12.—(1) The Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990(1) is amended as follows.
(2) Section 41(3) is repealed.
(3) After section 41 there is inserted—
41A—(1) The court may, on an application by the Office of Fair Trading, enquire into whether any person (“the defaulter”) has refused or otherwise failed, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a notice under section 41(1).
(2) An application under subsection (1) shall include details of the possible failure which the Office of Fair Trading considers has occurred.
(3) In enquiring into a case under subsection (1), the court shall hear any witness who may be produced against or on behalf of the defaulter and any statement which may be offered in defence.
(4) Subsections (5) and (6) apply where the court is satisfied, after hearing any witnesses and statements as mentioned in subsection (3), that the defaulter has refused or otherwise failed, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a notice under section 41(1).
(5) The court may punish the defaulter as it would have been able to punish him had he been guilty of contempt of court.
(6) Where the defaulter is a body corporate or is a partnership constituted under the law of Scotland, the court may punish any director, officer or (as the case may be) partner of the defaulter as it would have been able to punish that director, officer or partner had he been guilty of contempt of court.
(7) In this section “the court” means the Court of Session.
41B—(1) A person commits an offence if he intentionally alters, suppresses or destroys a document which he has been required to produce by a notice under section 41(1).
(2) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable—
(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine or to both.”.