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53.
Seizure and confiscation of goods:
1) If any officer authorized under Section 43,
finds any goods in any office, shop, godown, vehicle vessel or any other place
of business or any other building or place of a dealer which have not been
accounted for in the accounts, registers, or other documents maintained in the
course of his business, the officer may, for reasons to be recorded in writing,
seize such goods. The order of seizure on Form 603 shall specify the
description, the quantity and the value of the goods seized. A copy of it
shall be served on the dealer or the person in charge of the goods.
2) Any officer may, if security in cash is
furnished to his satisfaction, order release of goods seized to the owner, and
if he is not present, to the person in charge of the goods pending further
enquiry if necessary. The order of release on Form 604 shall be subject to the
condition that if the goods in question are finally confiscated under sub-rule
(4), they shall be produced within such time as may be required, failing which,
the cash security furnished shall stand forfeited to the State Government
without further notice.
3) In cases not failing under sub-rule (2), if the
whole or any part of the goods, seized under sub-rule (1) are of a perishable
nature, the officer may sell them or get them sold, in public auction as laid
down in sub-rules (8) to (17).
Provided that the notice of fifteen days laid down in sub-rule (9) below shall
not apply to the public auction of goods of perishable nature and in lieu of the
same, the officer shall cause adequate publicity through displaying a notice on
the notice board of his office.
4) Any such officer, after making such enquiry as
he deems fit and after giving the owner of the goods, if he is ascertained, an
opportunity of being heard, may confiscate the whole or any part of the goods
seized, if he is satisfied that there is evasion or an attempt to evade tax
thereon in any manner whatsoever. If the owner is not ascertained even
after the enquiry, the officer shall order confiscation of the goods. A
copy of the order of confiscation on Form 605 shall be served on the owner of
the goods if he is ascertainable.
5) The goods confiscated under sub-rule (4) shall
be sold in public auction as laid down in sub-rules (8) to (17).
6) If, on enquiry, under sub-rule (4), it is
considered by the officer who seized the goods that confiscation is not
warranted in regard to any of the goods seized, or if any order of confiscation
is set aside or modified in regard to any goods, on appeal or revision, such
goods shall be returned to the owner or any other person authorized by him if
they had not be sold in public auction under sub-rule (3) or (5). If they
had already been sold in public auction, the proceeds of the sale less the
expenses incurred in the sale, if any by the State Government, shall be refunded
to the owner of the goods or any other person authorized by him.
7) In case wherein a confiscation order has been
passed in respect of any goods, the owner of which was not ascertainable before
the order is passed, such owner of the goods or any other person on his behalf
may appear before the officer who ordered the confiscation and satisfy him with
relevant records regarding the bonafides of the goods in question and regarding
the reasons for his non-appearance earlier. If the officer is satisfied
that there has been no evasion or attempt at evasion of tax he may order, for
reasons to be recorded in writing, the release of the goods confiscated or if
such goods had already been sold and delivered, the refund of the sale proceeds
of the goods, less the expenses incurred for safe custody of the goods and other
incidental charges. If the officer is not so satisfied, he may after
recording reasons therefore, order that the sale under sub-rule (5) shall be
proceeded with or that the proceeds of the sale already conducted shall not be
refunded, as the case may be.
8) The officer who detained the goods shall cause
to be published in the notice board of his office a list of the goods detained
and intended for sale with a notice On Form 606 under his signature, specifying
the place where and the date on, and the hour at which the detained goods will
be sold in open auction and shall also display copy of such list and notice in
the office of the Commercial Tax Officer having jurisdiction over the place
where the goods were detained.
9) A notice of fifteen days shall be given before
the auction is conducted.
10) Intending bidders shall deposit as earnest money a sum
equal to five percent (5%) of the estimated value of the goods.
11) At the appointed time, the goods shall be put up in one or
more lots, as the officer conducting the auction sale may consider necessary and
shall be knocked down in favour of highest bidder, subject to confirmation of
the sale by the Commercial Tax Officer having jurisdiction over the place where
the goods were detained where the value of the goods auctioned does not exceed
one thousand rupees and by any officer not lower in rank than the Deputy
Commissioner in other cases.
12) The earnest money deposited by the unsuccessful bidders
shall be refunded to them within three days from the date of auction.
13) a) The auction purchasers
shall pay to the officer conducting the auction the sale value of the goods in
cash immediately after the sale and shall not be permitted to carry away any
part of the goods until he has paid in full and until the sale is confirmed by
the authority specified in sub-rule (11).
b) The officer receiving the value of the goods in
cash shall issue a receipt on Form 607 to the person making such payment.
14) Where the purchaser fails to pay the purchase money the
earnest money deposited by the defaulting bidder shall be forfeited to the
Government and the goods shall be resold in the auction. The procedure
prescribed for the first auction shall be followed for conducting the subsequent
auction.
15) If any order directing detention is set aside on appeal or
revision, the goods so detained, if they have not been sold in auction, shall be
released and if they have been sold, the proceeds thereof shall be paid to the
owner of the goods, deducting the expenses incurred from the time a detention of
the goods to the time they were sold in auction.
16) Any person from who tax is due shall on application to the
officer on Form 608 who conducted the sale, and upon sufficient proof, be paid
the sale proceeds specified under sub-rule (13), after deducting the expenses of
sale and other incidental charges and the amount of tax due.
17) The procedure specified in this rule shall apply to give
effect to the orders directing refund on appeal of revision.
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