Article 5

On-the-spot checks and inspections shall be carried out by the Commission on economic operators to whom Community administrative measures and penalties pursuant to Article 7 of Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 may be applied, where there are reasons to think that irregularities have been commited.

In order to make it easier for the Commission to carry out such checks and inspections, economic operators shall be required to grant access to premises, land, means of transport or other areas, used for business purposes.

Where strictly necessary in order to establish whether an irregularity exists, the Commission may carry out on-the-spot checks and inspections on other economic operators concerned, in order to have access to pertinent information held by those operators on facts subject to on-the-spot checks and inspections.