S.I. No. 168/1998 - European Communities (On- The-Spot Checks and Inspections) Regulations, 1998.

S.I. No. 168 of 1998.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (ON-THE-SPOT CHECKS AND INSPECTIONS) REGULATIONS, 1998.

I, CHARLIE McCREEVY, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), for the purpose of giving effect to Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No. 2185/96 of 11 November 1996¹ hereby make the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (On-the-Spot Checks and Inspections) Regulations, 1998.

2. (1) In these Regulations—

"administrative inspector" means—

(a) a person who is appointed as an authorised officer, authorised person or an inspector by a Minister of the Government under an enactment (including a regulation made under the European Communities Act, 1972 ), or

(b) any other person who is appointed in writing by a Minister of the Government for the purposes of assisting a Commission inspector in on-the-spot checks and inspections under the Council Regulation, in relation to matters for which that Minister of the Government has responsibility;

"the Commission" means the Commission of the European Communities;

"Commission inspector" has the meaning assigned to it by Article 6 of the Council Regulation;

"Council Regulation" means Council Regulation (Euratom, EC) No. 2185/96 of 11 November 1996¹;

¹O.J. No. L.292 of 15-11-96. p.2.

"functions" includes powers and duties;

"premises" includes a vessel, vehicle, train, aircraft and other means of transport.

(2) A word or expression which is used in these Regulations has, unless the contrary intention is shown, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Council Regulation.

3. (1) A Minister of the Government shall be the competent authority for the purposes of the Council Regulation in respect of an on-the-spot check or inspection carried out under the Council Regulation in relation to matters for which he or she has any responsibility.

(2) In case of any matter for which a Minister of the Government has no responsibility, the Minister for Finance shall be the competent authority for the purposes of the Council Regulation.

4. (1) Without prejudice to Article 7 of the Council Regulation, a Commission inspector or an administrative inspector may—

(a) subject to paragraph (2) of this Regulation, enter any premises for the purposes of carrying out on-the-spot checks and inspections under the Council Regulation,

(b) require the owner or any person employed at the premises or any person in charge thereof to give to him or her such information in the person's power or control that the inspector may reasonably require and to produce to him or her any records (in whatever form kept) or books or documents (including labels and fiches) found by or produced to the inspector under this Regulation,

(c) at such premises, inspect and take copies of, or extracts from any books, records or other documents (including in the case of information in non-legible form a copy of or extract from such information in permanent legible form),

(d) inspect and copy or extract information from any data (within the meaning of the Data Protection Act, 1988 ), found or produced to the inspector under this Regulation,

(e) require any person by or on whose behalf data equipment is or has been used on the premises in relation to the business of the economic operator concerned or any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the data equipment or any associated apparatus or material, to afford the inspector all reasonable assistance in relation to its use thereto,

(f) carry out or have carried out such examinations, tests, inspections and checks of any products found there as he or she reasonably considers necessary, and if he or she so thinks fit, take reasonable samples of such products, or remove or have removed from there any products (as is reasonable) and retain the products to facilitate examination or testing,

(g) secure for later inspection the premises or any records, books, documents or products found therein.

(2) Where a Commission inspector carries out any on-the-spot check or inspection for the purposes of the Council Regulation, he or she shall, if requested by a person affected, produce his or her authorisation showing his or her identity and position and the document or a copy thereof indicating the subject-matter and purpose of the on-the-spot check or inspection.

(3) Where an administrative inspector participates in any check or inspection for the purposes of the Council Regulation, he or she shall, if requested by a person affected, produce his or her warrant of appointment, or other like document of identity duly issued, to that person.

(4) A Commission inspector or an administrative inspector shall not, in order to carry out on-the-spot check or inspection under the Council Regulation, other than with the consent of the occupier, enter a private dwelling unless a warrant under this Regulation has been obtained authorising such entry.

(5) A Commission inspector shall be accompanied by an administrative inspector when performing any on-the-spot check or inspection under the Council Regulation.

(6) A Commission inspector or an administrative inspector shall be accompanied by a member of the Garda Síochána where, in the course of carrying out or attempting to carry out an on-the-spot check or inspection under the Council Regulation, a premises is required to be broken open for that check or inspection or the use of force is necessary.

(7) If a judge of the District Court is satisfied on the sworn information of a Commission inspector or an administrative inspector that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that there is information required by a Commission inspector under the Council Regulation held on any premises or any part of any premises or there is anything which a Commission inspector or an administrative inspector requires to inspect for purposes of the Council Regulation, the judge may issue a warrant authorising a Commission inspector and an administrative inspector, accompanied by other Commission inspectors, administrative inspectors or members of the Garda Siochana, at any time or times, within one month from the date of issue of the warrant, on production if so requested of the warrant, to enter, if necessary by reasonable force, the premises and to carry out an on-the-spot check or inspection for the purposes of the Council Regulation.

(8) An application under paragraph (4) of this Regulation shall be made to the judge of the District Court in whose district court district the premises is situated.

5. (1) A person who obstructs or impedes a Commission inspector or an administrative inspector in the exercise of a power under the Council Regulation or Regulation 4 of these Regulations, or, without reasonable excuse, does not comply with a requirement of a Commission inspector or an administrative inspector for the purposes of the Council Regulation or the said Regulation 4, or who in purported compliance with such requirement, gives information to any such inspector that he or she knows to be false and misleading shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) A person who tampers or interferes with any thing being checked or sampled under the Council Regulation or Regulation 4 of these Regulations so as to procure that the thing being checked or of which a sample is taken is not properly represented shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under this Regulation shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding£1,500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

6. (1) Where an offence under these Regulations is committed by a body corporate or by a person acting on behalf of a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent, connivance or approval of, or to have been facilitated by any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary or any other officer of such body or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, such person shall also be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(2) An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by a Minister of the Government.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 23rd day of May, 1998.

CHARLIE McCREEVY,

Minister for Finance.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations implement EC Council Regulation 2185/96 concerning on-the-spot checks and inspections carried out by the European Commission in order to protect the European Communities financial interests against fraud and other irregularities.

These regulations provide for the appointment of national administrative inspectors who will accompany Commission inspectors on such inspections.