Provided that before passing any order under this section, the person concerned shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

Power of inspection of accounts, documents and search

1. (1) The assessing authority or any officer authorized by the State Government in this behalf may, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, require any proprietor to produce before it the working records of accounts, registers or other documents or to furnish any information relating to his business as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act.
2. (2) All working records of accounts, registers or other documents referring to the business of any hotel, lodging house, health club, beauty parlour, swimming pool, conference hall and the like and banquet hall shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection by the assessing authority or the authorized officer and the assessing authority or the authorized officer may take or cause to be taken such copies or extracts of such records as may be necessary for the purpose of testing the accuracy of the charges for such luxury or for informing itself as to any particulars regarding which information is required for the purpose of this Act or any rules made thereunder as would appear to it necessary.
3. (3) If the assessing authority has reason to believe that any proprietor has evaded or is attempting to evade the payment of tax due from him, it may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, seize such records of accounts, registers or other documents of the proprietor as may be necessary and shall grant a receipt in respect of the same and shall retain the same so long as it may be necessary in connection with any proceeding under this Act: Provided that, accounts, registers, records and other documents so seized shall not be retained by such authority for a period exceeding one hundred eighty days from the date of seizure, unless the reasons for retaining the same beyond the said period are recorded by it, in writing and the approval of the next higher authority is obtained and such approval in any case shall not be for more than sixty days at a time.
4. (4) For the purposes of this Act, the assessing authority or the person authorized by it in this behalf or authorized officer under this sub-section, may enter and search the hotel or banquet hall or any place of business of the proprietor or any other place where the assessing authority or the officer authorized has reason to believe that the proprietor keeps, or is for the time being keeping, any records of accounts, registers or other documents relating to his business.