Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015

Transactions involving air weapons and commercial matters

24 Restrictions on transactions involving air weapons

(1) It is an offence for a person other than a registered firearms dealer, by way of trade or business, to—

(a) manufacture, sell, transfer, repair or test an air weapon,

(b) expose an air weapon for sale or transfer, or

(c) possess an air weapon for the purposes of its sale, transfer, repair or testing.

(2) It is an offence for a person (“A”) to sell or transfer an air weapon to another person (“B”) unless—

(a) B is a registered firearms dealer,

(b) B holds an air weapon certificate (without a condition attached to it preventing B from purchasing or acquiring an air weapon) and shows it to A,

(c) A is a registered firearms dealer and is satisfied that—

(i) in a case where B is an individual, B is aged 18 years or more, and

(ii) the air weapon is to be delivered to a place outwith Great Britain, or to a registered firearms dealer in England or Wales, without first coming into B’s possession, or

(d) B provides evidence to A that B is otherwise entitled to purchase or acquire an air weapon without holding an air weapon certificate by virtue of the provisions of this Part.

(3) It is an offence for a person (“A”) to manufacture, repair or test an air weapon for another person (“B”) unless—

(a) B is a registered firearms dealer,

(b) B holds an air weapon certificate and shows it to A, or

(c) B provides evidence to A that B is otherwise entitled to possess an air weapon without holding an air weapon certificate by virtue of the provisions of this Part.

(4) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (or both),

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or a fine (or both).

25 Requirement for commercial sales of air weapons to be in person

(1) This section applies where a person (“the seller”) sells an air weapon by way of trade or business to an individual in Great Britain who is not a registered firearms dealer.

(2) It is an offence for the seller, for the purposes of the sale, to transfer possession of the weapon to the purchaser otherwise than at a time when both the purchaser and the seller (or a representative of the seller) are present in person.

(3) The reference in subsection (2) to a representative of the seller is a reference to—

(a) a person who is employed by the seller in the seller’s business as a registered firearms dealer,

(b) a registered firearms dealer (“A”) who has been authorised by the seller to act on the seller’s behalf in relation to the sale, or

(c) a person who is employed by A in A’s business as a registered firearms dealer.

(4) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable, 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).