126.
| (1) Any officer appointed for the purposes of this Act who is specially authorized by the Commissioner in that behalf may, accompanied by a peace officer, do all or any of the following acts: -
| | (i) enter and search any building or place where he has reason to believe that any articles, books of account or other documents which in his opinion will be useful for, or relevant to, any proceedings under this Act may be found and examine them, if found; | | |
| | (ii) seize and deliver to the Commissioner any such articles, books of account or other documents or place marks of identification thereon or make extracts or copies therefrom; | | |
| | (iii) for the purpose of effecting such delivery, guard or cause to be guarded, on the spot any such articles, books of account or other documents; | | |
| | (iv) question any person whom he finds in that building or place with respect to any matter under this Act or the ownership of any such articles, books of accounts or other documents; | | |
| | (v) make a note or an inventory of any other thing found in the course of any search under this section which in his opinion will be useful for, or relevant to, any proceedings under this Act; | | |
|
|
| (2) Before authorizing any officer to exercise the powers under subsection (1), the Commissioner shall record the circumstances which necessitate the exercise of those powers by that officer. |
|
| (3)
| | (a) An article shall be seized and delivered to the Commissioner by the officer carrying out the search only if-
| | | (i) any tax payable by the owner of such article under any written law administered by the Commissioner is in default, or |
| (ii) such officer is satisfied, after such investigation as he may deem necessary, that such article had been purchased by the owner thereof out of, or is, profits and income in respect of which income tax should have been payable by such owner but had not been paid by him. |
|
| | (b) Where any article is seized under this section by an officer carrying out a search, the owner of such article shall be entitled to a receipt from such officer for the article so seized. | | |
|
|
| (4) Where any article is seized and delivered to the Commissioner under this section, the Commissioner may-
| | (a) if such article is cash in Ceylon currency, and if such cash is less than, or is equivalent to, the amount of the tax in default or the tax payable according to the Commissioner in respect of such article, set off such cash in partial or full satisfaction of such tax, or | | |
| | (b) if such cash is more than the amount of such tax, set off so much of the cash as is equivalent to the amount of such tax in full satisfaction of such tax and return the balance to the owner of such article, or | | |
| | (c) if such article is not cash in Ceylon currency, retain, subject to the provisions of subsection (5), such article in his custody until-
| | | (i) the tax in default, or the tax payable according to the Commissioner on the profits and income out of which such article had been purchased, as the case may be, is paid, or |
| (ii) arrangements are made to the satisfaction of the Commissioner for the payment of such tax. |
|
|
|
| (5) Where the tax is not paid or where arrangements are not made by the owner of the article as specified in subsection (4) of this section within six months after the date of the seizure of such article, then the Commissioner shall cause such article to be sold by public auction. |
|
| (6) The sum realized by the sale of any article under this section shall be applied-
| | (i) firstly in payment of the costs and charges of seizing, keeping and selling the article, and | | |
| | (ii) secondly in satisfaction of the tax payable by the owner of that article, | | |
|
|
|
Sri Lanka Consolidated Acts