Abington Supermarkets Ltd and director Sohan Lal were fined at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on 17 April 2018 after selling a packet of 20 cigarettes to a 16 year old Test Purchaser in August 2017. The sale occurred at the Euro Discount store in Lindsay Street, Kettering.

The sale occurred as part of a test purchase scheme arranged by Northamptonshire County Council Trading Standards. A member of staff at the company failed to request valid proof of age before selling the cigarettes to the test purchaser.

Both parties pleaded guilty and as a result Abington Supermarkets Ltd was fined £1,000 and Mr Lal was fined £100. The Court also ordered that they pay costs of £789 and a victim surcharge of £100.

The Court found that the company did not have proof of age systems in place or any register to log refused sales.

George Green’s Regulatory and Licensing Partner stated that “Companies that sell age restricted products should revisit their due diligence procedures to ensure that they are robust and will identify those seeking to purchase age restricted products when they are not old enough to do so.  Retailers should also expect test purchase exercises by local authorities as half term approaches”.

Should you have any questions about your legal obligations in relation Trading Standards matters and need a specialist Trading Standards Solicitor, call James Lowe, our Regulatory and Licensing Partner on 07833 240 400 for advice and assistance.