Dawn Raid

The CMA's basic entry power, headed "Power to enter business premises without a warrant" in section 27 of the Competition Act 1998, is ordinarily an announced power: an investigating officer must normally give the occupier a written notice which "gives at least two working days’ notice of the intended entry". What converts an inspection into a genuine unannounced 'dawn raid' is the exception in section 27(3), which dispenses with that notice requirement where, among other things, "the investigating officer has taken all such steps as are reasonably practicable to give notice but has not been able to do so" - language aimed squarely at cases where advance warning would allow evidence to be concealed or destroyed. Where the CMA suspects the more serious cartel offence or fears deliberate destruction of evidence, it can instead apply for a warrant under sections 28 or 28A, which grants materially wider powers of search and seizure.

Obstructing either type of inspection is a standalone criminal offence, not merely a matter that affects the weight of any civil penalty. Section 42 of the Competition Act 1998 provides that "a person is guilty of an offence if he intentionally obstructs an officer acting in the exercise of his powers under section 27" (the non-warrant power), while a separate and more heavily punished offence applies to warranted inspections: "a person who intentionally obstructs an officer in the exercise of his powers under a warrant issued under" sections 28 or 28A commits an offence carrying up to two years' imprisonment on indictment. The distinction matters in practice: because warranted dawn raids carry the more serious obstruction offence, businesses are typically advised to treat any refusal, delay, or destruction of documents during a CMA visit as carrying materially higher legal risk once officers are executing a warrant.