Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
Pawnbrokers to keep books, give receipts, etc. – (1) Every pawnbroker shall – (a) regularly record and maintain or cause to be recorded and maintained in a pledge book in the prescribed form, an account showing for each pawner separately --- (i) the date of the loan, the amount of the principal of the loan and the rate of interest charged on the loan percent per annum or per rupee per mensem or per rupee per annum; (ii) the amount of every payment received by the pawn broker in respect of the loan, and the date of such payment; (iii) a full and detailed description of the article or of each of the articles taken in pawn. (iv) the time agreed upon for the redemption of the pawn; 504 (v) the name and address of the pawner, and where the pawner is not the owner of the article or of any of the articles pawned, the name and address of the owner thereof; (vi) such other particulars as may be prescribed. (b) keep and use in his business the following documents and books (which shall be in the prescribed form) and enter therein from time to time, as occasion requires, in a fair and legible manner such particulars and in accordance with such directions as may be prescribed : - (i) pawn-ticket; (ii) sale book of pledges; (iii) declaration where pledge is claimed by owner; (iv) declaration of pawn-ticket lost; and (v) receipt on redemption of pledge; (c) give to the pawner or his agent a receipt for every sum paid by him, duly signed and, if necessary, stamped at the time of such payment; and (d) on requisition in writing made by the pawner furnish to the pawner or, if he so requires, to any person mentioned by him in that behalf in his requisition, a statement of account signed by himself or his agent, showing the particulars referred to in clause (a) and also the amount, which remains outstanding on account of the principal and of interest, and charge such sum as the Administrator may prescribe as fee therefor: Provided that no such statement shall be required to be furnished to a pawner if he is supplied by the pawnbroker with a pass book in the prescribed form containing an up-to-date account of the pawnbroker’s transactions with the pawner. (2) All records or entries made in the books, accounts and documents referred to in sub-section (1) shall be either in English or in such language of the locality as may be prescribed; and all such books, accounts and documents and all pledges taken by the pawnbroker shall be open to inspection at any time by the Inspector having jurisdiction. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (Central Act I of 1872), a copy of the account referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (1), certified in such manner as may be prescribed, shall be admissible in evidence in the same manner and to the same extent as the original account. 505 (4) A pawner to whom a statement of account has been furnished under clause (d) of sub-section (1) and who fails to object to the correctness of the account shall not, by such failure alone, be deemed to have admitted the correctness of such account. (5) In the pawn-ticket furnished to the pawner, in the receipt given under clause (c) of sub-section (1) and in the statement of account furnished under clause (d) of that sub-section, the figures shall be entered only in Arabic numerals. 10-A.Pawnbroker to keep pledge in his shop or place of business. – Every pawnbroker shall ordinarily keep every pledge in the shop or place of business for which the licence has been granted. If in any case, the pawnbroker keeps the pledge in any place other than such shop or place of business, he shall, within a period of seven days from the date on which the holder of a pawn-ticket, intimates his desire to inspect the pledge concerned, produce such pledge at the shop or place of business aforesaid for such inspection. 10-B. Appointment of Inspectors and their powers. – (1) The Administrator or any authority or officer empowered by them may, by notification, appoint one or more persons to be Inspectors for the purposes of this Act and specify in such notification the local limits of their jurisdiction. (2) Every Inspector shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (Central Act XLV of 1860). (3) (a) A Magistrate of the first-class may, on receiving a report from an Inspector or from any Police Officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector that --- (i) any person carries on business as a pawnbroker without a licence at any place within the jurisdiction of such Magistrate, or (ii) any pawnbroker carries on business in contravention of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder or the conditions of the licence granted under this Act, at any place within the jurisdiction of such Magistrate, issue warrant empowering the Inspector or, as the case may be, such Police Officer to enter such place with such assistants as he considers necessary and inspect the books, accounts, records, files, documents, sales, vaults and pledges in such premises. On receiving such warrant, the Inspector or the Police Officer may enter the place and inspect the books, accounts, records, files, documents, safes, vaults and pledges in such premises and may take to his office for further investigation such books, accounts, records, files and documents as he considers necessary: Provided that if the Inspector or the police officer removes from the premises any books, accounts, records, files and documents, he shall give to the 506 person in charge of the place, a receipt describing the books, accounts, records, files and documents so removed by him: Provided further that within twenty-four hours of the removal of the books, accounts, records, files and documents from the premises, the Inspector or the police officer shall either return them to the person from whose custody they were removed or produce them in the court of the Magistrate who issued the warrant. Such Magistrate may return the books, accounts, records, files and documents or any of them to the person from whose custody they were removed by the Inspector or the police officer, after taking from such person such security as the Magistrate considers necessary for the production of the books, accounts, records, files and documents when required whether by the Inspector, the police officer or the court or may pass such other orders as to their disposal as appear just and convenient to the Magistrate. (b) An Inspector shall have authority to require any person whose testimony he may require regarding any loan or pledge or any other transaction of a pawnbroker to attend before him or to produce or cause to be produced any document and to examine such person on oath. (4) An Inspector may apply for assistance to an officer in charge of a police station and take police officers to accompany and assist the Inspector in performing his duties under this Act.