Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
(1) Where any transporter, carrier or transporting agent has— (a) received any consignment of taxable goods from a dealer, -casual dealer, or any other person in West Bengal for transport of such consignment to any place outside, or within West Bengal, or (b) transported into West Bengal any consignment of taxable goods on account of a dealer, casual dealer, or any other person, and the Commissioner has information that such dealer, casual dealer, or person is not in existence at the address given in the way bill, tax invoice, invoice, cash memo, bill, or consignment note or any document of like nature in respect of any consignment of goods referred to in clause (a), or clause (b), the Commissioner may direct such transporter, carrier or transporting agent, by an order in writing, that— (i) the consignment of goods referred to in clause (a) shall not be transported outside, or within, West Bengal, or (ii) the consignment of taxable goods referred to in clause (b) shall not be delivered, till the matter is investigated into by the Commissioner or till a period of fifteen days (excluding Sunday or a public holiday declared under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881) expires from the date of communi- cation of such direction to the transporter, carrier or transporting agent, whichever is earlier. (2) Where the Commissioner after causing an enquiry about the existence of such dealer, casual dealer, person, is satisfied that such dealer, casual dealer, person— (a) is in existence at the address given in the way bill, tax invoice, invoice, cash memo, bill, consignment note or any document of like nature, he shall, forthwith withdraw, by an order in writing, his direction issued under sub-section (1) to such transporter, carrier or transporting agent; or (b) is not in existence at the address given in the way bill, tax invoice, invoice, cash memo, bill, consignment note or any document of like nature, the transport of the consignment of taxable goods by such transporter, carrier or transporting agent, to any place into, or within, or outside, West Bengal, shall be. deemed to be in contravention of the provisions of section 73 or section 81, as the case may be, and the Commissioner shall, after giving such transporter, carrier or transporting agent, a reasonable opportunity of being heard, seize such consignment of goods under section 76."; (54) in section 74,— (a) for the marginal note, the following marginal note shall be substituted:- "Interception, detention and search of goods vehicles, load carried by a person and search of warehouse etc."; "Power of the Commissioner to stop delivery of goods and seizure of such goods. 26 of 1881. 56 THE KOLKATA GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, MARCH 31, 2005 [PART III The West Bengal Finance Act, 2005. (Section 9.) (b) in clause (a), for the words "a road vehicle or river craft or any load carried by a person,", the words "any goods vehicle or any load carried by a person," shall be substituted; (c) in clause (c), for the words "any goods vehicle.", the words "any goods vehicle or any load carried by a person." shall be substituted; (55). in section 75,— (a) in sub-section (1),— (i) for the words, letter, figures and brackets "information under clause (b) of section 102", the words, letters, figures and brackets "information under clause (b) of section 27A" shall be substituted; (ii) for clause (a), the following clause shall be substituted:— "(a) explains to the satisfaction of the Commissioner, the reasons for not disclosing the warehouse or furnishing the information under clause (b) of section 27A,"; (iii) for clause (b), the following clause shall be substituted:— "(b) produces on demand by the Commissioner and explains to his satisfaction that the stock register or any account of stock showing entry of such goods therein and purchase bill, tax invoice, invoice or cash memo, challan or any document of like nature within twenty-four hours or within such time as may be granted to him upon an application made in writing by such dealer."; (56) in section 76,— (a) in sub-section (1), after the proviso, the following provisos shall be added:— "Provided further that the Commissioner may, at the option of the transporter, carrier or transporting agent from whom the goods are seized, in writing, give custody of such seized goods to him in the manner prescribed, and allow him to transport such seized goods up to the warehouse, of such transporter, carrier or transporting agent, in West Bengal as declared by him,on the express conditions that such transporter, carrier or transporting agent, shall keep such seized goods in the said warehouse and that he shall not deliver such seized goods to any person including the consignee or owner of such seized goods so transported by him before the proceedings, if any, initiated against the consignee or owner of such seized goods under section 77 is concluded: Provided also that the Commissioner may take physical possession of such seized goods from the custody of such transporter, carrier or transporting agent, even before the conclusion of the proceedings under section 77 where such transporter, carrier or transporting agent, communicates, in writing, to such authority his difficulty in keeping such seized goods in his custody after the expiry of sixty days from the date of storing of such seized goods in his warehouse."; PART III] THE KOLKATA GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, MARCH 31, 2005 57 The West Bengal Finance Act, 2005. (Section 9.) (b) for sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be substituted:— "(3) If the dealer fails to produce before the Commissioner, the documents referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 75 and fails to satisfy him that the goods found in such warehouse have not been transported in contravention of section 73, the Commissioner shall, for reasons to be recorded in writing, seize the goods and grant a receipt specifying the items of goods so seized."; (c) sub-section (4) shall be omitted; (57) in section 77,— (a) for the marginal note, the following marginal note shall be substituted:— "Penalty for transporting goods in contravention of section 73 or section 81."; (b) for sub-section (1), the following sub-section shall be substituted:— "(1) If any goods are seized under section 76, the Commissioner may, by an order in writing, impose upon the transporter, carrier or transporting agent or any other person from whom such goods are seized to the owner of such goods, where particulars of the owner of such goods are available, or where there is no claimant for such goods at the time of such seizure, any person who subsequently establishes his claim of ownership or possession of such goods, after giving such transporter, carrier or transporting agent or person or owner, as the case may be, a reasonable opportunity of being heard, a penalty of a sum not exceeding fifty per centum of the value of such goods as may be determined by him in accordance with the rules made under this Act: Provided that the sum of penalty that may be imposed under this sub-section shall not exceed— (a) fifteen per centum of the value of goods if the rate of tax leviable under sub-section (2) of section 16 in respect of such goods does not exceed four per centum; (b) thirty per centum of the value of goods if the rate of tax leviable under sub-section (2) of section 16 in respect of such goods exceeds four per centum but does not exceed twelve decimal five zero per centum; (c) fifty per centum of the value of goods if the rate of tax leviable under sub-section (2) of section 16 in respect of such goods exceeds twelve decimal five zero per centum."; (c) for sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be substituted:— "(2) A penalty imposed under sub-section (1) shall be paid by the transporter, carrier or transporting agent or the person or the owner of goods, as the case may be, into an apporpriate Government Treasury, by such date as may be specified by the Commissioner in a notice to be issued for this purpose, and the date so specified shall not be earlier than fifteen days from the date of the notice: Provided that the Commissioner may, upon application made by that transporter, carrier or transporting agent or the person or the owner of goods, as the case may be, for reasons to be recorded in writing, extend the date of payment of the, penalty for such period as he may think fit."; 58 THE KOLKATA GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, MARCH 31, 2005 [PART III The West Bengal Finance Act, 2005. (Section 9.) (d) in sub-section (5), in clause (b), for the words and figures "application for revision under section 85,", the words and figures "application for revision under section 86," shall be substituted; (58) for section 78, the following section shall be substituted:— "Penalty for