Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014
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Powers of authorised officers for purposes of enforcing relevant statutory provisions (other than Act of 2002) | ||
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36. (1) An authorised officer may, for the purpose of enforcing any of the relevant statutory provisions (other than the Act of 2002)— | ||
(a) at all reasonable times enter any place at which there are reasonable grounds to believe that any trade or business or any activity in connection with a trade or business is being, or has been, carried on, or that books, documents or records in relation to that trade, business or activity are kept, and search and inspect the place and any books, documents or records that are at that place, | ||
(b) secure for later inspection any, or any part of any place at which such books, documents or records are kept or there are reasonable grounds for believing that such books, documents or records are kept, | ||
(c) remove and retain any books, documents or records relating to a trade, business or activity for such periods as may be reasonable for further examination and take any other steps which appear to the authorised officer to be necessary for preserving, or preventing interference with, such books, documents or records, subject to a warrant being issued for such purposes by a judge of the District Court, | ||
(d) require any person who carries on a trade, business or activity and any person employed in connection therewith to— | ||
(i) give to the authorised officer his or her name, home address and occupation, and | ||
(ii) provide to the authorised officer any books, documents or records relating to that activity which are in that person’s power or control, and to give to the officer such information as he or she may reasonably require in regard to any entries in such books, documents or records, and where such books, documents or records are kept in a non-legible form to reproduce them in a legible form, | ||
(e) inspect and take copies of or extracts from any such books, documents or records at the place including in the case of information in a non-legible form, copies of or extracts from such information in a permanent legible form, | ||
(f) require any person mentioned in paragraph (d) to give to the authorised officer any information which the authorised officer may reasonably require in regard to such trade, business or activity or in respect of the persons carrying on such trade, business or activity or employed in connection with such trade, business or activity, (including in particular, in the case of an unincorporated body of persons, information in regard to the membership thereof and its committee of management or other controlling authority), | ||
(g) require any such person to give to the authorised officer any other information which the authorised officer may reasonably require in respect of such trade, business or activity, | ||
(h) require any person by or on whose behalf data equipment is or has been used 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 authorised officer all reasonable assistance in relation to it and assist in the retrieval of information connected with the operation of such data equipment, apparatus or material, | ||
(i) summon, at any reasonable time, any other person employed in connection with such trade, business or activity to give to the authorised officer any information which the authorised officer may reasonably require in relation to such trade, business or activity and to produce to the authorised officer any books, documents or records which are in the control of that other person. | ||
(2) An authorised officer may at all reasonable times for the purpose of enforcing any of the relevant statutory provisions (other than the Act of 2002) enter any place at which there are reasonable grounds to believe that any trade or business or any activity in connection with a trade or business is, or has been, carried on and inspect any goods at the place and may— | ||
(a) on paying or making tender of payment therefor, take any of the goods, or | ||
(b) confirm by such other method as appropriate the price at which the goods are on offer or any other information relating to the goods for the purpose of an investigation. | ||
(3) An authorised officer shall not in the exercise of his or her powers under this section, other than with the consent of the occupier, enter a private dwelling unless he or she has obtained a warrant from the District Court under subsection (4) authorising such entry. | ||
(4) (a) Without prejudice to the powers conferred on an authorised officer by or under any provision of this section, an authorised officer may, for the purposes of an investigation into an offence under any of the relevant statutory provisions (other than the Act of 2002) apply to a judge of the District Court for a warrant in relation to any place. | ||
(b) On an application being made under this subsection, if a judge of the District Court is satisfied by information on oath of an authorised officer that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that evidence of, or relating to, the commission of an offence under any of the relevant statutory provisions (other than the Act of 2002) is to be found in any place, the judge may issue a warrant authorising an authorised officer (accompanied by such other authorised officers or members of An Garda Síochána or both as provided for in subsection (5) of section 35 ) 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 and search that place using reasonable force where necessary, and exercise all or any of the powers conferred on an authorised officer under this section. | ||
(5) Where an advertisement in relation to the supply or provision of any product is published and does not include the name and address of the person who procured such publication or his or her agent, the publisher of the advertisement shall, if the Commission or an authorised officer so requests within 12 months of the publication of the advertisement, give to the Commission or the authorised officer, the name and address of such person or his or her agent. | ||
(6) A person who fails to comply with a request under subsection (5) or, in purported compliance with such a request, gives information that is false or misleading in a material respect, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both. | ||
(7) In this section “advertisement” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2007. |