Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Fuel Prices Regulation Act 1981 - SECT 27

Alteration of size of containers or quantity or ingredients of declared fuel

27. Alteration of size of containers or quantity or ingredients of declared
fuel



(1) No person shall unless he has given fourteen days notice in writing of his
intention so to do to the Commissioner-

   (a)  pack or put up any declared fuel in a container of a size smaller than
        the container ordinarily used by him at the commencement of this Act;

   (b)  pack or put up in a container a quantity of declared fuel smaller than
        the quantity ordinarily packed or put up by him in a container of that
        size at the commencement of this Act;





   (c)  as regards any particular declared fuel, manufacture the declared fuel
        inferior in quality to the quality manufactured by him or a
        predecessor in business on or immediately prior to the date of
        fixation, by order made under this Act of the maximum price of that
        declared fuel.

(2) No person shall alter the formula or recipe ordinarily used by him at the
commencement of this Act in the refining or production of any declared fuel
except in accordance with the usual practices operating in the industry a
general statement of which has been served by the person upon the
Commissioner.

(3) For the purposes of this section proof that at the commencement of this
Act any person, dealing in the ordinary course of trade in any declared fuel
in respect of which any proceedings have been instituted, sold or had for
sale-

   (a)  any declared fuel purporting to have been packed or put up by the
        defendant in a container of a certain size-shall be evidence that that
        was the size of the container ordinarily used by the defendant at the
        commencement of this Act in the packing or putting up of the declared
        fuel;

   (b)  any declared fuel purporting to have been packed or put up by the
        defendant in a container containing a certain quantity of the declared
        fuel-shall be evidence that that was the quantity ordinarily packed or
        put up by the defendant at the commencement of this Act in a container
        of that size;

   (c)  any declared fuel (purporting to have been manufactured or produced by
        the defendant) which appear by analysis or otherwise to have been
        manufactured or produced in accordance with a certain formula or
        recipe-shall be evidence that that formula or recipe was that
        ordinarily used by the defendant at the commencement of this Act in
        the manufacture or production of the declared fuel.

(4) It shall be a defence to a prosecution for an offence against the
provisions of subsection (2) if the defendant proves that-

   (a)  the alteration in the formula or recipe was not made in anticipation
        or consequence of any action under this Act in respect of the declared
        fuel the formula or recipe of which was altered; and

   (b)  the declared fuel refined or produced in accordance with the formula
        or recipe as altered was not inferior to those refined or produced
        prior to the alteration.