Business should prepare for potential unannounced inspections by establishing internal protocols to ensure appropriate systems are in place beforehand. At the minimum, these protocols should include the following key steps:  

1. Prepare a Dawn Raid manual and train staff appropriately to ensure they are familiar with both the Dawn Raid manual and on Key Actions required during a Dawn Raid.

2. Ensure that all competition law advice procured is covered by both Irish and EU legal privilege rules.  

Crucially, Irish competition law advice should be procured from legal advisors who are licensed and practicing in Ireland.  While it is noted that whereas advice by in-house counsel may be protected under Irish law within certain limitations, under the EU law, legal professional privilege generally does not protect competition law advice by in-house counsel, meaning their communications can be reviewed and seized by inspectors. 

To protect sensitive information, businesses should consistently mark records and emails as "legally privileged" or "private and confidential" where applicable. This helps to clearly identify and separate communications, making it easier to set it aside during a Dawn Raid or regulatory investigation. Adopting this as a routine practice within the business not only protects confidential legal advice but also accelerates the identification of these sensitive records during a Dawn Raid. Having a records management policy is also advisable.

3. Establish a Dawn Raid response team which could comprise of:

• ● Legal representatives (in-house counsel and external counsel) 
• ● Senior management (CEO, CFO, or legal director)
• ● IT and data protection officers
• ● Receptionist and front-line staff (who will be the first point of contact)
• ● Authorised Representative/s (to answer the competition authorities' questions)

4. Ensure your team is well-versed in the essential key actions outlined below to confidently handle a dawn raid.

• ● The CCPC's Authorised Officers, accompanied by the Irish Police (An Garda Síochána), in the case of an Irish investigation, or EC Officials in respect of a multiple jurisdictional investigation, will arrive typically on the morning of the Dawn Raid when the office opens its doors. The receptionist should ask to see the Search Warrant or authorisation, their identification and if they have an accompanying note regarding the purpose of the inspection.
• ● The receptionist should then immediately contact the Dawn Raid response team and external counsel should be contacted to arrive as soon as possible. The Authorised Officers/ EC Officials should be provided with the name and function of the business's Authorised Representative who is designated to answer all their questions.
• ● Verify legal Authority and Scope: The CCPC requires a District Court Search Warrant for raids, which must specify the investigation scope. The EC does not need judicial approval for inspections, though it must provide an authorisation document, generally provided in the form of an EC Decision.  The EC, however, must follow Irish law and obtain a Search Warrant if it intends to conduct a Dawn Raid at a private residence.  Keep a record of all CCPC Authorised Officers, EC Officials or Gardaí present during the search. 
• ● Your in-house counsel or external legal counsel will examine the Search Warrant and Explanatory Note to determine the scope and search parameters. Having external legal counsel present at the Dawn Raid will ensure the protection of legally privileged records and safeguard the privacy rights of both individuals and the business. See Part 2 in our Dawn Raids in Ireland series "Disputes in relation to seized data" for further information on how privileged records are handled after the raid concludes. 
• ● Don’t obstruct. You have an obligation to co-operate fully and actively with CCPC Authorised Officers and EC Officials. You are required to provide accurate information and not to mislead the competition authorities by omission. If you don’t know the answer to their questions, just say so. The EC could fine a business up to 1% of their worldwide turnover if an obstruction has been committed intentionally or negligently. It is not necessary to show that the obstruction had any actual adverse effect on the investigation. Note that the Authorised Officer may request that you disclose your passwords. In Poptoshev v Director of Prosecutions & Ors [2024] IEHC 721, the Irish High Court ruled that the privilege of self-incrimination does not extend to passwords for electronic devices seized under compulsory powers during criminal investigations. 
• ● Don’t destroy evidence. For example, the EC fined International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF) €15.9m because a senior IFF employee deleted WhatsApp messages whilst knowing the company was under a Dawn Raid inspection.  In a local matter, in 2018, the director of Aston Carpets, Mr Brendan Smith was held to have interfered in a search operation conducted by the CCPC. Mr Smith telephoned one of his counterparts in another company during the search, instructing his counterpart to delete various messages. Mr Smith was fined €45,000, received a three-month suspended prison sentence and was disqualified from acting as a Director for five years.
• ● Digital evidence collection: Maintain a single senior IT support point of contact and continuous legal support; have a "bring your own device" policy for usage of private devices such as mobile phones; have appropriate IT staff to assist with passwords, PINS, etc. The CCPC and EC are likely to bring their own forensic IT experts to access and seize or forensically copy relevant data. Nuctech Warsaw Company Limited sp.z o.o. v European Commission is the first ever dawn raid conducted by the EC under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (EU FSR) at the Warsaw and Rotterdam premises of Nuctech, a Chinese-owned supplier of security scanning equipment. The EU General Court ruled in August 2024, that the EC can require companies to provide access to information stored on servers outside the EU during dawn raids under the EU FSR.  The Court found that foreign companies operating in the EU cannot rely on non-EU laws to refuse such requests, emphasising that storing data abroad does not shield it from the EC investigations. Nuctech's arguments about potential violations of Chinese law and risks of reputational or financial harm were rejected, reinforcing the EC's  broad investigatory powers. 
• ● Document everything. Assign staff/external counsel to shadow inspectors, take notes, and duplicate seized materials where possible. Keep a record of all records and data taken by the Authorised Officers. Also note questions asked by Authorised Officers and the staff responses. Post raid, the CCPC will provide a "Site Exhibits Chart" of evidence copied or originals seized, whereas the EC issues a formal inventory of evidence copied.
• ● Don’t tamper with evidence seals. In some Dawn Raids, the competition authorities may secure the premises or part of the premises for later examination.  They usually place a tamper-proof seal over the door or place where records are stored. There could be severe penalties for tampering, as was the case of the energy group E.ON who had to pay a €38m fine for tampering with a seal that EU investigators had put on a door during a Dawn Raid. The records chosen for further review were kept in a room provided by E.ON for the use of EC Officers. The room was secured with a lock, and an official EC seal was placed on the door. Upon the inspectors’ return, they discovered that the seal had been tampered with. 

The EC is empowered to:

● Enter the premises of businesses;

● Examine the records related to the business;

● Take copies of those records; 

● Seal the business premises and records;

● Ask members of staff or company representatives questions relating to the subject-matter and purpose of the inspection and record the answers. 

Under the Competition Act 2022 (as amended), the CCPC is allowed to search private residences, vehicles, and personal devices (e.g., phones and laptops) used for business activities.  Authorised Officers do not have the power to search individuals. 

Please refer to our first article in our Dawn Raids in Ireland series on "Powers of the CCPC" for more information.

● Record: Ensure an accurate record of all records copied or seized as well as the questions asked by the inspectors and the answers provided.

● Debrief Employees: Gather all employees involved in the raid and emphasise the need to keep the event confidential. 

● Rectify any misinformation: Promptly correct any inaccuracies relayed to Authorised Officers and provide answers to any unresolved inquiries.

● Assess the risk and develop a Response Strategy: Formulate a plan to tackle any problems uncovered during the raid and post raid.

● Challenge: Establish whether the business wants to bring any challenge to the inspection or records seized. This should be done as soon as possible.

● Leniency: Consider whether the business should apply for a "marker" under the Irish/EU leniency regime and/or under the Irish Cartel Immunity Programme.