Section 154 - Amendment of section 37A - Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987

154. Amendment of section 37A. In section 37A of the Wealth-tax Act, - (1) in sub-section (1),- (a) in clause (c), for the words any articles or things including money , the words any money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing shall be substituted; (b) in clauses (A) and (B), for the words or Wealth-tax Officer the words Assistant Commissioner or Income-tax Officer shall be substituted; (c) in clauses (i) and (ii), for the words articles or things including money , the words money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing shall be substituted; (d) for clause (iv), the following clause shall be substituted, namely :- (iv) seize any such books of account, other documents, money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing found as a result of such search; ; (e) in clause (vi), for the words any articles or things including money , the words any money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing shall be substituted; (f) in the proviso, for the word and figures section 10 , the word and figure section 8 shall be substituted; (g) after the proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely :- Provided further that where it is not possible or practicable to take physical possession of any valuable article or thing and remove it to a safe place due to its volume, weight or other physical characteristics or due to its being of a dangerous nature, the authorised officer may serve an order on the owner or the person who is in immediate possession or control thereof that he shall not remove, part with or otherwise deal with it except with the previous permission of such authorised officer and such action of the authorised officer shall be deemed to be seizure of such valuable article or thing under clause (iv) of this sub- section. ; (2) in sub-section (2),- (a) for the words articles or things including money , the words money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing shall be substituted; (b) for the word and figures section 10 , the word and figure section 8 shall be substituted; (3) after sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely :- (3A) The authorised officer may, where it is not practicable to seize any books of account, other documents, money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing, for reasons other than those mentioned in the second proviso to sub-section (1), serve an order on the owner or the person who is in immediate possession or control thereof that he shall not remove, part with or otherwise deal with it except with the previous permission of such officer and such officer may take such steps as may be necessary for ensuring compliance with this sub-section. Explanation .- For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that serving of an order as aforesaid under this sub-section shall not be deemed to be seizure of such books of account, other documents, money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing under clause (iv) of sub-section (1). ; (4) in sub-section (4), the following Explanation shall be inserted at the end, namely: - Explanation .- For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that the examination of any person under this sub-section may be not merely in respect of any books of account, other documents or assets found as a result of the search, but also in respect of matters relevant for the purposes of any investigation connected with any proceedings under this Act. ; (5) after sub-section (5), the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely :- (5A) Where any money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing (hereafter in this section and in sections 37B and 37C referred to as the assets) is seized under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), the Assessing Officer, after affording a reasonable opportunity to the person concerned of being heard and making such inquiry as may be prescribed, shall, within one hundred and twenty days of the seizure, make an order, with the previous approval of the Deputy Commissioner,- (i) estimating the undisclosed net wealth in a summary manner to the best of his judgment on the basis of such materials as are available with him; (ii) calculating the amount of tax on the net wealth so estimated in accordance with the provisions of this Act; (iii) determining the amount of interest payable and the amount of any penalty imposable in accordance with the provisions of this Act, as if the order had been the order of regular assessment; (iv) specifying the amount that will be required to satisfy any existing liability under this Act in respect of which such person is in default or in deemed to be in default, and retain in his custody such assets or part thereof as are in his opinion sufficient to satisfy the aggregate of the amounts referred to in clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv) and forthwith release the remaining portion, if any, of the assets to the person from whose custody they were seized: Provided that where a person has paid or made satisfactory arrangements for payment of all the amounts referred to in clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv) or any part thereof, the Assessing Officer, may with the previous approval of the Chief Commissioner or Commissioner release the assets or such part thereof as he may deem fit in the circumstances of the case. (5B) The assets retained under sub-section (5A) may be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of section 37C. (5C) If the Assessing Officer is satisfied that the seized assets or any part thereof were held by such person for or on behalf of any other person, the Assessing Officer may proceed under sub- section (5A) against such other person and all the provisions of this section shall apply accordingly. ; (6) after sub-section (6), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely :- (6A) An order under sub-section (3A) shall not be in force for a period exceeding sixty days from the date of the order, except where the authorised officer, for reasons to be recorded in writing by him, extends the period of operation of the order beyond sixty days, after obtaining the approval of the Chief Commissioner or Commissioner for such extension: Provided that the Chief Commissioner or Commissioner shall not approve the extension of the period for any period beyond the expiry of thirty days after the completion of the proceedings under this Act in respect of the years for which the books of account, other documents, money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable articles or things are relevant. ; (7) after sub-section (9), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely: - (9A) If any person objects for any reason to an order made under sub-section (5A), he may, within thirty days from the date of such order, make an application to the Chief Commissioner or Commissioner stating therein the reasons for such objection and requesting for appropriate relief in the matter. ; (8) for sub-section (10), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely :- (10) On receipt of the application under sub-section (9), the Board, or on receipt of the application under sub-section (9A), the Chief Commissioner or Commissioner, may, after giving the applicant an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders as it or he thinks fit. ; (9) after sub-section (12), the following Explanations shall be inserted, namely :- Explanation 1 .- In computing the period referred to in sub- section (5A) for the purposes of that sub-section, any period during which any proceeding under this section is stayed by an order or injunction of any court shall be excluded. Explanation 2 .- In this section, the word proceeding means any proceeding in respect of any year under this Act which may be pending on the date on which a search is authorised under this section or which may have been completed on or before such date and includes also proceedings under this Act which may be commenced after such date in respect of any year. .