Section 79 : Power of inspection, search and seizure – Inspection, Search, Seizure And Arrest

Power of inspection, search and seizure – Inspection, Search, Seizure And Arrest

(1) Where the CGST/SGST 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 and/or services or the stock of goods in hand, or has claimed input tax credit in excess of his entitlement under the Act or has indulged in contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or 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 authorize in writing any other officer of CGST/SGST 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 CGST/SGST 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 authorize in writing any other CGST/SGST officer to search and seize or may himself search and seize such goods, documents, books or things:
PROVIDED that where it is not practicable to seize any such goods, the proper officer 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 proceeding under this Act.

(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 on for the issue of notice under the Act or rules made thereunder, shall be returned to such person within a period not exceeding thirty ays 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, box, receptacle in which any goods, accounts, registers or documents of the person are suspected to be concealed, where access to such premises, almirah, 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 officer of CGST/SGST at such place and time as the authorised 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 aforesaid 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 Central or a State 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 the Central or a State Government may prescribe.

(9) Where any goods, being goods specified under sub-section (8), have been seized by a proper officer under sub-section (2), he shall prepare an inventory of such goods in the manner as may be prescribed in this behalf.

(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 words [Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of CGST/Commissioner of SGST] were substituted.

(11) Where the proper officer has reason 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 such accounts, registers or documents of such person produced before the said officer and shall grant a receipt for the same, and shall retain the same for so long as may be necessary, in connection with any proceeding under this Act or for a prosecution.

(12) The [Commissioner] of CGST/SGST or an officer authorized by him may cause purchase of any goods and/or services by any person authorized by him from the business premises of any taxable person, to check 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.