(1) No person other than,-

(a) a registered dealer, or

(b) a person required to deduct any amount by way of tax under the provisions of this Act,

shall collect any amount by way of tax under this Act. No collection of tax shall be made by the person specified in clauses (a) and (b) above except in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder and beyond the rate specified.

(3) Any amount collected by any person in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1) or any amount collected by any person by way of tax or in any other manner not payable under any provisions of this Act shall be liable to forfeiture to the Government.

(4) If the Prescribed Authority in the course of any proceedings under this Act or otherwise has reason to believe that any person has become liable to forfeiture of any sum under sub-section (3), he shall serve on such person a notice in the prescribed form requiring him on a date and at a place specified in the notice to attend and show cause as to why the said amount should not be forfeited to the Government and on receipt of the reply, if any, thereto, the Prescribed Authority thereupon shall hold an enquiry and shall make such order including an order of forfeiture as he thinks fit.

(5) Where the Prescribed Authority has reason to believe that any person has willfully contravened the provision of sub-section (1), the Prescribed Authority may by an order in writing, impose upon such person a penalty of an amount not less than the amount of tax so collected and not exceeding twice the amount of tax so collected by him in contravention of the provision of sub-section (1).

(6) The sum forfeited under sub-section (4) and the amount of penalty imposed under sub-section (5) shall be paid by the person or the dealer making the unauthorised collection into the Government account by such date as may specified in a notice issued by the Prescribed Authority for this purpose, being a date not later than thirty days from the date of service of the notice.

(7) Any sum forfeited or penalty imposed under this section which remains unpaid after the date specified in the notice for payment, shall be recoverable as an arrear of land revenue.

(8) Where any order of forfeiture is made, the Prescribed Authority shall publish or cause to be published a notice thereof for the information of the persons concerned giving such details and in such manner as may be prescribed.

(9) On the publication of the notice under sub-section (8),a refund of any such sum or any part thereof may be claimed from the Government by the person from whom it was unauthorisedly realised by way of tax, provided such tax was not passed on by him in any form or manner to some other person and if such tax was passed on to some other person, the claim for refund can be made by such other person only.

(10) An application for such claim shall be made in writing in the prescribed form to the Prescribed Authority, within one year from the date of the order of the forfeiture.

(11) On receipt of an application under sub-section (10), the Prescribed Authority shall hold such enquiry as he deems fit, and if the Prescribed Authority is satisfied that the claim is valid and admissible and that the amount so claimed to be refunded was actually paid into the Government account or recovered, and no set off or refund in respect of that amount was granted, he shall refund the sum or any part thereof, which is found due to the person concerned.

(12) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or in any other law for the time being in force, where any sum collected by a person in contravention of sub-section (1) is forfeited to the Government under sub-section (4) and is paid by him or is recovered from him, such payment or recovery shall discharge him of the liability to refund the sum to the person from whom it was so collected.

(13) No prosecution for an offence under this Act shall be instituted in respect of the same facts on which a penalty has been imposed under this section.