Consumer Protection Act 1961
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1961 c. 40 |
Consumer Protection Act, 1961
(9 & 10 Eliz. 2) CHAPTER 40
An Act to make provision for the protection of consumers.
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Safety requirements and instructions.
(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations impose as respects any prescribed class of goods—
(a ) any such requirements, whether as to the composition or contents, design, construction, finish or packing of, or otherwise relating to, goods of that class or any component part thereof, as are in his opinion expedient to prevent or reduce risk of death or personal injury;
(b ) any such requirements for securing that goods of that class or any component part thereof are in the prescribed manner marked with or accompanied by any prescribed warning or instructions, or any prescribed form of warning or instructions, which in the opinion of the Secretary of State is or are expedient as aforesaid.
(2) Requirements may be imposed under this section either as respects all goods of a prescribed class or as respects any prescribed description of such goods, and either generally or in prescribed circumstances, and regulations under this section may make different provision for different cases.
(3) Regulations under this section may provide that the Schedule to this Act shall have effect in relation to goods of any class prescribed under this section, or to such goods and to goods of which such goods are a component part.
(4) A class or description of goods may be prescribed under this section notwithstanding that the goods are for use only as component parts of other goods (whether or not those other goods are goods of a prescribed class or description).
(5) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, before making any regulations under this section, to consult with such persons or bodies of persons as appear to him requisite.
(6) The power to make regulations conferred by this section shall be exerciseable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
2 Prohibition on sale, etc. of goods not complying with regulations under s. 1.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, no person shall sell, or have in his possession for the purpose of selling, any goods as respects which or a component part of which any requirements of regulations under the foregoing section are in force unless all requirements of the regulations relating to the goods or component part are complied with.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, no person shall sell, or have in his possession for the purpose of selling, a component part intended for, but not embodied in, any goods as respects which any requirements of regulations under the foregoing section are in force, being a component part such that if it were embodied in the goods any requirement of the regulations applicable to the goods would be contravened or not complied with.
(3) The foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply to a person—
(a ) where he is selling, or as the case may be is in possession, otherwise than in the course of a business, or is acting as agent, or as the servant of the agent, of a person who was not acting in the course of a business in entrusting the goods to an agent; or
(b ) where he reasonably believes that the goods or component parts will not be used in Great Britain; or
(c ) in the case of a sale under a credit-sale agreement, if he has at no time had possession of the goods or component parts and only became the owner thereof at the time of entering into the agreement; or
(d ) where he is selling, or as the case may be is in possession for the purpose of selling, the goods or component parts as scrap, that is to say for the value of the materials of which the goods or parts are composed and not for use as finished articles; or
(e ) in the case of goods or component parts which have been damaged by, or in consequence of, fire or flooding, where he is selling, or as the case may be is in possession for the purpose of selling, the goods or component parts to a person who carries on a business of buying damaged goods and repairing or reconditioning them for resale, or to a person by whom the goods or parts were insured against damage.
(4) As respects any requirement relating to the manufacture of goods or a component part of goods, unless regulations under the foregoing section otherwise provide, subsections (1) and (2) of this section shall not apply in relation to goods or component parts manufactured before the imposition of the requirement, or if it is so provided by such regulations shall not apply in relation to such goods or component parts until a prescribed date.
(5) Regulations under the foregoing section may contain such other exemptions from the operation of subsections (1) and (2) of this section, applicable in such cases as may be prescribed, as appear to the Secretary of State necessary or expedient.
(6) If as respects goods of any class or description regulations under the foregoing section so provide, subsections (1) to (3) of this section (other than paragraphs (d ) and (e ) of subsection (3)) shall apply in relation to goods of that class or description as if references to selling or to a sale included references to letting under a hire-purchase agreement or on hire, and the reference to a sale under a credit-sale agreement were a reference to letting under a hire-purchase agreement:
...
To continue reading
Request your trial