68. Power to compound offences and to release property liable to confiscation.
(1)The Collector or any Excise Officer specially empowered by the State Government in this behalf, not below the rank of Deputy Collector or Superintendent of Excise-(a)[ may subject to any restrictions imposed by any rules made under clause (k) of section 89, accept from any person whose license, permit or pass is liable to be cancelled or suspended under clause (a), clause (b), or clause (c) of section 42, or who is reasonably suspected of having committed an offence punishable under any section of this Act other than section 61, payment of a sum of money, not exceeding ten thousand rupees, in lieu of such cancellation or suspension or by way of composition for such offence, as the case may be, and] [Substituted by Act 3 of 1974.](b)in any case in which any property has been seized as being liable to confiscation under section 66, may, at any time before the Magistrate has passed an order under section 67, sub-section (1) release the property on payment of any sum not exceeding the value thereof as estimated by the Collector or such Excise Officer.(2)When the payments referred to in sub-section (1) have been duly made, the accused person, if in custody, shall be discharged, and the property seized (if any) shall be released, and no further proceedings shall be taken against such per-son or property.
