Powers in relation to documents
145.Paragraph 7 of schedule 2 details the powers that a Trading Standards officer has in relation to documents. This provision needs to be read with the limitations in paragraph 1(3).
146.It is worth noting for these purposes that “document” takes its meaning from schedule 1 of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, namely: “
147.The officer has a range of powers in relation to documents, as set out in paragraphs (a) to (c) of sub-paragraph (1).
148.The first power is that the officer can require a person who is offering fireworks for sale (“the trader”) or an employee of (or other person acting on behalf of the trader) to produce any document relating to the business to which the person has access. The second is that the officer can make copies of those documents (or any part of them) and the third is that the officer can seize and retain those documents. In addition, an officer can require a person producing a document to explain what it is, and failure to do so may be an offence under section 42.
149.However, paragraph 1(3) of schedule 2 limits the use of such powers to where the officer has reason to suspect that an offence is being committed. And an officer cannot require the production of a document which is legally privileged (such as a letter from a solicitor giving legal advice).
150.Where the document is in electronic format, the officer may require a copy of the document to be produced in a format that can be taken away. For example, this may be by printing out a page from a database or transferring information onto a portable storage device. However, a person can’t otherwise be asked to create a document (for example by bringing different sources of information together).
151.As with the power relating to the seizure of items other than documents, the officer must take reasonable steps to tell the person from whom the document is seized that it has been taken and provide a written record of what has been taken.
