Paragraph 18 Power to enter premises with warrant

(1)

A lay magistrate may issue a warrant authorising an officer of an enforcer to enter premises if satisfied, on a written complaint on oath given by such an officer, that there are reasonable grounds for believing that—

(a)

condition A or B is met, and

(b)

condition C, D or E is met.

(2)

Condition A is that on the premises there are—

(a)

products which an officer of the enforcer has power to inspect under paragraph 10, or

(b)

documents which an officer of the enforcer could require a person to produce under paragraph 12.

(3)

Condition B is that, on the premises, in the case of an enforcer, there has been or is about to be a breach of the enforcer’s legislation or the MSC Regulation.

(4)

Condition C is that—

(a)

access to the premises has been or is likely to be refused, and

(b)

notice of the enforcer’s intention to apply for a warrant under this paragraph has been given to the occupier of the premises.

(5)

Condition D is that it is likely that products or documents on the premises would be concealed or interfered with if notice of entry on the premises were given to the occupier of the premises.

(6)

Condition E is that—

(a)

the premises are unoccupied, or

(b)

the occupier of the premises is absent, and it might defeat the purpose of the entry to wait for the occupier’s return.

(7)

A warrant may be issued under sub-paragraph (1) for the purpose of ascertaining whether there has been any non-compliance.