17. Production and inspection of accounts and documents and search of place of work, etc

(1) Any authority under this Act may, for the purposes of this Act, require any person or any employer to produce and explain before him any accounts or documents relating to his professions, trades, callings or employments, or disbursement of salaries and wages to his employees, as the case may be.

(2) All accounts, registers and other documents, either relating to professions, trades, callings or employments or disbursements of salaries and wages to the employees, as the case may be, shall at all reasonable time be open to inspection by an authority under this Act.

(3) If the Commissioner or an officer appointed under sub-section (2) of section 12 of this Act has reason to suspect that any person or employer is attempting to evade payment of any tax under this Act, he may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, inspect and search any place of work or any other place where the Commissioner or the officer has, upon information received,

reasons to believe that records relating to professions, trades, callings or employments or disbursement  of  salaries  and  wages  to  the  employees  are  being  kept  by  the  person  or  the employer,  as the case may be, and seize such accounts,  registers and documents as may be necessary for determination of tax payable under this Act.

(4) The Commissioner or the officer exercising the power under sub-section (3) shall give to the person in charge of the place of work or other premises searched a receipt describing the accounts, registers and documents seized and removed from such place of work or premises, as the case may be, and shall retain the accounts, registers and documents seized only for so long as may be necessary for the purposes of examination thereof or prosecution:

Provided that such officer shall not retain the registers, accounts and documents seized by him under sub-section (3) for a period exceeding one year from the date of seizure unless he states the reason therefor in writing and obtains sanction in writing from the Commissioner.

(5) The occupant of the place of work or premises searched or some person in his behalf shall, in every instance, be permitted to be present during the search. The receipt referred to in sub-section (4) shall be countersigned by the occupant or any person witnessing the search and seizure.