23. Inspection of accounts or records.—If the Central Government has, for any reason, to be
recorded in writing, any ground to suspect that any provision of this Act has been or is being, contravened
by—
(a) any political party; or
(b) any person; or
(c) any organisation; or
(d) any association,
it may, by general or special order, authorise such gazetted officer, holding a Group A post under the
Central Government or such other officer or authority or organisation, as it may think fit (hereinafter
referred to as the inspecting officer), to inspect any account or record maintained by such political party,
person, organisation or association, as the case may be, and thereupon every such inspecting officer shall
have the right to enter in or upon any premises at any reasonable hour, before sunset and after sunrise, for
the purpose of inspecting the said account or record.
24. Seizure of accounts or records.—If, after inspection of an account or record referred to in
section 23, the inspecting officer has any reasonable cause to believe that any provision of this Act or of
any other law relating to foreign exchange has been, or is being, contravened, he may seize such account
or record and produce the same before the court, authority or tribunal in which any proceeding is brought
for such contravention:
Provided that the authorised officer shall return such account or record to the person from whom it
was seized if no proceeding is brought within six months from the date of such seizure for the
contravention disclosed by such account or record.
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25. Seizure of article or currency or security received in contravention of the Act.—If any
gazetted officer, authorised in this behalf by the Central Government by general or special order, has any
reason to believe that any person has in his possession or control any article exceeding the value specified
in sub-clause (i) of clause (h) of sub-section (1) of section 2 or currency or security whether Indian or
foreign, in relation to which any provision of this Act has been or is being, contravened, he may seize
such article or currency or security.
26. Disposal of seized article or currency or security.—(1) The Central Government, may, having
regard to the value of article or currency or security, their vulnerability to theft or any relevant
consideration, by notification, specify such article or currency or security which shall, as soon as may be
after their seizure, be disposed of by such officer and in such manner, as the Central Government may,
from time to time, determine after following the procedure hereinafter specified.
(2) The article or currency or security seized shall be forwarded without unnecessary delay to such
officer as may be specified.
(3) Where any article or currency or security has been seized and forwarded to such officer, the
officer referred to in sub-section (1), shall prepare an inventory of such article or currency or security
containing such details relating to their description, value or such other identifying particulars as the
officer referred to in that sub-section may consider relevant to the identity of the article or the currency or
security and make an application to any Magistrate for the purposes of certifying the correctness of the
inventory so prepared.
(4) Where an application is made under sub-section (2), the Magistrate shall, as soon as may be, allow
the application.
(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872) or the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), every court trying an offence under this Act, shall treat the
inventory, as certified by the Magistrate, as primary evidence in respect of such offence.
(6) Every officer acting under sub-section (3) shall forthwith report the seizure to the Court of Session
or Assistant Sessions Judge having jurisdiction for adjudging the confiscation under section 29.
27. Seizure to be made in accordance with Act 2 of 1974.—The provisions of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 shall apply in so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act to all
seizures made under this Act.