Section 220 in Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, 1980
220. Distress.
(1)It shall be lawful for any officer or other employee of the Corporation to whom a warrant issued under this Chapter is addressed to distrain, wherever it may be found in any place in Kolkata, any movable property belonging to the person [liable] [Substituted by section 25(a) ibid, w.e.f. 15.5.1984, for the words "therein named as defaulter" .], subject to the following conditions, exception and exemptions, namely :(a)the following property shall not be distrained :(i)the necessary wearing apparel and bedding of the defaulter, his wife and children and their cooking and eating utensils;(ii)tools of artisans;(iii)books of account.(b)the distress shall not be excessive, that is to say, the property distrained shall be as nearly as possible equal in value to the amount recoverable under warrant, and if any property has been distrained which, in the opinion of the Municipal Commissioner, Should not have been distrained, it shall forthwith be released.(2)The person charged with the execution of a warrant shall in the presence of two witnesses forthwith make an inventory of the property which he seizes under such warrant, [and may put those seized properties in a suitable place in the said premises under lock and key and shall paste a notice in prominent place therein,] [Inserted by West Bengal Act No. 18 of 2016, dated 20.1.2017.] and shall, at the same time, give a written notice in such form as may be specified by the Corporation by regulations to the person in possession thereof at the time of seizure that the said property will be sold as therein mentioned.(3)If there is reason to believe that any property seized under a warrant [under sub-section (2) of section 220] [Substituted by section 25(b) of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) Act, 1984 (West Bengal Act 13 of 1984), w.e.f. 15.5.1984 for of distress issued under section 217.], if left in the place where it is found, is likely to be removed by force, the officer executing the warrant may take it to the office of the Corporation or to any other place appointed by the Municipal Commissioner.(4)[ An Officer or other employee of the Corporation charged with the execution of a warrant, if he has reasons to believe that a building contains property liable to be distrained, may exercise the power of entry into the building in accordance with the provisions of section 546.] [Inserted by section 25(c), ibid, w.e.f. 15.5.1984.]
