Powers of authorised persons
9.—(1) An authorised person may at all reasonable hours and on producing, if so required, some duly authenticated document showing his authority, exercise the powers specified in this regulation for the purposes of—
(a)carrying out any specified control measure;
(b)ascertaining whether an offence under regulation 14 has been or is being committed; or
(c)ensuring that compensatory allowances under these Regulations are paid in proper cases only.
(2) An authorised person may enter any land, other than land used only as a dwelling, which is, or which such person has reasonable cause to believe to be, occupied by a claimant or used by him for grazing breeding cows or ewes to which a claim for compensatory allowance relates.
(3) An authorised person who has entered any land by virtue of this regulation may—
(a)inspect and verify the total area of that land, including forage area;
(b)inspect and count any animals on that land and read the ear-tags or other identification marks of any such animals;
(c)carry out any other activity which is a specified control measure; and
(d)inspect that land for the purposes of determining whether or not it has been overgrazed or unsuitable supplementary feeding methods have been used on it.
(4) An authorised person entering any land by virtue of this regulation may take with him such other persons acting under his instructions as he considers necessary.
(5) An authorised person may—
(a)require a claimant or any employee, servant or agent of a claimant to produce any document or other record in his possession or under his control relating to any animals kept or formerly kept by him (in particular any document or record relating to the animals concerned which the claimant is required to retain by virtue of the 1992 Sheep Regulations, the 1993 Suckler Cow Regulations, the 1995 Order or the 1996 Order), and to supply such additional information in that person’s possession or under his control relating to a claim for a compensatory allowance as the authorised person may reasonably request;
(b)inspect any document or other record referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph and, where any such record is kept by means of a computer, have access to, and inspect and check the operation of, any computer and any associated apparatus or material which is or has been used in connection with that record;
(c)make such copies of any document or other record referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph as he may think fit; and
(d)seize and retain any document or other record referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph which he has reason to believe may be required as evidence in proceedings under these Regulations and, where any such record is kept by means of a computer, require it to be produced in a form in which it may be taken away.