Part 3: Enforcement of consumer protection law Chapter 6: Investigatory Powers Schedule 17: Investigatory powers Non-compliance with notice under paragraph 14: powers of CMA to give provisional enforcement notice
Paragraph 16B empowers the CMA to give a provisional enforcement notice if it reasonably believes that a recipient of an information notice it has given under paragraph 14 of Schedule 5 to the Consumer Rights Act has failed to comply with it (paragraph 16B, subparagraphs (1) and (2)).
	The provisional enforcement notice does not mean that the CMA has made a finding that the recipient of the information notice has failed to comply with its requirements and, where the provisional notice provides that the CMA is considering to impose a monetary penalty for the alleged failure, does not constitute a finding by the CMA that there is no reasonable excuse for such a failure. Rather, the provisional enforcement notice represents the CMA’s provisional view and proposed next steps. It allows the recipient of the information notice to know the case against them and, if they choose to do so, to respond in writing or orally to the provisional enforcement notice.
	This provisional enforcement notice must specify the CMA’s grounds for giving it including the alleged compliance failure(s) and any actions which the CMA considers should be taken to secure compliance with the information notice (paragraph 16B, subparagraph (3)(a) and (b)). It must also invite the recipient of the provisional enforcement notice to make representations and set out the process for doing so (paragraph 16B, subparagraph (3)(c) and (d)). If the respondent wishes to make oral representations, the CMA must arrange for an oral hearing and this opportunity must be specified in the provisional enforcement notice (paragraph 16B, subparagraph (4)).
	Where the CMA considers the alleged compliance failure with the information notice warrants imposing a monetary penalty, the provisional enforcement notice must also state that and give details about the type, amount and grounds for the proposed penalty (paragraph 16B, subparagraph (5)).
	The Government considers that the provision of false or misleading information in response to an information notice constitutes a failure to comply with the information notice. Similarly, the destruction, disposal, concealment or falsification of requested information (e.g. destruction of a document or part of a document which contains the required information) also constitutes a failure to comply with the information notice.