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1. In order to carry out the duties assigned to it by this Regulation, the Commission may conduct the necessary inspections of undertakings and associations of undertakings.

2. Where the Commission undertakes such an inspection, the officials authorised by the Commission to conduct an inspection shall be empowered to:

(a) enter any premises, land and means of transport of the undertaking or association of undertakings;

(b) examine books and other business records, irrespective of the medium on which they are stored,access any information which is accessible to the entity subject to the inspection and take, or request copies or extracts from, those books or records;

(c) ask any representative or member of staff of the undertaking or association of undertakings for explanations of facts or documents relating to the subject-matter and purpose of the inspection and to record the answers;

(d) seal any business premises and books or records for the period of time of, and to the extent necessary for, the inspection.

3. The undertaking or association of undertakings shall submit to inspections ordered by decision of the Commission. The officials and other accompanying persons authorised by the Commission to conduct an inspection shall exercise their powers upon production of a Commission decision:

(a) specifying the subject matter and purpose of the inspection;

(b) containing a statement that, pursuant to Article 16, a lack of cooperation allows the Commission to take a decision on the basis of the facts that are available to it;

(c) referring to the possibility to impose fines or periodic penalty payments provided for in Article 17; and (d) stating the right to have the decision reviewed by the Court of Justice pursuant to Article 263 TFEU.

4. In good time before the inspection, the Commission shall give notice of the inspection to the Member State in whose territory it is to be conducted and of the date on which it is to begin.

5. Officials and other persons authorised or appointed by the Member State in whose territory the inspection is to be conducted shall, at the request of the Member State or of the Commission, actively assist the officials and other accompanying persons authorised by the Commission. To that end, they shall enjoy the powers specified in paragraph 2.

6. Where officials or other accompanying persons authorised by the Commission find that an undertaking or association of undertakings opposes an inspection within the meaning of this Article, the Member State in the territory of which the inspection takes place shall provide them with the necessary assistance and shall request, where appropriate, the assistance of the police or of an equivalent enforcement authority so as to enable them to conduct their inspection. If the assistance provided for in this paragraph requires authorisation from a judicial authority according to national rules, such authorisation shall be applied for. Such authorisation may also be applied for as a precautionary measure.

7. Upon request of the Commission, a Member State shall in its own territory carry out any inspection or other fact-finding measure under its national law in order to establish whether there is a foreign subsidy distorting the internal market.