The Market Surveillance (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2021

Power to require the production of documents

12.—(1) The officer may, at any reasonable time—

(a) require a trader occupying the premises, or a person on the premises acting on behalf of such a trader, to produce any documents relating to the trader’s business to which the trader has access, and

(b) take copies of, or of any entry in, any such document.

(2) The power in sub-paragraph (1) is available regardless of whether—

(a) the purpose for which the documents are required relates to the trader or some other person, or

(b) the proceedings referred to in sub-paragraph (6)(b) could be taken against the trader or some other person.

(3) That power includes power to require the person to give an explanation of the documents.

(4) Where a document required to be produced under sub-paragraph (1) contains information recorded electronically, the power in that sub-paragraph includes power to require the production of a copy of the document in a form in which it can easily be taken away and in which it is visible and legible.

(5) This paragraph does not permit an officer to require a person to create a document other than as described in sub-paragraph (4).

(6) An enforcer may exercise the power in this paragraph for the following purposes—

(a) to ascertain compliance by an economic operator with the MSC Regulation or the enforcer’s legislation;

(b) to ascertain whether the documents may be required as evidence in proceedings for non-compliance.

(7) This paragraph does not permit an officer to require a person to produce any document which the person would be entitled to refuse to produce in proceedings in the High Court on the grounds of legal professional privilege.

(8) In this paragraph “trader” means a person acting for purposes relating to that person’s trade, business, craft or profession, whether acting personally or through another person acting in the trader’s name or on the trader’s behalf.