Section 96, The Goods and Services Tax Act, 2009

(1) The Commissioner-General or any tax officerauthorised by the Commissioner-General may, for the purposes of administering this Act, by notice in writing, require a person to– (a) furnish, within the time specified in the notice, which shall not normally be less than 7 days after the date of the notice, information that may be required by the notice; or (b) attend, at the time and place designated in the notice, which shall not normally be less than 7 days after the date of the notice, to be examined on oath by the Commissioner- General or a tax officer authorised in writing by the Commissioner-General, concerning the tax affairs of that person or another person, and for that purpose the Commissioner- General or the authorised tax officer may 100 101 require provision of information. Appeal to Board of Appellate Commissioners or Court. Maintenance of accounts and records. Act No. 8 of 2000. Act No. 8 of 2000. require the person examined to produce a book, record, or computer-stored information under the control of the person. (2) A notice issued under this section shall be served on the person to whom it is directed or left at his last known or usual place of business or abode and a certificate of service signed by the person serving the notice is evidence of the facts stated in the certificate. (3) For purposes of this section, the Commissioner- General– (a) is entitled to have at all times and without notice, full and free access to any premises, place, book, record, computer or electronic storage devices; (b) may make an extract or copy from any book, record or computer-stored information to which access is obtained under paragraph (a); (c) may seize any book or record that, in the opinion of the Commissioner-General or tax officer authorised by him, affords evidence which may be material in determining the liability of any person to tax or a penalty (d) may retain any book or record seized under paragraph (c) for as long as it may be required for determining a person’s liability or for any proceeding under this Act; and (g) may, where a hard copy or information stored on a computer is not provided, seize and retain the computer for as long as is necessary to copy the information required. (4) Where powers are exercised under subsection (3), the Commissioner-General shall provide at the time of the seizure of the books, records or evidence or as soon as is reasonably practicable after the seizure, a receipt to the person from whom the seizure was made or their representative providing details of the items seized. (5) Powers provided under subsection (3) may be exercised only during ordinary business hours, unless the Commissioner-General determines that the collection of tax is in jeopardy and that their exercise outside ordinary business hours is necessary to protect the collection of the tax. (6) The owner, manager or any other person on the premises or place entered or proposed to be entered under this section shall provide all reasonable facilities and assistance for the effective exercise of a power under this section. (7) A person whose books, records or computer have been removed and retained under subsection (3) may examine them and make copies or extracts from them during ordinary business hours under such supervision as the Commissioner-General may determine. (8) This section has effect notwithstanding– (a) any enactment relating to privacy, privilege or the public interest with respect to the giving of information or the production of books, records, or computer-stored information; or (b) any contractual duty of confidentiality.