Part 2: Competition Investigations Section 123: Additional powers of seizure from domestic premises
This section amends Part 2 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, to specify the powers of seizure conferred by section 28A(2) of the Competition Act 1998 for the purposes of section 50 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 and make clarificatory amendments regarding the existing specification of the power at section 28 of the Competition Act 1998 in light of its amendment by section 122 of this Act. Section 28 of the Competition Act 1998 provides the CMA with a power to enter business premises when authorised by warrant, and section 28A of the Competition Act 1998 provides equivalent powers in relation to domestic premises. The powers of seizure conferred by section 28(2) of Competition Act 1998 are already specified for the purposes of section 50 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, so the amendment aligns the powers available to the CMA whether they are inspecting business or domestic premises under a warrant and makes consequential amendments in light of those made by section 122.
	Specification of the powers for the purposes of section 50 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 provides for a power of seizure, where a named officer of the CMA (or a sector regulator where relevant) is on any premises as a result of a warrant issued under section 28 or 28A, and finds anything which they have reasonable grounds to consider they are authorised to seize, but it is not reasonably practicable on the particular premises either to determine whether the material or information is indeed within the scope of the warrant, or for something they consider to be within scope to be separated from something else located on the premises.
	Subsection (2) amends section 50(6) of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 to make clear that, as in relation to section 28(2)(b) of the Competition Act 1998, whilst section 50 applies to the section 28A(2)(b) Competition Act 1998 power, it only enables those exercising it to copy material in order to examine it elsewhere to determine or separate out what in fact they would be entitled to copy under section 28A itself. It does not give them the power to seize original documents.
	Subsection (3) amends section 57(1) of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 to add section 28A(8) of the Competition Act 1998 to the list of provisions. Section 28A(8) of the Competition Act 1998 applies in relation to documents which have been seized under section 28A(2)(c), because they appear to be of the relevant kind and there is a need to take possession of them (rather than copies) because such action appears necessary to preserve the documents or prevent interference with them, or it is not reasonably practicable to take copies of the documents on the premises. Where the power is exercised, section 28A(8) provides that the documents may be retained for no longer than 3 months. The amendment to section 57(1) of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 clarifies that the three month maximum limit continues to apply where the section 50 power has been relied upon and extends the protections set out in that section regarding the relationship between the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 regime and the Competition Act 1998 powers.
	Subsection (4) amends section 63(2) of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 to provide that the CMA’s powers under section 28(2)(f) of the Competition Act 1998, and those under section 28A(2)(f) and (g), to take copies of information stored in electronic form which has been produced are to be treated as a power of seizure for the purposes of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 and so subject to the safeguards set out in that regime.
	Subsection (5) amends section 64(3) of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 to specify that the appropriate judicial authority for an application under section 59 of that Act in relation to material seized in reliance on the section 28A Competition Act 1998 power is, in relation to England and Wales and Northern Ireland, the High Court and, in relation to Scotland, the Court of Session. Section 59 Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 allows any person with a relevant interest in the seized property to apply to the appropriate judicial authority on certain grounds for the return of the whole or part of the seized property.
	Subsection (6) amends section 65(2) of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001. It ensures that references to items which are subject to legal privilege in the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 will be read consistently with the definition of "privileged communications" in section 30 of the Competition Act 1998, when the relevant property which has been seized is in exercise, or purported exercise, of section 28A of the Competition Act 1998 or section 50 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 as exercisable by reference to section 28A of the Competition Act 1998.
	Subsection (7) amends section 66(5) of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 to ensure any references to seizure under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 will be read as including the CMA’s powers to take possession of items under section 28A(2)(c) of the Competition Act 1998.
	Subsection (8) amends paragraph 67 in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 so that section 50 of that Act applies to the CMA’s powers under section 28A(2) of the Competition Act 1998, as it already applies to the powers under section 28(2) of the Competition Act 1998.