41Alteration of size of containers, quantity or ingredients of

41 Alteration of size of containers, quantity or ingredients of declared goods (1) A person shall not, without the written consent of the Controller: (a) pack or put up any declared goods in a container of a size smaller than the container ordinarily used by him for packing or putting up goods of the same kind at the date of the commencement of this Act; (b) pack or put up in a container a quantity of declared goods smaller than the quantity of goods of the same kind ordinarily packed or put up by him in a container of that size at the date of the commencement of this Act; (c) alter the formula or recipe ordinarily used by him at the date of the commencement of this Act in the manufacture or production of any declared goods; (d) manufacture declared goods of a quality inferior to the quality of goods of the same kind manufactured by him or a predecessor in business on or immediately prior to the date of fixation, by order made under or in force by virtue of this Act, of the maximum price of those declared goods; or

Price Exploitation Prevention Act 32 (e) sell or offer for sale as declared goods any goods which are adulterated or which are falsely described, packed or enclosed for sale or labelled as declared goods. Maximum penalty: If the offender is a natural person – 100 penalty units. If the offender is a body corporate – 500 penalty units. (2) For the purposes of this section, proof that at the date of the commencement of this Act any person, dealing in the ordinary course of trade in any declared goods in respect of which any proceedings have been instituted, sold or had for sale: (a) any declared goods 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 date of the commencement of this Act in the packing or putting up of the declared goods; (b) any declared goods purporting to have been packed or put up by the defendant in a container containing a certain quantity of the declared goods, shall be evidence that that was the quantity ordinarily packed or put up by the defendant at the date of the commencement of this Act in a container of that size; (c) any declared goods (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 date of the commencement of this Act in the manufacture or production of the declared goods. (3) It shall be a defence to a prosecution for an offence against the provisions of paragraph (c) of subsection (1) 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 goods the formula or recipe of which was altered; and (b) the declared goods manufactured or produced in accordance with the formula or recipe as altered were not inferior to those manufactured or produced prior to the alteration.