Energy Products (Safety and Efficiency) Act 2000

A seizure order under section 11—

must be in the form of a written notice given to the owner or person in control of the energy product to which the order relates; and

may be varied or discharged by further such written notice.

If a seizure order is issued, a person who, knowing of the order, removes or interferes with the energy product to which the order relates without the approval of an authorised officer before the product is dealt with under this section or the seizure order discharged is guilty of an offence.

If an energy product has been seized or made the subject of a seizure order under section 11, the following provisions apply:

the product must, if it has been seized, be held pending proceedings for an offence against this Act related to the product seized, unless the Minister, on application, authorises its release to the person from whom it was seized, or to a person who had legal title to it at the time of its seizure, subject to such conditions as the Minister thinks fit (including conditions as to the giving of security for satisfaction of an order under paragraph (b)(ii));

if proceedings for an offence against this Act relating to the product are instituted within the designated period after its seizure or the issuing of the seizure order and the defendant is convicted or found guilty of the offence, the court may—

order that it be forfeited to the Minister; or

if it has been released pursuant to paragraph (a) or is the subject of a seizure order—order that it be forfeited to the Minister or that the person to whom it was released or the defendant pay to the Minister an amount equal to its market value at the time of its seizure, as the court thinks fit;

if—

proceedings are not instituted for an offence against this Act relating to the product within the designated period after its seizure or the issuing of the seizure order; or

proceedings have been so instituted and—

the defendant is found not guilty of the offence; or

the defendant is convicted or found guilty of the offence but no order for forfeiture is made under paragraph (b), then—

in the case of a product seized—the person from whom the thing was seized, or a person with legal title to it, is entitled to recover from the Minister (if necessary, by action in a court of competent jurisdiction) the product itself, or if it has been damaged or destroyed, compensation of an amount equal to its market value at the time of its seizure; or

in the case of a product subject to a seizure order—the order is discharged.

In this section—