Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
(1) if the Commissioner or any person appointed to assist the Commissioner under sub-section (I) of section 3 authorized in this behalf, upon information received or otherwise, has reason to suspect that a dealer or person is attempting to evade payment of any tax under this Act or abating such evasion, he may, subject to such restrictions and conditions as may be prescribed and after recording his reason in writing for so doing - (a) enter and search any place of business, warehouse or any other place where he has reason to suspect that such dealer or person keeps or is for the time being keeping any accounts, registers, documents or records of his business or any stock of goods for sales or for use in the manufacture or packing of any goods for sale or any money or other valuable article relating to his business (b) seize such accounts, registers, documents or vouchers as may be considered necessary for the purposes of determination of (c) make an inventory of such goods, money or other valuable articles; or (d) seal any room, warehouse, almirah, safe, box or container in which he has reason to suspect that the dealer keeps or is for the time being keeping any accounts, registers, voucher or documents of his business or any stock of goods for sale or for use in the manufacture of packing of any goods for sale or any money or other valuable articles relating to his business (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) the Commissioner or the authorized Officer under sub-section (1) may either before entering and searching or in the course of search of any place of business for warehouse of any dealer or any other place as referred to in clause (a) of subsection (1), if he considers it necessary so to do break open such room warehouse, admirah, safe, box or container as is referred to in Clause (c) of Sub-section (1) (3) The Commissioner or the authorized officer under sub-section (1) may requisition the services of any Police Officer or any other Officer of the State Government or of both to assist him for all or any of the purposes specified in Sub-section (1) or Sub-section (2) and it shall be the duty of every such Officer to comply with such requisition (4) The Commissioner or the authorized officer under Sub-section (1) shall grant a receipt for any of the accounts registers, vouchers or documents seized by him under Sub-section (1) and retain them for such period as may he necessary for examination thereof or for prosecution or for any other purposes of this Act :- Provided that:- (a) The Commissioner shall not retain any of the accounts, registers, documents or vouchers seized by him under sub-section (1) for a period exceeding one year from the date of the seizure unless he records in writing the reasons therefore; and (b) the authorized officer under sub-section (1) or the assessing Officer shall not retain any of the account registers, documents or vouchers seized by him under Sub-section (1) for a period exceeding one year from the date of seizure unless he records his reasons for so doing in writing and obtain the sanction in writing of the Commissioner in that respect (5) Where any hooks of account, other documents, goods, money or other valuable articles or things are or is found in the possession of any person in the course of search, it may be presumed — (i) that such hooks of account, other documents, goods, money or other valuable articles or thing relates or related to a business carried on by such person, (ii) that the contents of such hooks of account and other documents are true, and (iii) that the signature and every other part of such books of accounts or other documents which purport to be in the hand writing of any particular person or which may reasonably be assumed to have been signed by or to be in the handwriting of any particular person are in the handwriting of that person and, in the case of a document stamped and executed or attested by the person by whom it purports to have been so executed or attested. (6) Where any book of accounts other documents, goods, money or other valuable articles or things has or have been taken into custody by any Officer of authority under any other law for the time being in force and the Commissioner is of the opinion, that such hooks of accounts or other documents or the information relating to such goods, money or other valuable articles or things will be relevant for determining the liability to tax of any person, he may require such Officer or authority - (i) to deliver to the assessing officer such books of account other documents forthwith or (ii) to furnish to the assessing officer certified copies of the whole of or extracts of such books of account or documents or certified inventories of such goods, money or other valuable articles or things and thereupon such books of accounts or other documents or the information relating to such goods, money or other valuable articles or things shall he con- sidered to have been obtained in the course of search of made by the Commissioner or the authorized Officer, as the case may be, and the provisions of this Act shall, so for as may be, apply accordingly. (7) The provisions of the be of Criminal Procedure, 1973 relating to search and seizure shall apply, so far as may, be to search and seizure under this section. (8) Restrictions on the movement of goods: No, person shall transport or authorize the transport from any other place whether of a similar nature or otherwise notified in this behalf by the State Government any consignment of such goods as may be specified by the State Government from time to time by notification in the official Gazette exceeding such quantities and excepts in accordance with such conditions as may he specified in such notification with a view to ensuring that there is no evasion of any tax payable under this Act. (9) Maintenance of accounts and other documents: (1) Every dealer liable to pay tax under this Act shall keep at his place of business a true account of the value and quantity of goods purchased or dispatched by him or held in stock and, f the Commissioner considers that such account is not sufficiently clear and intelligible to enable him to make a proper determination of such dealer’s liable to tax, he may require such dealer by notice in writing to keep such account (including the records of purchases, dispatches. sates and stocks) as may be specified therein. (2) The State Government may, by rules framed in this behalf direct any class of dealers generally to keep such accounts (including records of purchases sales and stock) in such manner and such from and subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be specified in such Rules. (3) If a registered dealer (a) sell goods to another registered dealer, or (b) makes sales in the course of inter-State trade or commerce, or (c) sells any goods in any one transaction exceeding in value such amount as may be prescribed in respect of any class or classes of goods or class or classes of dealers he shall, if the value of the goods sold in any one transaction exceeds the prescribed amount issue to the purchase a bill or cash memorandum serially numbered, signed and dated by him or his servant, manager or agent arid showing there in his name and address and such other particulars as may he prescribed and he shall keep a duplicate or copy of such bill or cash memorandum signed and dated. (10) Preservation of Accounts, Documents, etc. All books of accounts, document referred to in sub-section (9) or other documents as may be prescribed by rules in relation to circumstances, conditions and restrictions subject to which a dealer shall have to furnish documentary evidence by way of a declaration in a prescribed form obtained in the prescribed manner or otherwise shall be preserved by the dealer for a period of not less than eight years from the end of the year to which they relate. Power to inspect goods delivered to a carrier or bails: