(1) Any person, who is entitled or required to attend before any authority including the Tribunal in connection with any proceeding under this Act, otherwise than when required to attend personally for examination on oath or affirmation, may attend,-
(a) by a relative or a person regularly employed by him, or
(b) by a legal practitioner, Chartered Accountant [,Cost Accountant or Company Secretary] who is not disqualified by or under sub-section (2), or
(c) by a sales tax practitioner who possesses the prescribed qualifications and is entered in the list which the Commissioner shall maintain in that behalf, and who is not disqualified by or under sub-section (2), or
(d) any person who, immediately before the commencement of this Act was qualified to appear as a sales tax practitioner under any earlier law and who is not disqualified by or under sub-section (2), only if such relative, person employed, legal practitioner, Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant [,Company Secretary] or sales tax practitioner is authorised by such person in the prescribed form, and such authorisation may include the authority to act on behalf of such person in such proceedings.
Explanation.- "A person regularly employed" means a person whose salary is regularly and periodically debited and recorded in the books of account of the dealer.
(2) The Commissioner may, by order in writing and for reasons to be recorded therein, disqualify for such period as is stated in the order from attending before any such authority, any legal practitioner, Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant [,Company Secretary] or sales tax practitioner,-
(i) who has been removed or dismissed from Government service, or
(ii) who being a legal practitioner, a Chartered Accountant, [a Cost Accountant or a Company Secretary] is found guilty of misconduct in connection with any proceedings under this Act by an authority, empowered to take disciplinary action against the member of the profession to which he belongs, or
(iii) who, being a sales tax practitioner, is found guilty of such misconduct by the Commissioner.
(3) No order of disqualification shall be made in respect of any particular person unless he is given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
(4) Any person against whom any order of disqualification is made under this section may, within one month of the date of communication of such order, appeal to the Tribunal to have the order cancelled or modified.
(5) The order of the Commissioner shall not take effect until one month of the service thereof or when an appeal is preferred until the appeal is decided. (6) The Commissioner may, at any time suo moto or on an application made to him in this behalf, revoke or modify any order made against any person under sub-section (2) and thereupon such person shall cease to be disqualified subject to such conditions or restrictions that may be contained in such order.