Missing or poorly kept police register: what are the penalties?

Failing to keep a police register, keeping it improperly, or refusing to produce it are offenses. Penalties range from fines to a ban on practicing law, and vary depending on the register in question.

The essentials in 30 seconds

• Register of second-hand items: 6 months imprisonment and a €30,000 fine, including in cases of simple negligence.
• For a company, the fine can reach 150 000 €, along with other penalties such as the closure of the establishment.
• The judge can also pronounce a prohibition from practicing up to 5 years old.
• Precious Metals Register: fine and penalty of one to three times the value objects, and a ban on trade after several official reports.

Three offenses, one sentence

For the register of second-hand goods, these three breaches are punished in the same way: 6 months imprisonment and a €30,000 fine. The law specifically targets negligence: a register left late "due to lack of time" falls under the scope of the text.

Additional penalties

In addition to fines and imprisonment, the court may impose the following against the professional (Penal Code, art. 321-9):

• L'prohibition from practicing the professional activity in which the offence was committed, for a maximum of 5 years; ;
• there closing of the establishment, for a maximum of 5 years; ;
• there confiscation the objects concerned; ;
• L'display or broadcast of the judgment.

If the shop is a company

When the activity is carried out by a company, the obligation to keep the register falls on its leaders (art. 321-7). The company itself can also be prosecuted: the fine incurred is then multiplied by five, i.e. 150 000 € (art. 131-38), and the court may impose other penalties, such as a ban on carrying out the activity, the closure of the establishment or exclusion from public markets (art. 321-12 and 131-39).

The precious metals register

The precious metals register falls under the Commercial Code, with its own system of sanctions:

• a fine of €100 to €750 ;
• a penalty of one to three times the value of the objects concerned, the ceiling of which is doubled in the event of a new offence of the same nature within 5 years (art. L. 835-5); ;
• L'trade ban gold, silver or platinum works for a professional who has been the subject of more than two reports for breaches of the guarantee (art. L. 835-3).

The proportional penalty weighs much more heavily than the fixed fine: for items worth €20,000, it can reach €60,000.

The most serious risk: being suspected of receiving stolen goods

Receiving stolen goods consists of possessing or reselling an item knowing that it comes from theft or another crime. It is punishable by 5 years imprisonment and a €375,000 fine, and of 10 years and €750,000 when it is facilitated by professional activity (Penal Code, art. 321-1 and 321-2).

Receiving stolen goods requires knowing the fraudulent origin of the item. But if a purchased piece of jewelry turns out to be stolen, a well-maintained ledger, with an identified seller and a precisely described item, is the first trace of how the professional acquired it. Without a ledger, proving this becomes much more difficult.

How to protect yourself

1. Record each transaction the same day.
2. Pick up the’full identity from the seller on a valid form of identification.
3. Describe each object with its distinctive features, his weight and his title.
4. Keep the record time stipulated by law : see How long should you keep your police logbook?
5. Consider using a software-based register: see Transitioning from paper police logbook to software.

For obligations related to the buyback, see also Buying back gold and precious objects: your obligations, step by step.

Sources: Penal Code, Articles 131-38, 131-39, 321-1, 321-2, 321-7, 321-8, 321-9 and 321-12; Commercial Code, Articles L. 835-3 and L. 835-5. The penalties indicated are maximums, determined by the judge on a case-by-case basis. This article is for informational purposes only and does not replace applicable laws or legal advice.