Companies Act 2014 section 794

Production and inspection of books or documents when offence suspected

Section 794 allows certain authorities to apply to the District Court for an order to inspect or require production of a company's books and documents where there is reasonable cause to believe a company officer has committed an offence in connection with the management of the company.

• The District Court may grant an order where there are reasonable grounds to believe a company officer has committed an offence related to the company's management and that evidence of the offence exists in the company's books, documents, or related banking records.
• The court order may authorise a named person to inspect the relevant books or documents, or may require the company secretary or another named officer to produce them at a specified location.
• Only the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Director of Corporate Enforcement, or a Superintendent of the Garda Síochána may make such an application to the District Court.
• The scope of the order extends not only to books and documents held or controlled by the company itself, but also to documents held by a bank insofar as those documents relate to the company's affairs.

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