Sentencing Act 2020

118 Availability of fine: magistrates’ court

(1) A fine is available to a magistrates’ court dealing with an offender for an offence if under the relevant offence provision a person who is convicted of that offence is liable to a fine.

(2) If under the relevant offence provision the offender is liable to—

(a) a fine of a specified amount,

(b) a fine of not more than a specified amount,

the amount of the fine—

(i) must not be more than that amount, but

(ii) may be less than that amount (unless an Act passed after 31 December 1879 expressly provides to the contrary).

(3) This is subject to—

(a) section 121 (availability: fines not to be combined with certain other orders);

(b) section 123 (limit on fines imposed by magistrates’ courts in respect of young offenders).

(4) In this section “relevant offence provision”, in relation to an offence, means—

(a) the enactment creating the offence or specifying the penalty to which a person convicted of the offence is liable, or

(b) that provision read in accordance with—

(i) section 85 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (removal of limit on certain fines on conviction by magistrates’ court) and regulations under that section;

(ii) section 86 of that Act (power to increase certain other fines on conviction by magistrates’ court) and regulations under that section;

(iii) section 32 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (penalties on summary conviction for offences triable either way);

(iv) section 119 (power of magistrates’ court to fine where only imprisonment etc specified);

(v) section 122 (standard scale of fines),

and, for this purpose, “enactment” includes an enactment contained in a local Act or in any order, regulation or other instrument having effect by virtue of an Act.