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1. Before initiating an investigation in accordance with Article 18(1), the lead competent authority shall request information from the economic operators under assessment and, where relevant, other product suppliers, on the relevant actions they have taken in order to identify, prevent, mitigate, bring to an end or remediate risks of forced labour in their operations and supply chains with respect to the products under assessment, including on the basis of any of the following, unless it would jeopardise the outcome of the assessment:

(a) applicable Union or national law setting out due diligence and transparency requirements with respect to forced labour;

(b) the guidelines issued by the Commission;

(c) due diligence guidelines or recommendations of the UN, ILO, OECD or other relevant international organisations, in particular guidelines and recommendations relating to geographic areas, production sites and economic activities in certain sectors in which there are systematic and widespread forced labour practices;

(d) any other meaningful due diligence or other information in relation to forced labour in their supply chain. The lead competent authority may request information on those actions from other relevant stakeholders, including the persons or associations that have submitted relevant, factual, and verifiable information pursuant to Article 9 and any other natural or legal persons related to the products and geographical areas under assessment, as well as from the European External Action Service and Union delegations in relevant third countries.

2. Economic operators shall respond to the request referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article within 30 working days of the day they received such request. Economic operators may provide any other information they may deem useful for the purposes of this Article. Where necessary, economic operators may request support from a contact point referred to in Article 10, on how to engage with the lead competent authority.

3. Within 30 working days from the date of receipt of the information submitted by economic operators pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article, the lead competent authority shall conclude the preliminary phase of its investigation regarding whether there is a substantiated concern that there has been a violation of Article 3, on the basis of the assessment referred to in Article 14(3) and the information submitted by economic operators pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article.

4. Notwithstanding paragraph 3 of this Article, the lead competent authority may conclude that there is a substantiated concern that there has been a violation of Article 3 on the basis of any other facts available, where a lead competent authority has refrained from requesting information in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article or in the situations referred to in Article 20(2), points (a) to (e).

5. The lead competent authority shall not initiate an investigation pursuant to Article 18, and shall inform the economic operators under assessment accordingly, where, on the basis of the assessment referred to in Article 14(3) and, if any, of the information submitted by economic operators pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article, it considers that there is no substantiated concern that there has been a violation of Article 3, or that the reasons that motivated the existence of a substantiated concern have been eliminated, for instance due to, but not limited to, the applicable legislation, guidelines, recommendations or any other due diligence in relation to forced labour as referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article being applied in a way that mitigates, prevents and brings to an end the risk of forced labour.

6. The lead competent authority shall communicate, through the information and communication system referred to in Article 7(1), the outcome of its assessment pursuant to paragraph 5 of this Article.