Singapore legislation
Section 70C
Section 70C
Power to call for any instrument, book, document, account or other record, or to obtain information
(1)
For the purposes of this Act, the Commissioner may by notice require any person to attend personally before the Commissioner or an authorised officer, at a place and time specified in the notice, to do one or both of the following:
provide, to the best of that person’s knowledge, information and belief, any information concerning the liability of any instrument to duty;
produce for examination any instrument, book, document, account or other record (each called in this section a record) concerning such liability.
(2)
Where records are maintained by computer, the person required to make them available for examination must provide all facilities necessary for obtaining the computer records.
(3)
The Commissioner has at all times full and free access to all buildings, places and records for any of the purposes of this Act, and may, without fee or reward, inspect, copy or make extracts from any such records.
(4)
In addition to the powers under subsection (3), the Commissioner may also require a person in or at the building or place and who appears to the Commissioner to be acquainted with any facts or circumstances concerning the liability of any instrument to duty —
to answer any question to the best of that person’s knowledge, information and belief; or
to take reasonable steps to produce any record for examination.
(5)
The Commissioner or the authorised officer may take possession of any record produced in purported compliance with a requirement under subsection (1) or (4), or which the Commissioner finds in the building or place under subsection (3), where in his or her opinion —
the inspection or copying of or extraction from the record cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession;
the record may be interfered with or destroyed unless possession is taken; or
the record may be required as evidence in proceedings for an offence under this Act or in proceedings for the recovery of duty or penalty, or in proceedings by way of an appeal against the assessment.
(6)
A statement made by any person asked when in attendance before the Commissioner or an authorised officer under subsection (1), or under subsection (4), must —
be reduced to writing;
be read over to the person;
if the person does not understand English, be interpreted for the person in a language that the person understands; and
be signed by the person.
(7)
The Commissioner may by notice require any person to give orally or in writing, as may be required, all such information, facts and circumstances affecting the liability of any instrument to duty.
(8)
The power to require a person to provide information or produce a record under subsection (4) or (7), or when in attendance before the Commissioner or an authorised officer pursuant to a notice under subsection (1), includes the power —
to require that person, or any person who is or was an officer or employee of that person, to provide an explanation of the information or record;
if the information is not provided or the record is not produced, to require that person to state, to the best of the person’s knowledge and belief, where it is; and
if the information is recorded otherwise than in legible form, to require the information to be made available to the Commissioner or authorised officer (as the case may be) in legible form.
(9)
Any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails, neglects or refuses to comply with —
a notice or requirement of the Commissioner under this section; or
a demand by the Commissioner or an authorised officer to answer a question when in attendance before the Commissioner or officer pursuant to a notice under subsection (1),shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $100 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.
(10)
In this section, “authorised officer” means any Deputy Commissioner of Stamp Duties and any officer of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore assisting the Commissioner in the administration of this Act.
(11)
Any person who, for the purpose of evading any duty under this Act, falsifies or destroys any document, book, account, record or other instrument shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.