(1) The Secretary of the Committee or any officer of the State Government or the Board, empowered by the State Government in this behalf may, for the purposes of this Act, require any person carrying on business in any kind of notified agricultural produce to produce before him the accounts and other documents and to furnish any information relating to stocks of such agricultural produce or purchase, sale, processing, value addition and delivery of such agricultural produce by such person and also to furnish any other information relating to payment of market fee by such person.
(2) All accounts and registers maintained by any person in the ordinary course of business of any notified agricultural produce and documents relating to stocks of such agricultural produce or purchase, sale, processing, value addition of such agricultural produce in his possession and offices, establishment, godowns, vessels or vehicles of such persons shall be kept open for inspection at all reasonable time by such officers of the State Government, the Board or the Committee as may be authorized by the State Government in this behalf.
(3) If any such officer has reasons to suspect that any person is attempting to evade the payment of any market fee due from him under this Act or that any person has purchased, sold, processed or value added any notified agricultural produce in contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or the rules or the bye-laws in force in the market areas, he may communicate in writing to such person, seize such accounts, registers and documents of such person, as may be necessary, and shall grant a receipt for the same and shall retain the same only so long as may be necessary for examination thereof or for a prosecution.
(4) For the purposes of sub-section (2) or (3) such officer may enter or search any place of business, warehouse, office, establishment, godown, vessel or vehicle where such officer has reason to believe that such person H. P. AGRICULTURAL AND HORTICULTURAL PRODUCE MARKETING (DEVELOPMENT AND REGULATION) ACT, 2005 36 keeps or for the time being has kept accounts, registers or documents of his business, or stock of the notified agricultural produce relating to this business.
(5) The provisions of section 100 (4) to (8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 shall, so far as may be, apply to a search under sub-section
(4).
(6) Where any books of accounts or other documents are seized from any place and there are such entries therein making reference to quantity, quotations, rates, receipts or payment of money or sale or purchase of goods, such books of accounts or other documents shall be admitted in evidence without witness having to appear to prove the same, and such entries shall be prima-facie evidence of matters, transactions and accounts purported to have been recorded therein.