Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Act, the Bureau may, on information or on its own motion, or on direction given by the State Government or the Commissioner, carry out investigation or make enquiry into any case of alleged or suspected evasion of tax under this Act and, into any malpractices connected therewith. (2) The Bureau may, for the purpose of carrying out any investigation or making any enquiry referred to in sub- section (1), exercise all the powers referred to in section 17. (3) After a case of alleged or suspected evasion of tax has been investigated or enquired into, the Bureau shall send a report thereon to the Commissioner for such action as may be deemed necessary for the levy, collection, assessment and recovery of tax. (4) On receipt of a report, from the Bureau, the Commissioner may required the Bureau to transfer to him any accounts, registers or documents seized by the Bureau and such accounts, registers or documents shall be retained by him for further period, if necessary, subject to the provisions of sub-section (4) of section 17. (5) The Commissioner shall assign such functions of the Bureau to such officers of the Bureau as he may deem fit, and any person appointed under sub-section (2) of section 12 to assist the Commissioner shall, when appointed in the Bureau, be competent to exercise all the powers which are exercisable by such person under this Act and the rules made thereunder. (6) The officers appointed in the Bureau shall have jurisdiction over the whole of West Bengal."; 172 The West Bengal Finance Act, 2001. XVI of 2001.] (Section 8.) (5) for section 15, the following section shall be substituted:— "Accounts. 15. (1) Every employer or person shall keep and maintain a true and up-to-date accounts and documents pertaining to his business, profession, trade or calling along with a true and up-to-date records relating to disbursement of salaries and wages in respect of his employees or workers and in addition to such accounts, documents and records, he shall maintian and keep such registers or accounts in such form as may be prescribed. (2) Every employer or person referred to in sub-section (1) shall keep at his place of work all accounts, registers and documents which may be required by the Commissioner or an Additional Commissioner or any person appointed under sub-section (2) of section 12 to assist the Commissioner for the purpose of inspection under sub-section (2) of section 17, and shall not keep or remove elsewhere such accounts, registers and documents except in accordance with the requirements of law or except for any other purpose for which just cause is shown to the Commissioner or Additional Commissioner or the person appointed under sub-section (2) of section 12 to assist the Commissioner. (3) Where an employer orperson wilfully fails to maintain the books of accounts or other registers or documents as referred to under sub-section (1), or wilfully fails to comply with the requirements of sub-section (2), the Commissioner may, after giving him an opportunity of being heard, impose upon him a penalty not exceeding rupees one hundred for each day of such failure."; (6) in section 16, in sub-section (1), for the words "in writing", the words "in the prescribed form" shall be substituted; (7) in section 17, in sub-section (1), after the words "to produce", the words "and explain" shall be inserted; (8) in section 18, for the proviso, the following proviso shall be substituted:— "Provided that such excess amount shall first be adjusted towards the recovery of any amount due from an employer under the Act or from a person to whom a certificate of enrolment has been issued, and thereafter the balance amount, if any, shall be refunded."; 173 The West Bengal Finance Act, 2001. [West Ben. Act (Section 8.) (9) in section 19,— (a) in sub-section (1),— (i) after clause (a), the following clause shall be inserted:— "(aa) fails to comply with any requirement under sub-section (1), or sub-section (2), of section 6, or "; (ii) after clause (b), the following clause shall be inserted:— "(bb) fails to comply with any requirement under sub-section (1), or sub-section (2), of section 8, or "; (iii) in the proviso, for the words, figures and letters "the 30th day of September, 1992", the words, figures and letters "the 31st day of January, 2002" shall be substituted; (b) after sub-section (6), the following sub-section shall be inserted:— "(7) No prosecution for any offence enumerated hereinbefore in this section shall be instituted in respect of the same facts for which a penalty has been imposed under this Act and no such penalty shall be imposed where a prosecution is instituted under this section."; (10) after section 24, the following section shall be inserted:— "Clearance certificate. 24A. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force,— (a) no Government, local authority, educational institution, corporation or body corporate established by or under a Central or State Act shall place order with, or make purchases of any goods from, any person or make any payment to such person for such purchases, or (b) no Government, local authority, educational institution, corporation or body corporate established by or under a Central or State Act, or company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956, or co-operative society registered or deemed to be registered under the West Bengal Co-operative Societies Act, 1983, shall enter- into any contract with any person for execution by him of such contract and shall make payment to such person for execution of such contract, or - _ I of 1956. West Ben. Act XLV of