4. Section 6 of the Audit Act is amended —(a) | by deleting paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and substituting the following paragraph:“(b) | may enter and remain on, and search for and copy or take extracts from any book, document or record in, any premises —(i) | occupied by any public authority, the Supreme Court, any subordinate court or Parliament; | (ii) | occupied by any individual or person subject to an audit under section 4A; or | (iii) | occupied by the other person in subsection (1B)(b) with whom an individual or a person or body mentioned in sub‑paragraph (i) or (ii) has an arrangement to have possession or custody of any record, information or document belonging to that individual, person or body, as the case may be;”; |
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| (b) | by inserting, immediately after paragraph (c) of subsection (1), the following paragraph:“(ca) | may seize any equipment, record, information, document or other thing in any premises mentioned in paragraph (b) if —(i) | a notice under subsection (1A)(a) has been given in respect of the record, information or document and the period mentioned in that notice has expired; or | (ii) | the Auditor‑General considers it necessary to do so for the purpose of obtaining evidence of the contravention of any written law;”; |
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| (c) | by inserting, immediately after subsection (1), the following subsections:“(1A) The power under subsection (1)(a) to call upon any person for any explanation and information includes the power —(a) | to require a person by written notice to produce, within a reasonable time, specified records, information or documents, or records, information or documents of a specified kind, which are within the custody or under the control of that person; | (b) | to require that person to provide an explanation of the record, information or document mentioned in paragraph (a); | (c) | if the record, information or document is not provided, to require that person to state, to the best of the person’s knowledge and belief, where it is; and | (d) | if the information is recorded otherwise than in legible form, to require the information to be made available to the Auditor‑General in legible form. |
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(1B) For the purposes of subsection (1A), a person or body is taken to have “control” of any record, information or document if —(a) | the person has possession of the record, information or document; or | (b) | the person has the record, information or document in the possession or custody of some other person. |
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(1C) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1)(b), the Auditor‑General may, while in any premises mentioned in that provision —(a) | inspect, examine, photograph or film anything in the premises mentioned in subsection (1)(b); | (b) | take into the premises any individual, equipment or material that the Auditor‑General reasonably requires to discharge his duties; and | (c) | require any person in those premises to give to the Auditor‑General reasonable assistance in relation to the exercise of any of his powers under this section. |
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(1D) The Auditor‑General is entitled, without payment, to —(a) | enter and remain on any premises mentioned in subsection (1)(b); and | (b) | search for any record, information or document, and keep any record, information or document, or any copy or extract of it, furnished to the Auditor‑General under subsection (1) or (1A) or obtained under subsection (1)(ca).”; and |
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| (d) | by deleting subsection (3) and substituting the following subsection:“(3) Any person who is required by the Auditor‑General, or a person or public officer authorised under subsection (2), to provide any explanation or information, produce any record, information or document or answer any question must provide the explanation or information, produce the record, information or document or answer the question, as the case may be.”. |
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