§ 74 — Powers of entry, etc., at premises

74.—(1) An authorised officer may without warrant, enter, at all reasonable times, and remain at —(a)

any premises where a licensee or former licensee has an office or keeps records that relate to any regulated activity undertaken by the licensee or former licensee;

(b)

any premises where the officer believes on reasonable grounds are used for the carrying on of a business or a trade (but not a residence) of —(i)

supplying or altering any EV charger;

(ii)

providing an EV charging service; or

(iii)

operating a charging station; and

(c)

any premises where the officer believes on reasonable grounds that —(i)

an offence under section 18, 23, 24, 29 or 30 is being or has been committed; or

(ii)

an activity mentioned in section 39(1) is being or has been carried on in contravention of a safety and security directive given under section 37,

provided that where the premises is a residence, entry is made only if the occupier of the premises has consented to the entry or after giving 6 hours’ prior notice of that entry.

(2) Upon entering any premises under subsection (1), an authorised officer may do all or any of the following:(a)

examine any thing or observe any activity conducted in or on the premises;

(b)

inspect the premises and any document or article or other thing in or on the premises;

(c)

make a still or moving image or recording of the premises and any document or article or other thing in or on the premises;

(d)

inspect any document or article found in or on the premises and take extracts from, or make copies of, any such document or article;

(e)

seize any document or article found in or on the premises if, in the opinion of the authorised officer —(i)

the inspection or copying of or extraction from the document or article cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession;

(ii)

the document or article may be interfered with or destroyed unless possession is taken; or

(iii)

the document or article may be required as evidence in any criminal proceedings or regulatory action instituted or commenced under this Act;

(f)

operate electronic equipment in or on the premises;

(g)

seize and take it to a holding yard, any EV charger found on the premises that is or the officer reasonably believes to be —(i)

neither of a homologated model nor a specially authorised EV charger; or

(ii)

the subject matter or used in the commission of an offence under this Act,

or require the owner or person in charge of the EV charger to take the EV charger to and surrender it at a specified holding yard;

(h)

take into or onto the premises any equipment and materials as the authorised officer requires for the purpose of exercising powers in this section in relation to those premises.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), if any information in a document or article required by an authorised officer is kept in electronic form —(a)

the power of an authorised officer to inspect the document or article includes the power —(i)

to access any computer or other equipment (including a mobile telephone) in which the information is stored; and

(ii)

to require any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer or equipment to provide assistance in gaining such access; and

(b)

the power of an authorised officer to seize such document includes the power —(i)

to make copies of the document in legible or electronic form; and

(ii)

to transfer the information from the document to a disk, tape or other storage device.

(4) If an authorised officer under subsection (3)(b) is unable to make copies of the document or transfer the information from the document, the authorised officer (whether or not the same inspecting officer) may —(a)

seize the computer or other equipment (including a mobile telephone) in which the document or information is stored, as evidence in proceedings for an offence under any provision of this Act; and

(b)

require any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer or equipment to disclose any password or access code for gaining access to the document or information held in the computer or equipment.

(5) The power under subsection (2)(f) to operate electronic equipment in or on any premises includes the power —(a)

to use a disk, tape or other storage device that is in or on the premises and can be used with the equipment or in association with the equipment;

(b)

to operate electronic equipment in or on the premises to put the relevant data in documentary form and remove the documents so produced from the premises; and

(c)

to operate electronic equipment in or on the premises to transfer the relevant data to a disk, tape or other storage device that —(i)

is brought to the premises for the exercise of the power; or

(ii)

is in or on the premises and the use of which for that purpose has been agreed in writing by the occupier of the premises,

and to remove the disk, tape or other storage device from those premises.

(6) An authorised officer may break open doors, windows or partitions and do such other acts as may be necessary to enter and remain at any premises, except that an authorised officer may exercise a power under this subsection only —(a)

after declaring his or her office and after producing his or her identification card on demand being made; and

(b)

in circumstances where the authorised officer —(i)

suspects on reasonable grounds that an offence under section 18, 23, 24, 29 or 30 or Part 5 has been or is being committed in relation to those premises; and

(ii)

is unable to enter, or is refused entry to, the premises.

(7) An authorised officer entering any premises for a purpose in subsection (1) may be accompanied by a number of outsourced enforcement officers as is reasonably necessary for that purpose.

—(1) An authorised officer may without warrant, enter, at all reasonable times, and remain at —(a)

any premises where a licensee or former licensee has an office or keeps records that relate to any regulated activity undertaken by the licensee or former licensee;

(b)

any premises where the officer believes on reasonable grounds are used for the carrying on of a business or a trade (but not a residence) of —(i)

supplying or altering any EV charger;

(ii)

providing an EV charging service; or

(iii)

operating a charging station; and

(c)

any premises where the officer believes on reasonable grounds that —(i)

an offence under section 18, 23, 24, 29 or 30 is being or has been committed; or

(ii)

an activity mentioned in section 39(1) is being or has been carried on in contravention of a safety and security directive given under section 37,

provided that where the premises is a residence, entry is made only if the occupier of the premises has consented to the entry or after giving 6 hours’ prior notice of that entry.

(2) Upon entering any premises under subsection (1), an authorised officer may do all or any of the following:(a)

examine any thing or observe any activity conducted in or on the premises;

(b)

inspect the premises and any document or article or other thing in or on the premises;

(c)

make a still or moving image or recording of the premises and any document or article or other thing in or on the premises;

(d)

inspect any document or article found in or on the premises and take extracts from, or make copies of, any such document or article;

(e)

seize any document or article found in or on the premises if, in the opinion of the authorised officer —(i)

the inspection or copying of or extraction from the document or article cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession;

(ii)

the document or article may be interfered with or destroyed unless possession is taken; or

(iii)

the document or article may be required as evidence in any criminal proceedings or regulatory action instituted or commenced under this Act;

(f)

operate electronic equipment in or on the premises;

(g)

seize and take it to a holding yard, any EV charger found on the premises that is or the officer reasonably believes to be —(i)

neither of a homologated model nor a specially authorised EV charger; or

(ii)

the subject matter or used in the commission of an offence under this Act,

or require the owner or person in charge of the EV charger to take the EV charger to and surrender it at a specified holding yard;

(h)

take into or onto the premises any equipment and materials as the authorised officer requires for the purpose of exercising powers in this section in relation to those premises.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), if any information in a document or article required by an authorised officer is kept in electronic form —(a)

the power of an authorised officer to inspect the document or article includes the power —(i)

to access any computer or other equipment (including a mobile telephone) in which the information is stored; and

(ii)

to require any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer or equipment to provide assistance in gaining such access; and

(b)

the power of an authorised officer to seize such document includes the power —(i)

to make copies of the document in legible or electronic form; and

(ii)

to transfer the information from the document to a disk, tape or other storage device.

(4) If an authorised officer under subsection (3)(b) is unable to make copies of the document or transfer the information from the document, the authorised officer (whether or not the same inspecting officer) may —(a)

seize the computer or other equipment (including a mobile telephone) in which the document or information is stored, as evidence in proceedings for an offence under any provision of this Act; and

(b)

require any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer or equipment to disclose any password or access code for gaining access to the document or information held in the computer or equipment.

(5) The power under subsection (2)(f) to operate electronic equipment in or on any premises includes the power —(a)

to use a disk, tape or other storage device that is in or on the premises and can be used with the equipment or in association with the equipment;

(b)

to operate electronic equipment in or on the premises to put the relevant data in documentary form and remove the documents so produced from the premises; and

(c)

to operate electronic equipment in or on the premises to transfer the relevant data to a disk, tape or other storage device that —(i)

is brought to the premises for the exercise of the power; or

(ii)

is in or on the premises and the use of which for that purpose has been agreed in writing by the occupier of the premises,

and to remove the disk, tape or other storage device from those premises.

(6) An authorised officer may break open doors, windows or partitions and do such other acts as may be necessary to enter and remain at any premises, except that an authorised officer may exercise a power under this subsection only —(a)

after declaring his or her office and after producing his or her identification card on demand being made; and

(b)

in circumstances where the authorised officer —(i)

suspects on reasonable grounds that an offence under section 18, 23, 24, 29 or 30 or Part 5 has been or is being committed in relation to those premises; and

(ii)

is unable to enter, or is refused entry to, the premises.

(7) An authorised officer entering any premises for a purpose in subsection (1) may be accompanied by a number of outsourced enforcement officers as is reasonably necessary for that purpose.