(1) With effect from the appointed day, the West Bengal Appellate and Commercial Taxes Tribunal constituted under the Bengal Finance (Sales Rev isional Tax) Act, 1941, shall be deemed to have been constituted under this Act Board.
and shall be called the West Bengal Commercial Taxes Appellate and Revisional Board.
(2) The State Government shall appoint such number of members of the Appellate and Revisional Board as the State Government thinks fit and shall appoint one of the members of the Appellate and Revisional Board to be the President thereof (hereinafter referred to in this section as the President).
(3) The qualifications, conditions of service and tenure of the membeks constituting the Appellate and Revisional Board shall be such as may be prescribed.
(4) No decision or action of the Appellate and Revisional Board shall be called in question merely on the ground of any vacancy in the Appellate and Revisional Board.
(5) The functions of the Appellate and Revisional Board may be discharged by any of the members sitting either singly, or in Benches of two or more members, as may be determined by the President.
455 The West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994.
[West Ben. Act (Chapter IL—Taxing Authorities, Appellate and Revisional Board and Bureau.—Section 7.)
(6) If the members of a Bench are divided, the decision shall be the decision of the majority, if there be a majority, but if the members are equally divided, they shall state the point or points on which they differ, and the case shall be referred by the President for hearing on such point or points to one or more of the members of the Appellate and Revisional Board, and such point or points shall be decided according to the majority of the members of the Appellate and Revisional Board, who heard the case including those who first heard it:
Provided that if, at any time, the Appellate and Revisional Board consists of only two members and they are divided, the decision of the Appellate and Revisional Board shall be that of the President.
(7) Subject to the previous sanction of the State Government, the Appellate and Revisional Board shall, for the purpose of regulating its procedure (including the place or places at which the Appellate and Revisional Board, the Benches or the members thereof shall sit) and providing the rules of business, make regulations consistent with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder:
Provided that the regulations so made shall be published in the Official Gazette.
Bureau of Investigation 7. (1) The State Government may constitute a Bureau of Investigation for discharging the functions referred to in subsection (3).
(2) The Bureau shall consist of an Additional Commissioner (hereinafter referred to as the Special Officer) and such number of other persons appointed under sub-section (1) of section 3 to assist the Commissioner as the State Government may deem fit to appoint.
(3) The Bureau may, on information or of its own motion, or when the State Government or the Commissioner so directs, carry out investigation or hold inquiry into any case of alleged or suspected evasion of tax as well as malpractices connected therewith and send a report in respect thereof to the Commissioner.
(4) The Bureau may, for the purpose of holding investigation or inquiry under sub-section (3), exercise all the powers under section 65, section 66, section 67, section 69, section 70, section 71, section 72 and section 73:
Provided that the Commissioner may, on receipt of a report under sub-section (3), require the Bureau to transfer to him any accounts, registers or documents relating to the said report seized by the Bureau 456 The West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994.
XLIX of 1994.]
(Chapter IL—Taxing Authorities, Appellate and Revisional Board maid Bureau.—Section and, on such transfer, such accounts, registers or documents shall be retained by him subject to the provisions of section 66.
(5) The Bureau may, with the prior approval of the Commissioner, require any person appointed under sub-section (1) of section 3 to assist the Commissioner to transfer to it any accounts, registers or documents seized by him from any dealer or person under section 66 and, on such transfer, such accounts, registers or documents shall, subject to the provisions of section 66, be retained by the Bureau for carrying out the purposes referred to in sub-section (3) and sub-section (6).
(6) The Bureau may, after a case has been investigated or inquired into by it, by order, assess or re-assess tax, impose penalty, determine interest, or collect or enforce payment of tax, penalty or interest in respect of such case under this Act.
(7) The Special Officer shall assign such functions of the Bureau to such of the persons referred to in sub-section (2) as the Special Officer may think fit.
(8) The Bureau shall have, for carrying out the purposes of this Act, the same powers as are referred to in section 86.
(9) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that subject to the other provisions of this Act, the Special Officer shall be competent to exercise all the powers which are exercisable under this Act by an Additional Commissioner, and any person appointed under subsection (1) of section 3 to assist the Commissioner when appointed in the Bureau, shall be competent to exercise all the powers which are exercisable by such person under this Act and the rules made thereunder.
(10) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) of section 3, the Special Officer and the other persons appointed in the Bureau under sub-section (2) shall have jurisdiction over the whole of West Bengal.
8. All persons appointed or deemed to have been appointed under this Act to exercise any power to perform any function thereunder shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the 45 of t860. Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Persons appointed.
under the Act to be deemed to be public servants.
457 The West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994.
[West Ben. Act Incidence of tax on sale.
(Chapter 111.—Incidence and levy of tax and rate of tax.—Section 9.)
CHAPTER III Incidence and levy of tax and rate of tax