Fair Trading Act 1973

44General power for Director to require information

(1)Where it appears to the Director that there are grounds for believing—

(a)that a monopoly situation may exist in relation to the supply of goods or services of any description, or in relation to exports of goods of any description from the United Kingdom, and

(b)that in accordance with the following provisions of this Part of this Act he would not be precluded from making a monopoly reference to the Commission with respect to the existence or possible existence of that situation,

the Director, for the purpose of assisting him in determining whether to make a monopoly reference with respect to the existence or possible existence of that situation, may exercise the powers conferred by the next following subsection.

(2)In the circumstances and for the purpose mentioned in the preceding subsection the Director may require any person who supplies or produces goods of the description in question in the United Kingdom, or to whom any such goods are supplied in the United Kingdom, or (as the case may be) any person who supplies services of that description in the United Kingdom, or for whom any such services are so supplied, to furnish to the Director such information as the Director may consider necessary with regard to—

(a)the value, cost, price or quantity of goods of that description supplied or produced by that person, or of goods of that description supplied to him, or (as the case may be) the value, cost, price or extent of the services of that description supplied by that person or of the services of that description supplied for him, or

(b)the capacity of any undertaking carried on by that person to supply, produce or make use of goods of that description, or (as the case may be) to supply or make use of services of that description, or

(c)the number of persons employed by that person wholly or partly on work related to the supply, production or use of goods of that description, or (as the case may be) the supply or use of services of that description.