67. Power of inspection, search and seizure.––(1) Where the proper officer, not below the rank of
Joint Commissioner, has reasons to believe that––
(a) a taxable person has suppressed any transaction relating to supply of goods or services or both or
the stock of goods in hand, or has claimed input tax credit in excess of his entitlement under this Act or
has indulged in contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder to evade
tax under this Act; or
(b) any person engaged in the business of transporting goods or an owner or operator of a
warehouse or a godown or any other place is keeping goods which have escaped payment of tax or
has kept his accounts or goods in such a manner as is likely to cause evasion of tax payable under this
Act,
he may authorise in writing any other officer of central tax to inspect any places of business of the taxable
person or the persons engaged in the business of transporting goods or the owner or the operator of
warehouse or godown or any other place.
(2) Where the proper officer, not below the rank of Joint Commissioner, either pursuant to an inspection
carried out under sub-section (1) or otherwise, has reasons to believe that any goods liable to confiscation or
any documents or books or things, which in his opinion shall be useful for or relevant to any proceedings under
this Act, are secreted in any place, he may authorise in writing any other officer of central tax to search and
seize or may himself search and seize such goods, documents or books or things:
Provided that where it is not practicable to seize any such goods, the proper officer, or any officer
authorised by him, may serve on the owner or the custodian of the goods an order that he shall not
remove, part with, or otherwise deal with the goods except with the previous permission of such officer:
Provided further that the documents or books or things so seized shall be retained by such officer only
for so long as may be necessary for their examination and for any inquiry or proceedings under this Act.
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(3) The documents, books or things referred to in sub-section (2) or any other documents, books or
things produced by a taxable person or any other person, which have not been relied upon for the issue of
notice under this Act or the rules made thereunder, shall be returned to such person within a period not
exceeding thirty days of the issue of the said notice.
(4) The officer authorised under sub-section (2) shall have the power to seal or break open the door of any
premises or to break open any almirah, electronic devices, box, receptacle in which any goods, accounts,
registers or documents of the person are suspected to be concealed, where access to such premises, almirah,
electronic devices, box or receptacle is denied.
(5) The person from whose custody any documents are seized under sub-section (2) shall be entitled to
make copies thereof or take extracts therefrom in the presence of an authorised officer at such place and
time as such officer may indicate in this behalf except where making such copies or taking such extracts
may, in the opinion of the proper officer, prejudicially affect the investigation.
(6) The goods so seized under sub-section (2) shall be released, on a provisional basis, upon
execution of a bond and furnishing of a security, in such manner and of such quantum, respectively, as
may be prescribed or on payment of applicable tax, interest and penalty payable, as the case may be.
(7) Where any goods are seized under sub-section (2) and no notice in respect thereof is given within
six months of the seizure of the goods, the goods shall be returned to the person from whose possession
they were seized:
Provided that the period of six months may, on sufficient cause being shown, be extended by the
proper officer for a further period not exceeding six months.
(8) The Government may, having regard to the perishable or hazardous nature of any goods,
depreciation in the value of the goods with the passage of time, constraints of storage space for the goods
or any other relevant considerations, by notification, specify the goods or class of goods which shall, as
soon as may be after its seizure under sub-section (2), be disposed of by the proper officer in such manner
as may be prescribed.
(9) Where any goods, being goods specified under sub-section (8), have been seized by a proper
officer, or any officer authorised by him under sub-section (2), he shall prepare an inventory of such
goods in such manner as may be prescribed.
(10) The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), relating to search and seizure,
shall, so far as may be, apply to search and seizure under this section subject to the modification that
sub-section (5) of section 165 of the said Code shall have effect as if for the word “Magistrate”, wherever it
occurs, the word “Commissioner” were substituted.
(11) Where the proper officer has reasons to believe that any person has evaded or is attempting to evade
the payment of any tax, he may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, seize the accounts, registers or
documents of such person produced before him and shall grant a receipt for the same, and shall retain the same
for so long as may be necessary in connection with any proceedings under this Act or the rules made
thereunder for prosecution.
(12) The Commissioner or an officer authorised by him may cause purchase of any goods or services
or both by any person authorised by him from the business premises of any taxable person, to check the
issue of tax invoices or bills of supply by such taxable person, and on return of goods so purchased by
such officer, such taxable person or any person in charge of the business premises shall refund the amount
so paid towards the goods after cancelling any tax invoice or bill of supply issued earlier.
68. Inspection of goods in movement.––(1) The Government may require the person in charge of a
conveyance carrying any consignment of goods of value exceeding such amount as may be specified to
carry with him such documents and such devices as may be prescribed.
(2) The details of documents required to be carried under sub-section (1) shall be validated in such
manner as may be prescribed.
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(3) Where any conveyance referred to in sub-section (1) is intercepted by the proper officer at any
place, he may require the person in charge of the said conveyance to produce the documents prescribed
under the said sub-section and devices for verification, and the said person shall be liable to produce the
documents and devices and also allow the inspection of goods.
69. Power to arrest.––(1) Where the Commissioner has reasons to believe that a person has
committed any offence specified in clause (a) or clause (b) or clause (c) or clause (d) of sub-section (1) of
section 132 which is punishable under clause (i) or (ii) of sub-section (1), or sub-section (2) of the said
section, he may, by order, authorise any officer of central tax to arrest such person.
(2) Where a person is arrested under sub-section (1) for an offence specified under sub-section (5) of
section 132, the officer authorised to arrest the person shall inform such person of the grounds of arrest and
produce him before a Magistrate within twenty-four hours.
(3) Subject to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974),––
(a) where a person is arrested under sub-section (1) for any offence specified under
sub-section (4) of section 132, he shall be admitted to bail or in default of bail, forwarded to the
custody of the Magistrate;
(b) in the case of a non-cognizable and bailable offence, the Deputy Commissioner or the Assistant
Commissioner shall, for the purpose of releasing an arrested person on bail or otherwise, have the same
powers and be subject to the same provisions as an officer-in-charge of a police station.
70. Power to summon persons to give evidence and produce documents.––(1) The proper officer
under this Act shall have power to summon any person whose attendance he considers necessary either to
give evidence or to produce a document or any other thing in any inquiry in the same manner, as provided
in the case of a civil court under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908).
(2) Every such inquiry referred to in sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be a “judicial proceedings”
within the meaning of section 193 and section 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
71. Access to business premises.––(1) Any officer under this Act, authorised by the proper officer not
below the rank of Joint Commissioner, shall have access to any place of business of a registered person to
inspect books of account, documents, computers, computer programs, computer software whether installed in
a computer or otherwise and such other things as he may require and which may be available at such place,
for the purposes of carrying out any audit, scrutiny, verification and checks as may be necessary to safeguard
the interest of revenue.
(2) Every person in charge of place referred to in sub-section (1) shall, on demand, make available to
the officer authorised under sub-section (1) or the audit party deputed by the proper officer or a cost
accountant or chartered accountant nominated under section 66—
(i) such records as prepared or maintained by the registered person and declared to the proper
officer in such manner as may be prescribed;
(ii) trial balance or its equivalent;
(iii) statements of annual financial accounts, duly audited, wherever required;
(iv) cost audit report, if any, under section 148 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013);
(v) the income-tax audit report, if any, under section 44AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961
(43 of 1961); and
(vi) any other relevant record,
for the scrutiny by the officer or audit party or the chartered accountant or cost accountant within a period
not exceeding fifteen working days from the day when such demand is made, or such further period as
may be allowed by the said officer or the audit party or the chartered accountant or cost accountant.
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72. Officers to assist proper officers.––(1) All officers of Police, Railways, Customs, and those
officers engaged in the collection of land revenue, including village officers, officers of State tax and
officers of Union territory tax shall assist the proper officers in the implementation of this Act.
(2) The Government may, by notification, empower and require any other class of officers to assist
the proper officers in the implementation of this Act when called upon to do so by the Commissioner.