(a) Any person may report an apparent violation of the CARS Act or regulations issued thereunder to NHTSA.

(b) NHTSA may independently monitor for violations of the CARS Act or regulations issued thereunder.

(c) When a report of an apparent violation has been received by NHTSA, or when an apparent violation has been detected by any person working for NHTSA, the matter may be investigated or evaluated by NHTSA Enforcement. If NHTSA Enforcement believes that a violation may have occurred, NHTSA Enforcement may prepare a report and send the report to the NHTSA Chief Counsel.

(d) The NHTSA Chief Counsel will review the reports prepared by NHTSA Enforcement to determine if there is sufficient information to establish a likely violation.

(1) The matter may be returned to NHTSA Enforcement for further investigation, if warranted.

(2) The Chief Counsel may close a matter. A matter may be closed if, for example, the investigation has established that a violation did not occur, the alleged violator is unknown, there is insufficient information to support the existence of a violation and little likelihood of discovering additional relevant facts, or the magnitude of the matter is, under the circumstances, including availability of resources, insufficient to be pursued further.

(3) If the Chief Counsel determines that a violation has likely occurred, the Chief Counsel may:

(i) Issue a Notice of Violation to the party, and/or

(ii) In the case of a dealer recommend that the Administrator suspend or revoke registration in the program or in the case of a salvage auction or disposal facility, recommend that the Administrator suspend or revoke participation eligibility in the program.

(4) In the case of either paragraphs (d)(3)(i) or (ii) of this section, the NHTSA Chief Counsel will prepare a case file with recommended actions. A record of any prior violations by the same person or entity, shall be forwarded with the case file.