500General powers after entering a place

500 General powers after entering a place (1) If an authorised officer enters a place under section 497(1), the officer may, for investigation purposes, do any of the following (each a general power)— (a) search any part of the place or a vehicle at the place, including— (i) searching any part of the place or a vehicle at the place for (ii) searching any part of the place or a vehicle at the place for a document, device or other thing relating to a heavy vehicle or any part of its equipment or load; (b) inspect, examine or film any part of the place or anything at the place; (c) take a thing, or a sample of or from a thing, at the place for examination; (d) place an identifying mark in or on anything at the place; (e) take an extract from a document, device or other thing at the place, including, for example— data obtained from a device or other thing at the place; or (ii) by accessing and downloading information from a device or other thing at the place;

(f) copy a document at the place, or take a document at the place to another place to copy it; Examples of documents for the purposes of paragraphs (e) and (f)— • a document required to be kept at the place under this Law or a heavy vehicle • transport documentation • journey documentation • a document the authorised officer reasonably believes provides, or may provide on further inspection, evidence of an offence against this Law (g) produce an image or writing at the place from an electronic document at the place or, if it is not practicable to produce the image or writing at the place, take a thing containing the electronic document to another place to produce the image or writing; (h) exercise a power in relation to a heavy vehicle at the place that the authorised officer may exercise under Part 9.3; (i) take to, into or onto the place and use any persons, equipment, materials, vehicles or other things the officer reasonably requires for exercising the officer’s powers under this section. The term ‘public place’ is defined in section 5 as a place or part of a place— (a) that the public is entitled to use, is open to members of the public or is used by the public, whether or not on payment of money; or (b) the occupier of which allows members of the public to enter, whether or not on payment of money. Accordingly, the term ‘public place’ does not include an office area or an area behind a reception counter, unless the public have access to the area as provided in the definition. (2) The authorised officer may take a necessary step to allow the exercise of a general power, including, for example— (a) open an unlocked door or an unlocked panel or thing at the

(b) move anything that is not locked up or sealed; and (c) if the authorised officer entered the place under section 497(1)(c), use the force that is reasonably necessary for the exercise of the power. (3) If an authorised officer takes, or authorises another person to take, a thing or sample for examination under subsection (1)(c), the officer must— (a) give a receipt for the thing or sample to— (i) the person in possession of the thing or sample or the thing from which the sample was taken; or (ii) the person in charge of the place from which the thing or sample was taken; and (b) at the end of 6 months after the thing or sample was taken, return it to the person who appears to be an owner of it, a person to whom a receipt was given under paragraph (a) for it, or a person in charge of the place from which it was taken, unless the thing or sample— (i) has been seized under section 549; or (ii) does not have any intrinsic value. See section 561 for what happens if a thing or sample can not be returned to its owner or the owner can not be found. (4) However, if for any reason it is not practicable to comply with subsection (3)(a), the authorised officer must leave the receipt at the place in a conspicuous position and in a reasonably secure way. (5) For exercising a power under subsection (1)(f), the authorised officer may use photocopying equipment at the place free of charge. See also sections 543 and 544 for use of particular equipment at a place, or in a vehicle, entered under this Chapter.