9. Power to arrest.―(1) Any excise officer duly empowered by rules made in this behalf may arrest
any person whom he has reason to believe to be liable to punishment under this Act.
(2) Any person accused or reasonably suspected of committing an offence under this Act or any rules
made thereunder, who, on demand of any excise officer duly empowered by rules made under this Act,
refuses to give his name and residence, or who gives a name or residence which such officer has reason to
believe to be false may be arrested by such officer in order that his name and residence may be
ascertained.
10. Power to summon persons to give evidence and produce documents in inquiries under this
Act.―(1) Any excise officer duly empowered by rules made in this behalf shall have power to summon
any person whose attendance he considers necessary either to give evidence or to produce a document or
any other thing in any inquiry which such officer is making for any of the purposes of this Act.
(2) A summons to produce documents or other things under sub-section (1) may be for the production
of certain specified documents or things or for the production of all documents or things of a certain
description in the possession or under the control of the person concerned.
(3) All persons so summoned shall be bound to attend either in person or by an authorised agent as
such officer may direct and all persons so summoned shall be bound to state the truth on any subject
respecting which he is examined or make statements and produce such documents and other things as
may be required:
Provided that the exemptions under section 132 and section 133 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
(5 of 1908) shall apply to requisitions for attendance under this section.
(4) Every such inquiry as aforesaid shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of
section 193 and section 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
11. Officers required to assist Excise Officers.―All officers of Customs and Central Excise, and
such other officers of the Central Government as may be specified in this behalf, and all police officers
and all officers engaged in the collection of land revenue are hereby empowered and required to assist
excise officers in the execution of this Act.
12. Owners or occupiers of land to report manufacture of contraband dutiable goods.―Every
owner or occupier of land and the agent of any such owner or occupier in charge of the management of
that land, if dutiable goods are manufactured thereon in contravention of the provisions of this Act or the
rules made thereunder, shall, in the absence of reasonable excuse, be bound to give notice of such
manufacture to a magistrate or to an officer of the Excise, Customs, Police or Land Revenue Department
immediately the fact comes to his notice.
13. Punishment for connivance at offences.―Any owner or occupier of land or any agent of such
owner or occupier in charge of the management of that land, who wilfully connives at any offence against
the provisions of this Act or any rules made thereunder shall, for every such offence, be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred
rupees or with both.
14. Searches and arrests how to be made.―All arrests and searches made under this Act or under
any rules made thereunder shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 18981
(5 of 1898), relating respectively to searches and arrests under that Code.
15. Disposal of persons arrested.―(1) Every person arrested under this Act shall be forwarded
without delay to the nearest excise officer empowered to send persons so arrested to a magistrate or if
there is no such excise officer within a reasonable distance to the officer in charge of the nearest police
station.
1. See now the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974).
5
(2) The officer in charge of a police station to whom any person is forwarded under sub-section (1)
shall either admit him to bail to appear before a magistrate having jurisdiction, or in default of bail
forward him without delay in custody to such Magistrate.
16. Inquiry how to be made by excise officers against arrested persons forwarded to them.―(1)
When any person is forwarded under section 15 to an excise officer empowered to send persons so
arrested to a magistrate, the excise officer shall proceed to inquire into the charge against him.
(2) For the purpose of sub-section (1), the excise officer may exercise the same powers, and shall be
subject to the same provisions, as the officer in charge of a police station may exercise and is subject to
under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), when investigating a cognizable case:
Provided that—
(a) if the excise officer is of opinion that there is sufficient evidence or reasonable ground of
suspicion against the accused person, he shall either admit him to bail to appear before a magistrate
having jurisdiction in the case, or forward him in custody without delay to such magistrate;
(b) if it appears to the excise officer that there is not sufficient evidence or reasonable ground of
suspicion against the accused person, he shall release the accused person on his executing a bond,
with or without sureties as the excise officer may direct, to appear, if and when so required, before the
magistrate having jurisdiction and shall make a full report of all the particulars of the case to his
official superior.
(3) All officers exercising any powers under section 15 or this section shall so exercise their powers
as to ensure that every person who is arrested and detained in custody is produced before the nearest
magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for the
journey from the place of arrest to the Court of the magistrate.
17. Vexatious search, seizure, etc., by excise officer.―(1) Any officer exercising powers under this
Act or under the rules made thereunder who—
(a) without reasonable ground of suspicion searches or causes to be searched any place,
conveyance or vessel;
(b) vexatiously and unnecessarily detains, searches or arrests any person;
(c) vexatiously and unnecessarily seizes the movable property of any person on pretence of
seizing or searching for any article liable to confiscation under this Act;
(d) commits, as such officer, any other act to the injury of any person, without having reason to
believe that such act is required for the execution of his duty;
shall, for every such offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees.
(2) Any person wilfully and maliciously giving false information and so causing an arrest or a search
to be made under this Act shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two
years, or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both.
18. Failure of excise officers on duty.―Any excise officer who ceases or refuses to perform, or
withdraws himself from, the duties of his office, unless he had obtained the express written permission of
his superior officer or has given such superior officer two months’ notice in writing of his intention or has
other lawful excuse, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months,
or with fine which may extend to three months’ pay, or with both.