Commentary on Sections Summary Section 194: Warrants
709.Subsection (1) provides that the Board may apply to a justice of the peace for a warrant to enter premises, using force if necessary. A warrant can be issued if the justice of the peace is satisfied by information given on oath by or on behalf of the Board that there are reasonable grounds for believing:
	that there are documents on the premises which have been requested under section 191 or 192 which have not been provided, or if the documents were requested, they would either not be produced, or would be removed from the premises, hidden, tampered with, or destroyed;
	that an individual will misuse or misappropriate assets of the scheme, and there is information on the premises which relates to whether the act will be done and could be requested using sections 191 or 192.
710.Subsection (2) outlines what a warrant can authorise a person, who is appointed by the Board, to do. This person (an inspector) may enter premises (using force if necessary), take possession of any document mentioned in subsection (1) or take necessary steps to preserve the document or take copies. The inspector may also require any persons named in the warrant to give an explanation in relation to the document. The inspector may also require that the document be produced in a form in which it may be taken away and is legible.
711.Subsection (3) provides that an inspector may be accompanied by any person he considers necessary (such as an expert to carry out a valuation of the property, or an accountant to identify relevant accounts). Subsection (4) sets out that a warrant under this section shall be valid for one month from the date of issue.
712.Subsection (5) sets out that documents which are seized by an inspector with a warrant may be retained by the Board (or individuals authorised by the Board) for twelve months from the date of possession. However, subsection (6) allows the Board to extend the retention period for a further period of up to twelve months, and they may repeat this extension on an ongoing basis.