shows that they reasonably believed that the transferor had given, or would give, notice of the transfer in accordance with regulation 2. A person found guilty of an offence under regulation 3 is liable to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.
Regulation 4 makes transitional provision in respect of deactivated firearms acquired before 14th September 2018 so that a person does not have to notify a deactivated firearm in accordance with regulation 3 until 14th March 2021 if that firearm came into the person’s possession before 14th September 2018.
Regulation 5 amends the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004.
Source: HMSO.