118. Retention of seized assets.-

118.  Retention  of  seized  assets.- 

(1)  Where  any  money,  bullion,  jewellery  or other valuable article or thing (hereinafter referred to as assets) is seized under

section  117,  the  authorised  officer  shall,  unless  he  himself  is  the  Deputy Commissioner of Taxes, forward a report thereof, together with all relevant papers, to the Deputy Commissioner of Taxes.

(2) Where he has seized any asset under section 117 or, as the case may be, he has  received  a  report  under  sub-section  (1),  the  Deputy  Commissioner  of Taxes  shall,  after  giving  the  person  concerned  a  reasonable  opportunity  of being  heard  and  making  such  enquiry  as ¹[ the Senior Commissioner or] the  ²[Directors-General  of Inspection or the Commissioner may direct, within  ninety days of the seizure of the assets, and with the previous approval of the Commissioner,-

(a)  estimate  the  undisclosed  income  (including  income  from  the undisclosed  property),  in  a  summary  manner  to  the  best  of  his judgment on the basis of such materials as are available with him;
(b) calculate the amount of tax payable under this Ordinance on the income so estimated; and
(c)  specify  the  amount  that  will  be  required  to  satisfy  any  existing liability under this Ordinance, the Income tax Act, 1922 (XI  of 1922), the Gift tax Act, 1963 (XIV of 1963), and the Wealth-tax Act, 1963
(XV  of  1963),  in  respect  of  which  such  person  is  in  default  or  is deemed to be in default:

Provided that if, after taking into account the materials available with him, the Deputy  Commissioner of Taxes is of the view that it is not possible to ascertain to which particular income year or years such income or any part thereof relates, he may calculate the tax on such income or part, as the case may be, as if such income or part were the total income  chargeable  to  tax  at  the  rates  in force  in  the  financial year in which the assets were seized.

Explanation.- In computing the period of ninety days for the purposes of sub-section (2), any period during which any proceeding under this section  is  stayed  by  an  order  or  injunction  of  any  Court  shall  be excluded.

(3)  After  completing  the  proceedings  under  sub-section  (2),  the  Deputy Commissioner of Taxes shall, with the approval of the Commissioner, make an order requiring the person concerned to pay the aggregate of the amounts referred  to  in  sub-section  (2)  (b)  and  (c)  and  shall,  if  such  person  pays,  or makes satisfactory arrangement for the payment of, such amounts or any part thereof, release the assets seized under section 117 or such part thereof as he may deem fit in the circumstances of the case.

(4)  Where  the  person  concerned  fails  to  pay,  or  to  make  satisfactory arrangements for the payment of, any amount required to be paid in pursuance of the order under sub-section (3) or any part thereof, he shall be deemed to be  an  assessee  in  default  in  respect  of  the  amount  or  part,  and  the  Deputy Commissioner  of  Taxes  may  retain  in  his  custody  the  assets  seized  under section  117  on  any  part  thereof  as  are  in  his  opinion  sufficient  for  the realisation of the said amount or, as the case may be, of such part thereof as has not been paid.

(5)  If  the  Deputy  Commissioner  of Taxes is  satisfied  that  the  assets seized under section 117 or any part thereof were held by a person for or on behalf of any  other  person,  he  may  proceed  under  this  section  against  such  other person, and all the provisions of this section shall apply accordingly.

(6) If any person objects, for any reason, to an order made under sub-section (3), he may, within thirty days of the date of such order, make an application , stating  therein  the  reasons  for  his  objection,  to  the  Commissioner  for appropriate relief in the matter; and the Commissioner may, after giving the applicant an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders thereon as he may think fit.

................................................................

¹Deleted by F.A. 1995
²Subs. for "Director of Inspection" by F.A. 1993

About Author

Golden Bangladesh

Golden Bangladesh is a point of access to information.We present information from diverse sources in a unified way. It is the leading web portal, e-Directory and business guide in Bangladesh.