The Market Surveillance (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2021

Power to seize documents required as evidence

14.—(1) The officer may seize and detain documents.

(2) An officer seizing documents under this paragraph from premises which are occupied must produce evidence of the officer’s identity and authority to an occupier of the premises before seizing them.

(3) The officer need not comply with sub-paragraph (2) if it is not reasonably practicable to do so.

(4) An officer seizing documents under this paragraph must take reasonable steps to—

(a) inform the person from whom they are seized that they have been seized, and

(b) provide that person with a written record of what has been seized.

(5) In determining the steps to be taken under sub-paragraph (4), an officer exercising a power under this paragraph must have regard to any relevant provision about the seizure of property made by a code of practice under Article 65 of the Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989.

(6) An enforcer may exercise the power in this paragraph in relation to documents which an officer of the enforcer reasonably suspects may be required as evidence—

(a) in proceedings for non-compliance; or

(b) in proceedings under these Regulations or the enforcer’s legislation.

(7) This paragraph does not confer any power on an officer to seize from a person 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) Documents seized under this paragraph may not be detained—

(a) for a period of more than 3 months beginning with the day on which they were seized, or

(b) where the documents are reasonably required to be detained for a longer period by the enforcer for the purposes of the proceedings for which they were seized, for longer than they are required for those purposes.