238AAPower to obtain information, documents and evidence

238AA Power to obtain information, documents and evidence

238AA Power to obtain information, documents and evidence

(1) An inspector may, by notice in writing served on a person who is, on reasonable grounds, believed by the inspector to be capable of giving information, producing documents or giving evidence in relation to a possible contravention of this Act or the 1987 Act or the regulations under those Acts require the person to do any one or more of the following things—

(a) to give an inspector, by writing signed by the person (or, in the case of a body corporate, by a competent officer of the body corporate) and within the time and in the manner specified in the notice, any such information of which the person has knowledge,

(b) to produce to an inspector, in accordance with the notice, any such documents,

(c) to appear before an inspector at a time and place specified in the notice and give either orally or in writing any such evidence and produce any such documents.

(2) A notice under this section must contain a warning that a failure to comply with the notice is an offence.

(3) An inspector may inspect a document produced in response to a notice under this section and may make copies of, or take extracts from, the document.

(4) An inspector may take possession and retain possession for as long as is necessary for the purposes of this Act, of a document produced in response to a notice under this section if the person otherwise entitled to possession of the document is supplied, as soon as practicable, with a copy certified by an inspector to be a true copy.

(5) A certified copy provided under subsection (4) is receivable in all courts as if it were the original.

(6) Until a certified copy of a document is provided under subsection (4), the inspector who has possession of the document must, at such times and places as the inspector thinks appropriate, permit the person otherwise entitled to possession of the document, or a person authorised by that person, to inspect the document and make copies of, or take extracts from, the document.

(7) In this section—

inspector means—

(a) a member of staff of the Authority who is authorised by the Authority for the purposes of this section, or