(1) Any person who is entitled or required to attend before any authority including the Tribunal in connection with any proceeding under the Act, otherwise than when required to attend personally for examination on oath or affirmation, may authorize in prescribed form -

(a) any relative or other person regularly employed by him;

(b) any legal practitioner, or Chartered Accountant or Cost and Works Accountant who is not disqualified by or under sub section (2);

(c) any sales tax practitioner who possesses the prescribed qualifications and is entered in the list which the Commissioner shall maintain in that behalf and who is not disqualified by or under sub section(2);or

(d) any person, who immediately before the commencement of the Act was a sales tax practitioner under any earlier law,

to attend before such authority and to act on behalf of such person in such proceedings.

(2) The Commissioner may, by an order in writing and for reasons to be recorded therein, disqualify any such person as is stated in the order from attending before any such authority -

(i) who has been removed or dismissed from Government service ; or

(ii) who being a sales tax practitioner, a legal practitioner or a Chartered Accountant or Cost and Works Accountant is found guilty of misconduct in connection with any proceedings under the Act by the Commissioner or by an authority, if any, empowered to take disciplinary action against the member of the profession to which he belongs.

(3) No order of disqualification shall be made under sub-section (2) in respect of any person unless he is given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

(4) The Commissioner may, at any time suo motu or on an application made to him in this behalf, revoke or modify any order made against any person under sub-section (2) and thereupon such person shall cease to be disqualified subject to such conditions or restrictions as may be contained in such order.