44. Production, inspection, and seizure of accounts documents and goods and search of premises.
(1)Subject to such rules as may be made by the State Government under this Act, any authority, appointed under sub-section (1) of section 3, may either before or after assessment, require any dealer to produce before it or him any accounts, registers or documents or to furnish any information relating to the financial transactions of the dealer, the profit derived from such transactions and the stock of goods produced, raised, processed, manufactured, bought, sold or delivered by such dealer and the dealer shall comply with such requirement.(2)Subject as aforesaid, all accounts registers and documents relating to the financial transactions of a dealer, the profit derived from such transactions and all goods kept in any place of business of any dealer shall at all reasonable times, be open for inspection by any authority appointed under sub-section (1) of section 3 and the dealer shall render all possible assistance to such authority in carrying out the inspection.Explanation. - Such authority may take or cause to be taken such copies of, or extracts from the accounts, registers or documents as such authority may consider necessary.(3)If any authority appointed under sub-section (1) of section 3 has reason to suspect that any dealer is to evade the payment of any tax or any clearing or forwarding agent or a person transporting goods or any owner of a warehouse or a godown is keeping or has kept his account in such a manner as is likely to cause evasion of tax payable under this Act, such authority may for reasons to be recorded in writing, seize such accounts, registers or documents of the dealer or the clearing or forwarding agent or the person transporting goods or the owner of a warehouse or godown as may be, necessary and shall grant a receipt for the same, such seized accounts, registers or documents shall be retained for so long as may be reasonable necessary for examination thereof or for a prosecution under section 57 and shall thereafter be returned to the person concerned in the prescribed manner;Provided that if the seized accounts, registers or documents are retained by any authority other than the Commissioner for more than one hundred and twenty days, the reasons for so doing shall be recorded in writing and the approval of the Commissioner shall be obtained by the authority so retaining them.(4)For the purpose of sub-section (2) or sub-section (3), any authority appointed under sub-section (1) of section 3 may enter and search any place of business of any dealer.(5)(a)Any authority referred to in sub-section (1) shall have the power to enter into and search any office, shop, godown or any other lace of business or any building or any place of the dealer, or of a Dalal or of an owner of a warehouse, or of a clearing, booking or forwarding agent, or of a person transporting goods or vessels or goods carrier and seize any goods which are found therein but not accounted for by the dealer or that Dalal, or the owner of the warehouse, or the clearing booking or forwarding agent, or the person transporting good in his books, accounts, registers and other documents.Provided that a list of all the goods seized under this sub-section shall be prepared by such officers and be signed by the officer, the dealer or the person in-charge of goods or the person in-charge of the premises, and not less than two witnesses.(b)The authority referred to in clause (a) shall, in a case where the dealer or the person in-charge of goods as mentioned in clause (a), fails to produce any evidence or satisfy the said authority regarding the proper accounting of goods, impose a penalty, after giving an opportunity of being heard in the prescribed manner to the dealer or such person which shall be equal to three times the amount of tax calculated on the value of such goods and the goods shall be released as soon as the penalty is paid.(c)If the dealer or the person in-charge of goods as mentioned in clause support of proper accounting, the authority referred to in clause (a) shall release the goods on the condition that the dealer or such a person deposits a security equivalent to three times the amount of tax calculated on the value of the goods.(d)If penalty imposed under clause (b) is not paid forthwith or no security is furnished as provided in clause (c) or the goods are not clcimed by any person, the authority referred to in clause (a) shall arrange for the safe custody of the goods.(e)In case the penalty imposed under clause (b) is not paid or the goods remain unclaimed for a period of fifteen days from the date of seizure, the goods so, seized shall be sold by auction in the prescribed manner and the sale proceeds shall be appropriated towards the amount of penalty imposed under clause (b); the balance of the sale-proceeds if any, shall be deposited in the Government Treasury and shall be refunded to the lawful claimant in the prescribed manner.(f)In a case where the goods have been released on the deposit of a security as mentioned in clause (c) and evidence regarding proper accounting of goods to the satisfaction of the authority referred to in said clause (a) is not produced within fifteen days from the date on which security is deposited, the amount of security shall stand forfeited to the State Government. If, however, evidence or document to the satisfaction of the authority mentioned in clause (a) regarding the proper accounting of goods is produced within the said period of fifteen days, the security shall be released and the amount shall be refunded in the prescribed manner.(6)(i)The Power conferred by sub-sections (4) and (5) shall include the power to break open the lock or door of any box or receptacle or any other place or premises where any accounts, registers or other documents or goods may be kept or are reasonably suspected to be kept.(ii)The power conferred by sub-clause (i) shall also include the power to seal any box or receptacle, godown or building where any accounts, registers or other documents or goods may be kept or are reasonably suspected to be kept.(7)An authority appointed under section 3 may require the assistance of any public servant or police officer in making search and seizure or for safe custody of goods seized under the section and such public servant or police officer shall render necessary assistance in the matter.
