PART III | Procedures for determination of prescribed infringements |
5.—(1) For the purpose of any inquiry into an alleged prescribed infringement, the Commissioner may hold a pre-inquiry conference to settle any administrative matter in relation to the inquiry where the Commissioner considers it appropriate to do so.(2) The Commissioner may —| (a) | fix the pre-inquiry conference at such date, time and place as the Commissioner may determine; and | | (b) | cause a notice of the pre-inquiry conference to be served on the Respondent and in the notice call upon the Respondent to produce all evidence and witnesses which the Respondent wishes to tender at the pre-inquiry conference. |
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(3) At a pre-inquiry conference, the Commissioner may do all or any of the following:| (a) | direct the Respondent to provide any evidence at the inquiry in such form and manner as the Commissioner may require; | | (b) | give all such orders as appear to be necessary or desirable for securing the just, expeditious and economical disposal of the inquiry. |
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| Representative of Respondent |
6. Any appearance, application or act required to be made or done by the Respondent before or to the Commissioner may be made or done by the Respondent himself or by any of the following persons on behalf of the Respondent:| (a) | where the Respondent is a body corporate, by an authorised employee or officer of the body corporate in his permanent and exclusive employment; | | (b) | where the Respondent is a society or an unincorporated association, by an authorised employee or officer of the society or unincorporated association, as the case may be. |
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7.—(1) Pursuant to section 25C(2)(c) of the Act, the Commissioner may at any time order the Respondent to give discovery of the documents or articles which are or have been in the Respondent’s possession, custody or power.| (2) Where an order for discovery is made, the Respondent remains under a duty to give discovery of all documents or articles falling within the scope of the order until the proceedings for the prescribed infringement are concluded. |
(3) If the Respondent fails to comply with an order for discovery under paragraph (1), the Commissioner may do all or any of the following:| (a) | adjourn the inquiry to a later date; | | (b) | draw such adverse inferences against the Respondent as may be appropriate; | | (c) | make such determination or order as the Commissioner thinks appropriate. |
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8.—(1) If an inquiry is to be conducted by the Commissioner into an alleged prescribed infringement, it shall be held on such date, time and place as the Commissioner may determine.| (2) The Commissioner shall cause a notice of the inquiry to be served on the Respondent and in the notice call upon the Respondent to produce all evidence and witnesses which the Respondent wishes to tender at the inquiry. |
| (3) Notwithstanding the Commissioner’s power to make his determination in the absence of any person who has failed to attend any inquiry when duly summoned by the Commissioner, the Commissioner may adjourn the inquiry to a later date if the Commissioner is satisfied that the person had a reasonable excuse for being absent. |
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| Failure to attend inquiry |
9.—(1) If on the day and at the time fixed for an inquiry (including any continuation of an inquiry following an adjournment), any of the Respondent’s witnesses fails to appear, the Commissioner may proceed with the inquiry and make a determination in the absence of the witness.| (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), or the Commissioner’s power under section 25C(5) of the Act to make a determination in the absence of a person summoned to attend at an inquiry, the Commissioner may adjourn the inquiry to a later date if the Commissioner is satisfied that the Respondent’s witness or any person summoned by the Commissioner had a reasonable excuse for being absent. |
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| Taking of evidence at inquiry |
10.—(1) The Commissioner has the sole power to examine any witness, including the Respondent, at an inquiry.(2) The Commissioner may, in his discretion, allow the Respondent to cross-examine any witness and —| (a) | allow any line of inquiry from the Respondent; | | (b) | disallow any line of inquiry from the Respondent, including but not limited to lines of inquiry that are vexatious, frivolous or abusive; or | | (c) | rephrase any line of inquiry from the Respondent. |
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| (3) The Respondent is allowed to adduce evidence of any attempt to rectify a prescribed infringement, which the Commissioner may take into account in arriving at his determination. |
| (4) The Commissioner may admit as evidence any statement of the Respondent or any witness, in part or in whole, after confirming with the Respondent or witness that the statement was voluntarily made. |
(5) A party may not offer further evidence after closing that party’s case, except that the Commissioner may, before making a determination under section 25C of the Act, admit further evidence and consider further argument on that evidence if in the Commissioner’s opinion —| (a) | the evidence could not have been obtained with reasonable diligence for use in the inquiry earlier; | | (b) | the evidence, in all likelihood, would materially affect the outcome of the case; and | | (c) | the evidence is such as is presumably to be believed or apparently credible. |
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| Power to recall witnesses |
| 11. The Commissioner may in all cases permit a witness to be recalled for further examination in an inquiry. |
12.—(1) Where the Commissioner has made a determination after the conclusion of an inquiry, the Commissioner shall give the respondent a written notice of the determination.| (2) The Commissioner may rectify a clerical error, or any other error, in a determination (including an error as to the amount of any financial penalty or an error in a direction under section 25B of the Act that is included in the determination) by the next working day after the Respondent has been informed of the determination. |
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| Duplicate applications and concurrent applications and appeals |
13.—(1) If the Commissioner has informed an aggrieved person of his decision on a review application, the Commissioner may refuse to consider any further review application in respect of the same matter if the Commissioner considers that the further review application contains no new ground of appeal or raises no new issue.(2) If, in respect of the same determination or decision of the Commissioner —| (a) | the aggrieved person makes a review application; and | | (b) | before the Commissioner has informed the aggrieved person of his decision on the review application, the aggrieved person makes an appeal to the Appeal Board under section 25C(8) of the Act, |
| the review application is to be treated as having been withdrawn. |
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(3) If, in respect of the same determination or decision of the Commissioner, an aggrieved person —| (a) | makes an appeal to the Appeal Board under section 25C(8) of the Act; and | | (b) | subsequently or at the same time makes a review application, |
| the Commissioner shall refuse to consider the review application unless the appeal to the Appeal Board is first withdrawn. |
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(4) In this regulation —| “aggrieved person” means a person aggrieved by a determination or a direction of the Commissioner under Part V of the Act; |
| “review application” means an application by an aggrieved person to the Commissioner under section 25C(7) of the Act to vary or set aside a determination or direction of the Commissioner under Part V of the Act. |
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| Procedure in connected cases |
14. Two or more inquiries may be dealt with, and heard together, by the Commissioner if —| (a) | a common issue or question of fact arises in each inquiry; or | | (b) | the inquiries relate to, or arise from, the same event or series of events. |
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