The Assam Purchase Tax Act, 1967

ASSAM ACT XIX OF 1967
The 26th October 1967
No.LJL /16/67/11.- Th e following Act of the Assam Legislativ e Assem­
bl y whi ch r eceived the assent of the Pre sident is hereby publi shed (or general
informa tion.
(Received the assent of the President on the 21st October , 1967)
TH E ASSAM PURCHASE T AX.. ACT . 19l} !
[Pub lished in the Assam Gazeue, Extraordi nary, dat ed the 26th Oc tober, 196 7J
An
Act
to provide for the levy of tax on the purchase of raw jute and
raw hides and skins in As s a m .
Prea mble Whereas it is necessary to make an add ition to t he
rev enue of Assam and for that purpose to impos e
a tax on p urch ases of raw jute and raw hides and
skins in Assam ;
It is hereby enacted in the Eighteenth Year of the
Republic of India as follows:-
Short title,
extent an -t
commence­
ment.
l , t!) Thi s Act may be called the Assam Purchase
Fax Act, 1967 .
(2) It extends to the whole of Assam.
(3) It sh all com e into force on s uch date as the
St :ltc G ',vern me nt may, by notific a tion 111
the official Gazette. appoin t.
' - -
2
Definitions. 2. In this Act, unless ther e is anything rep ugnant in
the subj ect or conte xt-
e1) "Board" mean s the A ssam Board of Revenue Assam
constituted under the Assam Board of Re- ~~
venue Act, 1962; .
(2) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of
Taxes appointed under section 4 ;
(3) "Dealer" means an occupier of a jute mill
or a purchaser.
ExpJanation.- The manager or agent of a de aler
who resides outsid e the Sta te and carri es o n th e bu si ­
ness of buying raw j ute or raw hide s a nd skins in the
State shall , in respect of such business , be de emed to
be a dealer for th e pur poses of this Act ;
(4) "jut e" means the fibre of the plan t kn own
Lota nica llv as belonging to th e GE :'-J US COR ·
CHORUS, and include s all th e specie s of the
GENUS whether known commonly as " PAT ",
"KOSTA", ' -NALIA" or bv any na m e, and also
means the pla nt known botani cally as i i IBI SCU S
CAUNABINUS and commonly kno wn a s " M EST A " ;
(5) 'Jut e-mill" m eans a factory as defined in , or Act 63 01
declared to be a factory under the Factori es Act, 19-t8 1948.
which is engaged wholly or in part in th e manu fac-
ture of jute products;
(6) "occupier of a jute-mill" m eans the person
who has ultimat e control over the affa irs of the
jute-mill :
Prov'ded that where the affair s of a jute -mill are
entrusted to a managi ng agent , such agent shall be
deemed to be the occupier of the j u te mill ;
(7) "pre~cribed" means prescribed by rule s ma de
under this Act;
(8) "person" means any individual, or association
or body of individuals, and includes a Depa rtment of
Government, a Hindu undivided or join t family , a
firm and a company , whether incorporated or not :
(9) "quintol" mean" the weight equ ivalent to Act 89 of
one hundred Kilograms as defined in the Standard 1956.
of Weights and Measures AC1, 1956 ;
t10) "quarter" means a period of three months
ending on 31st March , 30th Jun e, 30th Septemb er or
31st December in any year;
(1l) "raw jute" means the fibre of jute which has
not :been subjected to any process of sp innin g or
weaving and includes jute cutting s, wh eth er loose or
packed in drums or bales ;
(12) "purchas er-" means any person who pur chase s
raw jute or raw hides an d skin s and sup pl ies it h im self
Of by an agen t to any person including him self
outside the State;
(13) "St ate" means the State of Assam;
(\4) "Section" means a section of thi s Ar.t;
(b) R aw Hides and Skins
(is) "Taxa ble goods" means such goods as are
specified in sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Ac t ;
avd .
(16) .('Ye ar" m eans the financia l year;
(17) ' Ret urn peri od" me ans the period pr cscr.bed
under sectio n 7 (1).
Lev yof Tax, 3. (1) Except as other wise expressly provided in
this A ct, there shall be levied and collected from
every deal er a t ax on th e purcha ses of Raw Jut e and
R aw Hides a nd Skins at rates as m 'ly be specified in
the ann ual Assam Finance Acts :
Provided th at for the year endin g on th e 31st day of
March, 1 968, the rates shall be as specified below: -
(a) Raw J ute Rupees five per
quiutcl ,
Rupees three per
quintol.
Provided further that the State Gov ernment may, by
notificati on in the o fficia l G azette , grant a rebate
.- nu t exceeding one per centum of the tax subject tu
such condi tions as m ay b e specified therein.
(2) No tax shall he leviab le under th is Act on the
taxable good s in r espect of which such tax has already
f' been paid :
Provided that the burden of proving that such
tax has a lready b een p aid, shall be u pon the per­
son who claim s the benefit of this sub-section.
T xing au- 4. (1) The State Govern ment may, for carrying
tl. orit ies. out th e pur poses of this Act, appoint a Commis­
sioner of T axes, and such other person s to assist
him a s t hey think fit.
(2) Persons app ointed under sub-section (1) shall
exercise s uch po wers as may be conferred and per­
form su ch d uties as m ay be r equi red by, or under
this A ct.
(3) All p ersons a ppoin ted under sub-section (1) A XLV f
shall be dee med to be public servants within the l~JO. 0
meanin g of se ction 21 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
l\ e ~ i stla' i on . 5. (1) N o d eale r shall, while being liable to pay
tax under the provisions of this Act, carryon
business a s a dealer unl ess he has bee n registered
and possesses a certificate of registration .
(2) Every dea ler req uired by sub- section (1)
to b e registered shall apply for registration to the
Commissioner in th e prescribed manner, and obtain
a certificate of r egistration .
(3) On receipt of an application under sub­
se ;tion (2), the Commissioner shall, if he is satisfi­
ed afte r such enquiry as may be deemed necessary
that the application is in order, register the ap­
plicant .
>---- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _--::;;;---
4: \,--
. (4) The Commis sioner may, In addition to tak­
ing a n y o th er action' unde r the provi sions of this
Act, r equir e any d ea ler w ho, i n his opinion , is
liable to regis tration but has n ot made an ap­
plicat ion i n this behalf, to appl y for registration
and regis ter h im . T he Comm ission er shall register
a dealer w ho fails to apply for regist ration within
a speci fied time:
Provid ed tha t no action und er this sub-section
sha ll be ta ken unless th e Commis sioner has given
notice to t he d eal er of his intention so to do and
has allo wed a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
(5) The Commissioner shall register any dealer
who ha s been convicted under section 26 or has
paid composition money und er section 29
In r espect of any co ntravention of sub-section (J)
of this section .
(6) R egistration made under sub-section (4) or
sub-section (5), shall t ake effect as if these had
been mad e on th e dealer's application under su b­
section (2).
\~e l l i 'i ca t e of 6. ( I) A deale r r egister ed under section 5 shall
·~gi s t r a t i c n . be g ran ted a c ert ificate of registrati on in such form
as ma y he prescr ibed.
:2) T he Commissioner may, on pe tition 01
o the rwise , canc el a t an y time an y cer tificate of re­
gist ra tion if h e is sa tisfied t hat-
(a) the b usiness in respect of which the certi ­
ficate was i ssued h as b een discontinued or
transferred, or
lb ) the liability to pay tax in re spect of such
business has teased under this Act.
.{ e l, r ns.
7. (I) Ever y registered dealer shall furni sh returns
of taxable goods purchased in such forms, in such
period and inter vals and to such authority as may be
prescri b ed.
(2) In case of any other dealer who, in the
opinion of the Commissioner, is liable to pay tax
for any r eturn pe riod or part ther eof, the Commis­
sioner may serve in that year a notice in the
prescrib ed form upon him requiring him to furnish
a return of t axable goods purchased and such dealer
shall the reupon furnish the return within the period
and to the a uthority mentioned in the notice.
(3) If any dealer discovers any omission or
other error in any return furni shed by him , he may
furnish a rev ised return at any tim e b efore assessment
is made o n the original re turn :
~'---~~--------------------------------------
Provided that no return submi tt ed un der this
section shall be v alid unless it is a ccompani ed by &
tre asury receipt showing payment of the tax due a ~
'provided in sub -secti on (2) Or sub-secti on (3), a s the
case may be, of section 20.
Assessmen t. 8. (L) If the Commissione r is satisfi ed that a return
furnished by a dealer under section 7 in respec t of
any quarter is correct and complete, he shall, b y a n
order in writing , assess the dealer and det ermine the
tax payable by him on the basis of such return .
(2) If the Commissioner is not sati sfied that a
return furni shed under section 7 i s correct and
co mplete, he s hall ser ve on th e d ealer a no tice,
requiring him , on the da te and the hour and pl ace
specified therein, either to att end in person or to
produce or cause to be prod uced any evid ence on
which he may rely in su pport of his return.
(5) On the day specified in the not ice, unde r
sub- section (2) "1' as so on afterward s as may be, t he
Comm issioner. after hearing such evide nce as the
dealer may produce and such oth er evidence as
the Commissioner may require, shall, by an ord er in
writing, assess the dealer and determine the tax pa ya­
ble by him on the basis of such ass essm ent .
(4) If a d eal er fail s to make a re turn as required
by sub-s ection (1) or sub-sect ion (2) of s ection 7, as
the case may be, or havin g m ade the : return, fails to
comply with all the terms of the notic e issued unde r
sub-section (2) of thi s section , the Commiss ioner
shall, by a n order in writing, a ssess to the best of his
j udgm ent the dealer, a nd determine the t ax pay able
by him OIl the basis of such assessment :
Provided that before making the assessment, th e
Commissi oner may allow the de aler such further
time as he th inks 6 t to make the return or to com ply
with the terms of the notice issued under sub-section
(2) of this s ection.
Cancelt ation 9. Where a dealer, in the case of an assessment
ol assess- complet ed under sub-s ecti on (4) of section 8,
r- ent, sati sfies the Commissioner within one month from the
date of issue of a notic e of d eman d as h erei nafte r
provid ed, that he w as pr event ed by sufficien t cause
from m aking the retu r n req uired by s ection 7, or
tha t he did not receive the notic e issue d under sub ­
section (~) of section 7 or sub-section (2) of section 8,
or that he had not , a reasonabl e opportunity to
com p ly, or was prevented by sufficient cause from
comp lying with the terms of the notice, the
Commissioner may canc el the assessment and mak e a
fresh ..ssessment in accordan ce with the provi sions of
,ecti oD 8.
c:;:;,:_
.ASJ essment 10. (I) If in conseque nce of definite information
In C<l;ses ofd whic h has com e into his possession, the C ommissione r
eva sion an. • fi d h d I I h I " bles caoe IS sati s e t at any ea er , t ioug i a e to pay tax
I ' in respe ct of a ny q uar ter, has n everth eless failed to
a pply for r egist rati on and t o make the return require d
of him, or th at any taxable goods cha rgeable to
tax have e scap ed assessme nt in allY quar ter or h ave
been under asse ssed , the Co m m issione r ma y, at any
time within eight yea rs of th e expiry of that quarter,
serve on th e d ealer lia ble to pay tax a notic e, req uir­
ing him to furnish wit h in such per iod as m ay be
ment ion ed in the notice, a r eturn of taxable goo ds
purcha sed in the prescribed form and may proceed
to assess or r e-a ssess th e d eal er and the provisions of
thi s Act shall , so far as m ay be, apply accordingly :
Provid ed t ha t the tax shall be ch arg ed a t the
rate at which it wo uld have ord in ar ily been charged ,
had there bee n no esca pe or eva sion .
(2) The Commissione r may authoris e any
perso n appo int ed un der section 4 to as sist him in
invest igat ing a ny c ase or points in a case at any
stage and to mak e a report thereon 10 the Com rnis­
sion er or any pr escribed autho rity i n resp ect of all or
any of the assessmen ts made in rel ation to t he case in
order to preven t the evas ion of tax . After considerin g
the report of the i nve stigatin g officer th e Commis.
sion er may pro ceed to t ake acti on und er sub -section (1)
b esides i ni ti ating a ny o ther action under this Act
against the deale r conc ern ed .
l<eClir.ca- 11. (1) T he authority which made an assessme nt
tion of or passed an order on app eal or revision in r espe ct
as .essment, there of may , at any tim e within three years from th e
date of such assessment or or der and of his own
motion, rectify any mist ake appar ent from th e
record of the ca se, and shall, within the like p erio d,
recti fy any su ch mis take as has been brou gh t t o its
notice by a dealer :
Pro vided t hat no su ch rec tification shan be made
ha ving the effec t of e nhanc ing the assessment unless
the authori ty c oncer n ed has gtven notice to the
deale r of its intention so to do and h as allow ed him
a reasonable opp ortunity 0 1 being heard.
(2) Wh ere any such rectifi cation has the effect
of reducing the assessment, a refund sha ll be d ue to
the d eale r.
(3) Where any such rectification has th e effect
of enhan cing th e assessment, a no tice of demand sha ll
be iss ued for th e sum payable.
7
(a) ha s, wi th out reas on able cause , failed to furni sh
the re turn which he w as required to fu rnish und er
sect ion 7 or secti on 10 Or has, with o ut reasonab le
cau se, failed to f urn ish it within the time a llowed and
in t he man ne r requir ed ; or
(b) h as, wi tho ut reasonabl e ca use, fai led to com ply
with a not ice under sub-sect ion (2) of secti on 8 ; Or
Penalty 12. (1) If the
f,, ~' non-s ub- proceedi ng under
rrussion of ..J 1
r et r.rn and t.ea er-
evasiin of
tax es,
Co mmi ssione r, i n the cours e of any
thi s Act, is sati sfied th at any
(c) h as c-onceal ed the parti cul ars o f taxab le goods
purch ased or deliberately fu rni shed inacc urate p ar­
I icu lars of such purcha ses ; or
(d) has eva ded in any way the liabili tv to pa y tax,
he may dir ect t l:at such deale r sha ll ray b y way o f
p enalty, in ad dition to th e tax pay ab le b y him , a
sum not e xceed ing on e and h alf o f that amount .
(2) No order under sub-s ect ion (I) shall be marle
unl ess the d ealer has be en lv ard Or has been gi ven
a reasona b le o ppo rt -. nity of being he ard.
(3) No penalt y under this sc ction sha ll be im posed
by an officer ap po inted to assist the Comm issioner
wit hou t the pr evious sancti on of the Com m ission er .
vssrssme n r 13. An y as sessme nt m ad e under 'his Act shall be
ric/to bar wit hout prej udice t o any pr osecution or penal ty
pr csecu l i ~lDS in sti tut ed or im posed un der t he prov isio ns of this
or pe nalties . Act.
Tax of de' 14.(1 ) Wh ere a dealer d ies after assessment hut
ceased pay- before pay ment of the tax, his executor, ad m inistra­
ab le by .re. to r or othe r l egal rep resentati ve s hall be liable to pa y,
pre sentat ive. out of the estate of the d eceased, to th e extent to w hich
c it is capa ble of m eetin g the ch a rge, the tax assessed
as payable by such de al er.
(2) Wher e a dealer di es without h avi ng furn ished
th e return requir ed by sect ions 7 or 10 or a fter havin g
furnished the return hut before assessment , th e
Commission er may proceed to m ake an assessment
and det ermine the lax paya ble by the de ceased; and
for this purp ose he may req uire th e execu tor , a drni ­
ni str ator Or oth e- r legal rep resen ta tive, as the case
may b e, of the deceased to pe rform all or any of the
o bliga tions whic h he mi ght , under the provi sions of
thi s Act, h ave requ ired the deceas ed to pe rform
The t ax thus d eterm ined shall be pay abl e by the
exe cutor, administ rator Or other legal re presen ta tive
of the deceased, to the exte nt to whic h the estate of
the deceased is capa ble of meeting th e charge.
3
Tax when 15. Whe n the busine ss or stock of a :registered
payable by de ale r passes o n to any per son or persons, whethertransferee .
by sale, i nheritanc e, gift, possessions or otherwise,
th e lia b ility t o p ay any tax payab le in respect of any
purchase of tax able goods a nd r emaining unpaid at
th e tim e of such passing on shall be jointly and
severa lly o n the dea ler an d such person or pers ons and
such person or pers ons shall , within 30 days of such
p assing on, app ly for r egistr atio n u nder section 5.
Assessment 16.(1 ) Not withst anding an ythin g c ontained in this
of dea lers Act, if it appea rs to th e C om missioner durin g any
lik ely to Cur rent retu rn p erio d tha t any de al er is lik ely to
transfe r as - h 11 f d' f herwiets to a id c ange, se , trans e r, ispose 0 or ot erwise part
~ax . V OL with any of his assets with a view t o avoid ing pay-
ment of any liabi lity under the pro visions of this Act
th e purch ases of tax able goods of such de aler for the
per iod from the expir y of the pr evious re turn period
to the da te when the Commi ssioner commences pro .
ceed ings unde r this secti on shall be c ha rge able to l ax
in th at period,
Lia bili ty
Agen t
n on- resie
d ent s.
of
(2) For thc purpos e of making an assessment under
sub-s ect ion (1), the Gom missioner rna} serve a n oti ce
upon such dea ler requ iri ng him to furni sh, wit hin
such p eriod as may be specified in the no tice, a
re turn in the ma nner and forrn in which a re turn under
section 7 is f urnsh ed .
of 17. W here the bu siness III respec t of wh ich . tax
of is payable un der t his Act is owned by a non- reside nt
pe rson . the ta x shal! h e levied upo n and recover­
able from t he ag en t of such non -reside n t p erson i n
like manne r an d to the sarno ext ent a s i t would
he levia ble u j.on and recov erab le f rom the owner
if h e were reside nt in the State an d conduct ing
th e business th erein ; md a ll the provi sions of this
Act shall apply acco rd ingly.
of 18. Wh ere th e bus iness carr ied o n by a firm or
an association of persons , other tha n a compan y as Act I
defined in the I ndi an Companie s A ct, 1 956, a nd 1956.
in respect of which tax is payab le u nd er t h is Act,
is discontinued o r t he assoc iation of p ersons is dis­
solved ; the tax shall be levied upon an d r ecovered
from , joi ntly a nd s everally, e ver y. person who , at
the time of suc h disconti nuance or d issolution , was
a par tner of su ch firm or membe r of such associa­
tion ; a nd all the pro visions of this Act shall
a pply ac cordingly.
Not ice of 19. When any tax Of pen alty o r oth er due s is
d emand, or are paya ble in conse quen ce of an y ord er p assed
und er or i n p ursu anc e o f this A ct th e Commi ., ~i o ner
sha ll serve upon t he person liable to pay SU C11 tax
or pe na lty or other d ues a notice of dema nd in
the prescri bed form spe cifying the sum so pa yable.
Lia bili tv
di scon t i­
aued fi rm
o r as' o ~ ia ­
t ion ,
t'u: when 20. (1) Tax payabl e u nder thi s Act sha ll b e paid
payable. in the manner herein after provi de d .
(2) Before any regist ered d ea ler furn ishes the
retu rn required by sub-secti on (1) of secti on 7, he
shall in the prescri bed mann er , pay in to a G ove rn­
me nt t reasur y th e f ull am ou nt of t ax due f rom
him under this Act 011 the basis of suc h ret urn ,
and shall furnis h a long wi th the return a receipt
fi orn such tr easu ry show ing payme nt of s uch ta x.
(3) Where a revi sed return is sub mit ted b y a
regist er ed deal er u nder su b-section (3) of section 7,
and if the r evised return sh ows a g r ea ter am ou nt
of tax t o b e d ue than was pay able 0 11 the basis
of the orig in al retur n, the dea ler sh all pay the excess
amount of tax in the ma nner provi ded in su b-section
(2) and shall f urnish along with the re vised return
a recei p t in toke n of paym ent of such e xc ess tax.
(4) TIle amount 01 tax due und er the pro­
visions of thi s Ac t :-
(a) in e xcess of payme nt already mad e under
sub -secti ons (2) a nd (3) , or
(b) whe re no payment has been made, shall
be paid b y the deal er by s uch da te as
may be sp ecified, i n t he not ice of demand
and , where n o suc h d ate is spec ified , it
sha ll be paid w ithi n thir ty da ys from
the dat e of service o f the notice,
IDterC31 pay~ 21. ( 1) If any registered ~ de aler do es n ot pay
dbJe by into a Go vern men t t reasury the full amount of tax
es'er, due from him und er this Act on the basis of th e
return or his a cco u n tb ooks within the p rescribed date,
simple inter est a t the rate of six per cen t p er an­
num from the first day of th e mo nth next following
the said da te shall be p aya ble by the dealer upon
the amount by wh ich the tax so paid falls short
of the amou nt o f tax pa yable as per his return or
account books.
If such a mou nt of tax a nd in tere st are not paid
within thir ty days fro m the da te from whi ch the:
int er est is du , si mpl e interest upto a maximum
of 24 per cent shall be payab le as may be pres­
cribed.
(2) W!: ere on m ak ing ~ t he assess ment, the Corn­
missioner finds tha t a dea ler has not main­
tained the accou nt bo oks properl y and there­
by h e ha s s uppres sed the nurchase of
10
goods In an y peri o..., the Comm issione r may direct
him to lJay inte rest as prescribed in su b-sec tion (1).
11 the amou nt of tax pa yable under the Act has been
red uced i n appeal or rev ision , the ir teres t may be
ca lcula ted on the red uced amount.
(3) If any J egistered dea ler do es not p ay i n to the
Go verrua en t tr easu ry th e amou nt of tax with in the
date ii" provide d in sub -section (t) 01 section 21) or
any inst alment 01 the tax withi n the exte nde d nat e as
per prov iso to sub- ection (I) of section 23 o f the Act,
ir te Sl as prov ided ii sub-section (I) shall be payabl e
from l' c fir st day of the m on th next following the s aid
da te bv the d ealer up on the a mount by w hic h th e tax,
jf any, p .id fa lls shor t f he amount of tax paya b le
un der the Act.
Other <l ees 22. Any due s, oth er han the amoun t of ta x, payab le
when pa yas under t his Act sh al] be p aid by the person con cerned by
ble.! suc h d at e am,' b : epcc ified ill the notice of dem and
and wh ere no such d a le j ~ i l ecified, i t s ha ll Le paid
wit hi n thirty d.cys from the da te of the servic e of the
not ice.
Mode.) f re­
'iQvely. ~ 3 . (1; lethe em and in r espect of' any dues under
this Act is 1I0t pa d on or b efore the da te spec ified as
a foresaid, t h e de aler sha ll be deemed to b e in defa ult :
Provided th a t tr c Commi ssioner may , in r esp ect of
any particu lar cl ai er and for r easons to b e recorde d in
writi ng, e xtend the Gat. of p ayme nt o f t he dues or
allow su ch rl- alrr I • pay the same by instalm en ts and
in that cast. h- 'c,lle r sh all not be deem ed to be in
d efau lt.
."
"
(2) Whe re a deale r is ill defau lt, the Co mmissioner
may, in his discret ion, dir ect th at, in ad dition t o the
amount du e, a s um no, cxceerlin , th at amo unt sh all be
recovered fr ..m t he defau lter by \vay of pena lty .
(3) Wher e a dea ler is in de fa u lt ,the Comm issioner
may ord er that the amount due shall be reco vera ble
as an arrear of land revenue and m ay proceed to rea ­
lise the amount due as such.
Refunds, 24, The Commis sion er shall. in the prescri bed man-
ner, refund toa de aler any sum paid b y such dealer in
excess o f th e sum due from him under this Act, either
b y cash paym ent o r at the op tion of the dea ler by set
off "ag ainst the sum due f rom h im in resp ect of any
othe r period.
RcmiHloa. 2.5. The Sta te Gov ernm nt, for good a nd sufficie nt
rea sons to be rec orded in writ ing, m ay remit the
whol e or part of the amount of the tax or pen a lty
paya ble in respect o a ny period by an y reg istere d
dealer .
11
Offences and 26 , i\ny person w ho­
penalties ,
(1) while bei ng liable to p ay taa under the pro­
visions of this Ac t fails to register him self
as a dealer as r equired und er section 5; or
fails, witho ut reasonab le caus e, to submit in
due time an y return as req uir ed by or unde r
the p rovisions of this Act or submits a fal se
return ; or
(3)
(4)
fai ls, when required by o r under the pro ­
visions of this Act, to k eep accounts and
r ecords of purch ases of taxable goods ;
or
fails, when required by or under the pro vi­
sions of this Act, to produce any accounts ,
evidenc e o r documents or to furn ish any
i nfor matio n ; o r
(5) knowi ngly produces incorre ct accou nts,
registers or documents , or know ingly
furn ishes incorrect inform a tion ; or
(6) fraud ulen tly or wilfully evades the payment
of any tax due under this A ct, or co nceals
his l iability to such tax; or
(7) fail s to pay within th e t ime allow ed, any
tax assessed or any pe nalty levied on him ;
or
(8) fails or neglect s to com ply with a ny re­
quir ement made of him under th e pro­
vision s of this Act ; or
(9) prevent s or obstructs inspection or entry
by a ny officer acting under the prov isions
of th is Act ; Or
(10)
(II)
pre vents Or obstructs any officer in-ch arge
of a c heck post or barrier from m aking
any entry or inspecti on of goods or in
in tercepting, de taining Or sear ching a ny
vehicle, boat or ship carrying taxable
good s; or
acts in contrav en tion of any of t he pro.
visions of the Act, or ru les made ther e.
un der,
shall , on c.onviction before a Magi strat e, and
in add ition to any tax or penalty or b oth that
may b e due from him, be punishable with im­
prison ment whi ch may extend to six mont hs or with
12
nne not exceeding one thousand rupe es or with
both, and when the offence is a continuing one , with
a daily fine not exceeding fifty rupees dur ing the
period of t he continuance of the offence.
False state- 27. Who ever makes a statement in a v erifica­
ment in de- tion or d ecla ration in connection with any pro­
clarauo». c eedi ngs under this Act which is false, an d which
he either knows or believes to be false, or doe s not
believ e to be tru e shall, on conviction before a
Magi stra -te. be pun ishabl e with simple im prison­
ment wh ich may extend to six months or with fine
which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with
both.
Cognizance 28. (1) No Court shall take cogni zanc e of any
fli of offence under this Act. or under the ru les made
o ences, h d . h h . . f ht er eun er except wit t e previous sanct ion 0 t e
Commiss io ner, and no Court inferior to tha t of a
M agistr ate of the first class shall try an y such
offence .
(2) Notwithstanding anything con tai ned in
the Co de of Cri minal Procedure, 1898, all offences
puni sha ble un der this Act sh all be cogniza ble and
bail ab le.
ComlJosition 29. (1 ) Subj ect to su ch conditions as may be
of offences. prescribed, th e Commissioner may, either before or
after ins tituti on of criminal proceedings und er this
Act , acce pt f rom th e person who has commi tted or
is re asonabl y suspect ed of having committed an offence
und er t hi s Act of the rules made thereun de r, by
~ ay of compositi on of such offence-
(a) where the offence consists of t h e failure
to pa y, 01- the evasion of, any tax re­
coverable under this Act, in ad dition to
the tax so recoverable a sum of mon ey not
exceeding one thousand rupe es or double
the am oun t of the tax recoverab le, which ­
ever is greater ; and
(b) in an yother case a sum of money not
exceed ing one thousand rupees in addition
to the ta x reco verabl e.
-(2) On payment of such sum as m ay b e
determi ned by the Commissioner under sub-sectio n
(1), no furth er proceeding shall be taken agai n st the
person concern ed in re spect of the same offence.
Act V of
189R.
-
13
Maintenance 30. (1) Every registered dea ler or other dealer
and .preser on whom a notic e has been served to f urnish re­
a=::ts~ turns under sub-s ection (2) of s ection 7, shall kee p
a t r ue ac count of the taxable goods purch ased
by him or purchased and despa tched by him,
as t he case may be, a nd if [he accounts maintai ned
in t he ordinary course do no t, in t he opinion of th e
Com missioner, enable him to app ly a propel' check
on the returns furnish ed und er th e p rovisions of
this Art , he may, by a n otice i n ",riting requi re
such dea ler to ke ep s uch accounts (including recor ds
of purchases ) in such for m as h e m ay, subjec t to
anything that may be prescri bed, dire ct.
Information
to be furni­
shed regar-
ding change'
of busines••
31. (I) If any regist ered dea ler -
(a) sells or otherwi se tra nsfers or d isposes of
his b usin ess o r a ny part thereof; or
(b) d iscontinues his business or ch anges
place of bu siness or open s a new p lace
of busin ess; or
(c) chang es t he nam e or nat ure of hi s busi­
ness he s hall, wi thin such perio d a s jnay,
be prescribed, inform th e prescribed aut-, .. ·:·'-
hori ty acc ordingly. .
(2 ) Wher e any de aler as aforesaid di es, his s uc­
cessor or le gal representati ve s hall furn ish the
inform ati on in the like m ann er.
Cornputa. 32. In computing the per iod of lim itati on p rescribed
lion o.f the for a n a ppe al or rev ision, th e da y on w hich the
PI' e .r I? d oforder com plain ed of was made and the t ime re­
Imitati on. . . . btai f h d h IIquisit e lor 0 tamin g a copy 0 sue or e r, s a
be e xclud ed.
Service of 33. A notice o r requ ismon under this Act may
notice. be served o n the person th erein named , eithe r by
regist er ed p ost or in the ma nner in wh ich a A t Vof
summo ns issued by a C ourt under the Code of 19~8.
Civil Procedu re, 1908 is served.
POW .C r to 34. ( I) Subject to such condit ions and restriction
ordee pro- as may be pre scribed , the Commission er may , for
duction 0 f the purpo ses of this Act , req uire any de aler to p roduceace 0 u- .ntl and po- befor e him any accounts or d ocume •.ts, a nd to
wer'of entry furnish any information relating to the stocks -of '
~. inspec- taxable goods of, or purchases and despa tche s of ;"
hon. taxabl e good s by, the dealer. ~~; ~ :
(2) All accounts, register s and other docume nts
rel ating to the stocks of taxable good s of, or pur­
chases a nd de spatches of tax abl e goods by a ny
~e aler, the t axable goods in his poss ession and his
otlices, shops, god owns, v essels and veh icles shall, at
a ll reason abl eI times, be op en to inspecti on b y 'the
Commissio ner .a
(3) If the Commiss ioner has reason to suspect
that any dea ler is attempti ng to evade payment of any
tax under this A ct, he may, for reasons to be re cor­
de d in w riting, sei ze such accounts, register s or
docu ment s of the dealer as may be nec essary, and
shall gran t a receipt for the sam e, and sha ll ret ain
the same o r.ly for s o long as m ay necessary
for the pu rposes of th is Acr.
(4) T h e Commissioner may, f or the purposes of
sub -sect ion (2) or sub-s ection ( 3) , enter and s ear ch
any such pl ace as is mention ed in sub -section (2)
on th e auth ority of a search warra nt issued by a
Magist r ate.
(5) T he prov isions of sections 102 and 103 of Act V ef
the Co de of Cri minal P ro cedure , 1898, s hall, so 1898.
far as may b e, appl y to searches under sub-section
(4).
Power to 3 5. T he C om m issioner m.ay, fo r the purp oses of
call (or In- hrormation . t i s Act-
(I) requir e ~ ~ y firm or associat ion of Hind u
undi vided or jomt family to furnish him with a
stateme n t of the nam es and addre sses of tile mem o
bers of the firm or association or of the nam es
and addr esses of the manager and memb ers of the
family, a s th e case m ay b e ;
(2) requ ire any person whom be has r eason to
bel ieve to be trustee , gua rdi an , ma nager or agent
to fu rn ish h im with a stat ement of the names of th e
persons with their addresse s for, or of whom, he is a
trustee , gua rdian, manager or a~ent ; or
(3) requ ire any pe rso n who m he has re ason to
beli eve to h ave despatc hed t axabl e goons to any
pl ace ou raidc th e Sta te to furnish him with a
stat emen t of the names of pers on with thei r ad­
dresses to who m he has despat ched the ' taxabl e .:
goo ds with qu ant ity thereof.
Power to 36. T he Co mmissio ner shall , for the pu rp oses Jkt V 01
~ake evi- of this Act, have th e same pl,wer s as at e veste d 1908.
• ::hCCetc.on in a Co urt under the Code of C ivil Proced ure,
, 190 8, wh en trying a sui t, in res pect of th e follow-
ing matt ers: -
( t) e nforci ng the attendance of any perso n
and examinin g him on oath or affirmat ion !
15
(2) compelling t he produ ction of documen ts ;
(3/ issuing commis sions for the examin a tion of
witne sses;
an d any such proceeding before the Comm issioner
shall be d eemed to be a "i udicial J: roceed ing" Act, XLV
withi n the me ani ng of sectio ns 193 and 2: B an d forof 18 ~O.
the purp oses of se ti on 19'') of the I n dian Penal
Code, i 860.
Erection of 37. ( l) The State Govern ment m ay.by notifi cation,
check post. set up and erect, in such mann er as m ay be pres­
cribed , chec k posts and barriers a t an y plac e
in the State with a vie w to prove n t the evasi on of
tax p ayab le under thi s Act.
(2) Ever y I,e,so n tran sp or ting taxabl e goods shall,
at any check post or b arri er set up an d e rected in
accord ance wit h sub -sec tio n (1), if £0 required,
shall , m ake a corre ct and com plet e d eclara tion of
the taxabl e goods so tr anspo r ted i n such form an d
in such mann er a s may bee: pr escribe d ,
(3) T he O fficer in- charge of the check post or
bar rier may, for the p urp ose of satisfying h imself
that t he p rovi sions of sub-sect ion (2) are no t con­
trave ned , and subje ct t o such restrictions a s may be
prescribe d, intercept, d etai n and search any vehicl e
or hoat or sh ip or allY other con veyan ce which
m ay be suspect ed of bein g used for c ontr ave ning such
provisions,
Bar 01 suits
in C i \ it
Courts and
indemcit ,',
38. No sui t sha H be brought in any Civil Cour t
to set aside or m cdify any assessm en t m ade or or der
passed un der the pr ovision s of th is Act , an d no
pro secu tion, suit or other pro ceedi ng shall lie against
any o fficer of the Govern ment for a nyth ing in good
iaith d one l r in tended to b e done un der this Act
or t h e ru les m ade th ereun der .
Deleg ar ion 39. T he Co mmissioner may , subject to su ch con-
of, . Cc,m. ditio ns and restricti ons as may be pres cribed ,
mISSIOner 5 d elega te, by n otifica tion in th e official Gaze tte, any
power. f h' • hi A . do IS row ers un d er t IS ct to any I erson a ppointe
unde r s ection 4 to a ssist hi m.
Appeal. 40. (1) Any dea ler objecting t o an orde r of
assessmen t or pen alty passed u nd er this Ac t may,
withi n 30 d ays of se rvice of such order. appeal to
th e prescribe d author ity against s uch assessment or
penal ty :
16
Provid ed that no a ppeal s h all be ente r tain en by the
said auth ority un less he i s sati sfied that the amount
of tax assessed or pena lty levie d, if not otherwise
dir ected by him , has been paid:
Pr~vide d furt her that tue a uthority b efore whom
th e app eal is filed m ay admi t i~ after expira tion o f
thirty day s, if such a ut hor it y is sat isfied tha t for
reasons b eyond the cont ro l 0 1 th e app ellant or f or
a ny oth er su fficien t cau se it co uld not be filed
wit hin tim e.
('2) Every ap pea l u nder su b-sec tion ( I ) sha ll be
presen ted in tile p rescrib ed Ior u- and shall be veri­
Get! in the p rescrib ed man ner.
(3) The app ellat e aut hority sha ll fix a day and
place for hea riog of the app eal , a nd ma y, from
time to tim e adj our n t he hear ing and make, or caus e
to be mack, such furth er e nquir y a s may be deemed
necessa ry.
('1) In disposin g of an app eal under sub-sec tio n
(1) the ap pell ate author ity m ay-
(a) confirm , red uce, c nha n ie or annu l the
assessment ; or
(b) set aside the assessm ent and d irect a
fresh assessm ent after such enquir y as may be
order ed ; or
(c) confirm , reduce or annul th e order of pe nalt y.
--- - "~ " _.,'1-. "
Revision by 4 1. (1) T he Comm issioner may call f or and exa mine
Cornmiseio- the record of a ny pr oceedin g under this Act, and
cer, if he consid ers that any order passed the re in h y any
person ap poin ted und er section 4 t o assist him, is
erro neou s in so far as it is prejudicial to t he intere sts
of the revenue , he may, after givi ng t he d ealer an
opportu nity of bein g heard and aft er makin g or
cau sing to b e made such enq uiry as he d eem s
necessary , pass such orders thereon as th e circ ums­
tances of the case justify, includ ing a n order
enha ncing or m odifying the assessmen t or cancelling
the assessment and direct ing a fres h ass essment.
(2) In the case of any order other than an order
(0 which sub-section (I ) applies is passed b y any
perso n appoin ted under secti on 4 to assist hi m, the
Co mmi ssioner may, either of his own motio n or on
a petition by a dealer for rev ision, call fo r the re­
cord of any pro ceeding unde r this hct in w hich any
such order has be en passe d and may make such
enqu iry or cause such en quiry to be made, and sub- .
ject to the provisions of this Act, may pass such
order there on, not being an order prejudicial to the
dealer, as he thinks fit .
(3) In the case of a pet itio n for revisron unde r
sub-sec tio n (2) by a d ealer, th e petit ion must he
made within nine ty days from th e da te on which
the ord er in que stion was commun ica ted to him or
the date on whic h he o ther wise comes to know o f
it , whic hever is earli er:
Prov ided that the Commissio ner before w hom the
pe titi on is filed may a dm it it after the ex pir at ion of
the pe riod of nin ety day s i f he is satisfie d th a t fo r
rea sons beyond the contro l of the peti tioner or for an y
other sufficie nt ca use, it cou ld not be filed w ithi n
tim e.
(4) T he Comm issioner shall not revise any orde r
under this section in the following cases:-
(a) wher e an ap peal against the order lies un ­
der secti ons 40 and 42 but has not been
made and the tim e within whic h s uc h
a p peal may be made has not expired, or
in the case of an appeal to the Boa rd,
the dealer has not waive d his right .01'
appeal; or
(b) whe re the order is pe nd ing on appeal
under secti on 40; or
(c ) wher e the orde r has been made the sub­
jec t o f an app eal to the Board.
Explanation-A n order by the Commi ssione r de­
clining to inter fere sh all, for th e pur poses of this
section, be dee med not to be a n o rder p rej udicial to
the dealer.
Ap peal t o 42. (1) Any deal er aggr ieved by an orde r passed
the Board. in app eal un der section 40 Or passed in revision
und er sub-se ction (1) of section 41 may ap peal t o
the Board within sixty days of the d ate on which
such order is communicat ed to him.
., ' ., '. ,,:,
18
(2) The Board may admit an appeal after the
expiration of the sixty days referred to in sub-section
(I) if it is satisfied tha t for reasons beyond j the
control of the appellant or for any other sufficient
cause it could not be filed within time.
(3) An appeal to the Board shall be in the pres­
cribed form and shall be verified in the prescribed
manner, and shall be accompanied by a fee of twenty
five rupees,
(4) The Board may, a fter giving the dealer an
opportunity of being hea rd, pass such orders there­
on as it thinks fit, and shall communicate such
orders to the appell ant and to the Commiss ioner.
Power to 43. (1) The State Gov ernment may , subject to the
~ake rule., condition of previous publication, make rules for car.
rying out th e purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudi ce to the
generality of th e foregoing po wee, such rules may
provide for all or any of the followi ng matters,
namely i-«
(~) the cl asses of officers appointed for purpose
of enforcing the provision of this Act. and
t~ eir duties i _ -_. _ _ __
(b) the proc edure to be followed and the forms
to be adopted in proceedings und er thiJ
Act;
(c) the intervals at which, and the manner in
which th e tax under this Act shall be
payable i
(d) the dates by which and the authority to
which returns shall be furnished j
(e) the manner in which refunds shall. be made;
t f) the classes of and the authority for deter.
mination and -settlement of disputes i
(g) the fees for appeal and revisions, supply of
certified copies of orders and other matters;
and
(h) any other matter which is required to be or
ma y be prescribed.
(3) In making any rule the Sta te Government may
direct that a breach thereof shall be punish able with
ri ne not exceeding five hundred rupees, and when the
- - - - - - - ---......---- - - - - - - - -----------_.-'"
19
offence is a continuing ene, with a daily &ae 1'0.'
exceeding twenty-five rupees durin, the contineaace
of the offence.
(ll) -Every rule made under this section shall It.
laid, as soon as may be after it js made, before the
Assam Legislative AssemblywhiJe it is in session for a
tot al period of fourteen days which may be comprised
in one session or in two successive sessions, and if,
before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or
the sessions immediately following the Assam Legisla­
tive Assembly agree in making any m odifica tion in the
rule or the Assam Legislative -A' lem bly agree that the
rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have
effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, liS
the case may be ; so however, that' any such modifica­
tion or annu lment shall be w ithout prejudice 10 the
validity of anything previously done under that rule.
rewer to 44. If any difficulty ari ses in giving effect to the:
.r~·~v~ provisions of this Act, the State Government may. as
1 ell lie •• occasion may require, by o rder, do anything not
incon sistent with the pro visions of this Act, as appear to
them to be necessary or expedient for remoyinc the
ditficulty,
P . C. D.~ S.
J oin t Secy . to th'i t.k,\ t , or Assa m ,
La\V Dep artm ent.
~I!:...-_--~~~~============-------:======:::J-C::==: ~

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