77.— (1) An authorised officer may, at any premises lawfully entered by the officer, do any of the following:

(a) inspect the premises;

(b) request any person on the premises who apparently has control of, or access to, records or other documents that relate to the business of a designated person (being a designated person whose competent authority is the State competent authority who appointed the authorised officer)—

(i) to produce the documents for inspection, and

(ii) if any of those documents are in an electronic, mechanical or other form, to reproduce the document in a written form;

(c) inspect documents produced or reproduced in accordance with such a request or found in the course of inspecting the premises;

(d) take copies of those documents or of any part of them (including, in the case of a document in an electronic, mechanical or other form, a copy of the document in a written form);

(e) request any person at the premises who appears to the authorised person to have information relating to the documents, or to the business of the designated person, to answer questions with respect to the documents or that business;

(f) remove and retain the documents (including in the case of a document in an electronic, mechanical or other form, a copy of the information in a written form) for the period reasonably required for further examination;

(g) request a person who has charge of, operates or is concerned in the operation of data equipment, including any person who has operated that equipment, to give the officer all reasonable assistance in relation to the operation of the equipment or access to the data stored within it;

(h) secure, for later inspection, the premises or part of the premises at which the authorised officer reasonably believes records or other documents relating to the business of the designated person are located.

(2) A person to whom a request is made in accordance with subsection (1) shall—

(a) comply with the request so far as it is possible to do so, and

(b) give such other assistance and information to the authorised officer with respect to the business of the designated person concerned as is reasonable in the circumstances.

(3) A reference in this section to data equipment includes a reference to any associated apparatus.

(4) A reference in this section to a person who operates or has operated data equipment includes a reference to a person on whose behalf data equipment is operated or has been operated.