Section 102 - Substitution of new sections for section 37A - Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1975

102. Substitution of new sections for section 37A. For section 37A of the Wealth-tax Act, the following sections shall be substituted, namely: 37A. Powar of search and seizure. (1) Where the Director of Inspection or the Commissioner or any such Deputy Director of Inspection or Inspecting Assistant Commissioner as may be empowered in this behalf by the Board, in consequence of information in his possession, has reason to believe that (a) any person to whom a notice under sub-sec lion (4) of section 16 or a summons under section 37 was issued to produce, or cause to be produced, any books of account or other documents, has omitted or failed to produce, or cause to be produced, such books of account or other documents as required by such notice or summons, or (b) any person to whom a notice or summons as aforesaid has been or might be issued will not, or would not, produce, or cause to be produced, any books of account or other documents which will be useful for, or relevant to, any proceeding under this Act, or (c) any person is in possession of any articles or things including money disproportionate to his known assets, particulars of which will be useful for, or relevant to, any proceeding under this Act, then, (A) the Director of Inspection or the Commissioner, as the case may be, may authorise any Deputy Director of Inspection, Inspecting Assistant Commissioner, Assistant Director of Inspection or Wealth-tax Officer, or (B) such Deputy Director of Inspection or Inspecting Assistant Commissioner may authorise any Assistant Director of Inspection or Wealth-tax Officer, (the officer so authorised in all cases being hereafter in this section referred to as the authorised officer) to (i) enter and search any building, place, vessel, vehicle or aircraft where he has reason to suspect that such books of account or other documents, articles or things including money are kept; (ii) search any person who has got out of, or is about to get into, or is In, the building, place, vessel, vehicle or aircraft, if the authorised officer has reason to suspect that such person has secreted about his person any such books of account or other documents, articles or things including money; (iii) break open the lock of any door, box, locker, safe, almirah or other receptacle for exercising the powers conferred by clause (i) where the keys thereof are not available; (iv) seize any such books of account or other documents; (v) place marks of Identification on any such books of account or other documents or make, or cause to be made, extracts or copies therefrom; (vi) make a note or an inventory of any articles or things including money found which, in his opinion, will be useful for, or relevant to, any proceeding under this Act: Provided that where any building, place, vessel, vehicle or aircraft referred to in clause (i) is within the area of jurisdiction of any Commissioner but such Commissioner has no jurisdiction over the person referred to in clause (o) or clause (b) or clause (c) of this sub-section, then, notwithstanding anything contained in section 10, it shall be competent for him to exercise the powers under this sub-section in all cases where he has reason to believe that any delay in getting the authorisation from the Commissioner having jurisdiction over such person may be prejudicial to the interests of the revenue. (2) Where any Commissioner, in consequence of Information in his possession, has reason to suspect that any books of account or other documents, articles or things including money in respect of which an officer has been authorised by the Director of Inspection or any other Commissioner or any such Deputy Director of Inspection or Inspecting Assistant Commissioner as may be empowered in this behalf by the Board to take action under clauses (i) to (vi) of sub-section (1) are kept in any building, place, vessel, vehicle or aircraft not mentioned in the authorisation under sub-section (1), such Commissioner may, notwithstanding anything contained in section 10, authorise the said officer to take action under any of the clauses aforesaid in respect of such building, place, vessel, vehicle or aircraft. (3) The authorised officer may requisition the services of any police officer or of any officer of the Central Government, or of both to assist him for all or any of the purposes specified in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) and it shall be the duty or every such officer to comply with such requisition. (4) The authorised officer may, during the course of the search or seizure, examine on oath any person who is found to be in possession or control of any books of account or other documents, articles or things including money and any statement made by such person during such examination may thereafter be used in evidence in any proceeding under this Act, (5) Where any books of account or other documents, articles or things including money are found in the possession or control of any person in the course of a search, it may be presumed that (i) such books of account or other documents, articles or things including money belong to such person; (ii) the contents of such books of account or other documents are true; and (iii) the signature and every other part of such books of account or other documents which purport to be in the handwriting of any particular person or which may reasonably be assumed to have been signed by, or to be in the handwriting of, any particular person, are in that person s handwriting, and in the case of a document stamped, executed or attested, that it was duly stamped and executed or attested by the person by whom it purports to have been so executed or attested. (6) The books of account or other documents seized under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall not be retained by the authorised officer for a period exceeding one hundred and eighty days from the date of the seizure unless the reasons for retaining the same are recorded by him in writing and the approval of the Commissioner for such retention is obtained: Provided that the Commissioner shall not authorise the retention of the books of account or other documents for a period exceeding thirty days after all the proceedings under this Act in respect of the years for which the books of account or other documents are relevant are completed. (7) The person from whose custody any books of account or other documents are seized under sub-section (I) or sub-section (2) may make copies thereof, or take extracts therefrom, in the presence of the authorised officer or any other person empowered by him in this behalf at such place and time as the authorised officer may appoint in this behalf. (8) Where the authorised officer has no jurisdiction over the person referred to in clause (a) or clause (fa) or clause (c) of sub-section (1), the books of account or other documents seized under that sub-section shall be handed over by the authorised officer to the Wealth-tax Officer having jurisdiction over such person within a period of fifteen days of such seizure and thereupon the powers exercisable by the authorised officer under sub-section (6) or sub-section (7) shall be exercisable by such Wealth-tax Officer. (9) If a person legally entitled to the books of account or other documents seized under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) objects for any reason to the approval given by the Commissioner under sub-section (6), he may make an application to the Board stating therein the reasons for such objection and requesting for the return of the books of account or other documents. (10) On receipt of the application under sub-section (9), the Board may, after giving the applicant an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit. (11) The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) relating to searches shall apply, so far as may be, to searches under this section. (12) The Board may make rules in relation to searches or seizure under this section; and in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for the procedure to be followed by the authorised officer (i) for obtaining ingress into any building, place, vessel, vehicle or aircraft to be searched where free ingress thereto is not available; (ii) for ensuring the safe custody of any books of account or other documents seized. 37B. Power to requisition books of account, etc. (1) Where the Director of Inspection or the Commissioner, in consequence of information in his possession, has reason to believe that (a) any person to whom a notice under sub-section (4) of section 16 or a summons under section 37 was issued to produce, or cause to be produced, any books of account or other documents has omitted or failed to produce, or cause to be produced, such books of account or other documents as required by such notice or summons and the said books of account or other documents have been taken into custody by any officer or authority under any other law for the time being in force, or (b) any books of account or other documents will be useful for, or relevant to, any proceeding under this Act and any person to whom a notice or summons as aforesaid has been or might be issued will not, or would not, produce or cause to be produced such books of account or other documents on the return of such books of account or other documents by any officer or authority by whom or which such books of account or other documents have been taken into custody under any other law for the time being in force, or (c) any articles or things including money disproportionate to the known assets of any person, particulars of which will be useful for, or relevant to, any proceeding under this Act, have been taken into custody by any officer or authority, under any other law for the time being in force, from the possession of such person, then, the Director of Inspection or the Commissioner may authorise any Deputy Director of Inspection, Inspecting Assistant Commissioner, Assistant Director of Inspection or Wealth-tax Officer (hereafter in this section referred to as the requisitioning officer) to require such officer or authority, (i) in a case falling under clause (a) or clause (b), to deliver such books of account or other documents to the requisitioning officer; (ii) in a case falling under clause (c), to furnish a note or an inventory of such articles or things including money to the requisitioning officer. (2) On a requisition being made under sub-section (1), (i) in a case falling under clause (a) or clause (b) of that sub-section, the officer or authority referred to therein shall deliver the books of account or other documents to the requisitioning officer either forthwith or when such officer or authority is of the opinion that it is no longer necessary to retain the same in his or its custody; (ii) in a case falling under clause (c), the officer or authority referred to therein shall furnish the note or inventory to the requisitioning officer within a reasonable period. (3) Where any books of account or other documents have been delivered to the requisitioning officer, the provisions of sub-sections (5) to (12) (both inclusive) of section 37A shall, so far as may be, apply as if such books of account or other documents had been seized under sub-section (1) of that section by the requisitioning officer from the custody of the person referred to in clause (a) or clause (b), as the case may be, of sub-section (1) of this section and as if for the words the authorised officer occurring in any of the aforesaid sub-sections, the words the requisitioning officer were substituted. .