(1) With a view to identifying dealers who are liable to pay tax under this Act, but have remained unregistered, the Commissioner shall from time to time cause survey of unregistered dealers to be undertaken.

(2) For the purpose of such survey, the Commissioner may -

(a) by general or special notice, require any dealer or class of dealers to furnish the names, addresses and such other particulars as he may find necessary relating to the persons and dealers who have purchased any goods from or sold any goods to such dealer or class of dealers during any given period;

(b) call for details and particulars regarding the services provided by public utilities or any person which, in his opinion, are relevant and useful and cause the results of the survey to be published, from time to time, in any manner as he deems fit; and

(c) enter any place where a person is engaged in business, but is not registered or has not applied for grant of certificate of registration under this Act, whether such place is the principal place of business or not and require any person, whether the owner of the business or not, including any employee or any other person who at the time and place be attending in any manner to, or helping in, the business -

(i) to afford him the necessary facility to inspect such books of account or other documents as the Commissioner may require from him and which he may be maintaining in course of business at such place, and

(ii) to furnish such information as he may require as to any matter which according to him is useful for, or relevant to, any proceeding under this Act.

Explanation. - For the purposes of this clause, a place where the person is engaged in business shall also include any other place in which the person engaged in business or the employee or other person attending to or helping in the business states that any of the books of account or other documents or any part of the cash, stock or other valuable articles or things relating to the business are kept or are reasonably believed to have been kept.

(3) The Commissioner may enter the place where the person is carrying on the business only during the hours at which such place of business is open for business and after sunrise and before sunset, and make or cause to be made extracts or copies from books of account and other documents inspected by him, make an inventory of any cash, stock or other valuable articles or things checked or verified by him, take samples of goods available at the time of inspection and record the statement of any such person which, according to him, may be useful for, or relevant to, any proceeding under this Act.

(4) The Commissioner while exercising powers under this section shall, on no account, remove or cause to be removed from the place where he has entered, any books of account, other documents, cash, stock or other valuable articles or things without giving receipt thereof.