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61. Penalty for avoidance or evasion of tax

(1) Where any dealer has concealed any particulars from any return furnished by him or has deliberately furnished inaccurate particulars therein or has concealed any transactions of sale or purchase from his accounts, registers or documents required to be maintained by him under this Act or has avoided or evaded tax in any other manner, the assessing authority or any officer not below the rank of an Assistant Commercial Taxes Officer as may be authorised by the Commissioner, may direct that such dealer shall pay by way of penalty, in addition to the tax payable by him under this Act, a sum equal to two times of the amount of tax avoided or evaded.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub–section (1), where any dealer has availed input tax credit wrongly, the assessing authority or any other officer not below the rank of an Assistant Commercial Taxes Officer as may be authorised by the Commissioner shall reverse such credit of input tax and shall impose on such dealer–

(a) in case such credit is availed on the basis of false or forged VAT invoices, a penalty equal to four times of the amount of such wrong credit; and

(b) in other cases, a penalty equal to double the amount of such wrong credit.