
1 
These Regulations may be cited as the Scottish Tribunals (Offences in Relation to Proceedings) Regulations 2016 and come into force on 1st December 2016.
2 

(1) In any proceedings before the First-tier Tribunal or the Upper Tribunal it is an offence for any person to—
(a) make a false statement in an application in a case;
(b) alter, conceal or destroy, or fail to produce, something that is required to be produced in accordance with Tribunal Rules; or
(c) fail to attend or give evidence, when required to do so in accordance with Tribunal Rules.
(2) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence—
(a) under paragraph (1)(a), to prove that the false statement was not knowingly made;
(b) under paragraph (1)(b), to prove that a thing was not knowingly altered, concealed or destroyed;
(c) under paragraph (1)(b) or (c), to prove that there was a reasonable excuse for having acted in the way charged.
(3) A person who commits an offence under paragraph (1) is liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale (or both);
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or a fine not exceeding £5,000 (or both).
3 
In any proceedings before the First-tier Tribunal or the Upper Tribunal a person need not give evidence or produce something which the person would be entitled to refuse to give or produce in proceedings in a court in Scotland.
ANNABELLE EWING
Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers
St Andrew’s House,
Edinburgh
27th October 2016