4-B. (1) If in the opinion of an authority prescribed in that behalf, the licensee, the Board or other person liable to pay electricity duty evades or attempts to evade the payment of the duty, whether by maintaining false records, submitting false returns, concealing the energy supplied or consumed, or by any other means, the licensee, the Board or other person, as the case may be, shall pay by way of penalty within such time as may be prescribed, in addition to the said duty, a sum, not exceeding four times the amount of duty so evaded or attempted to be evaded, to be determined by such authority :
Provided that no action under this sub-section shall be taken without giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the licensee, the Board, or such other person.
(2) An appeal shall lie from an order passed under sub-section (1) to such authority, within such period and on payment of such fee, as may be prescribed.
(3) The appellate authority may confirm, set aside or modify the order appealed from and pending the disposal of the appeal, stay the operation of the order wholly or partially and on such terms as it thinks fit.]