Clause 62

by deleting the words “$5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months” in section 66 and substituting the words “$10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months”;

by deleting the word “and” at the end of section 84(1)(d);

by deleting the full-stop at the end of paragraph (e) of section 84(1) and substituting the word “; and”, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following paragraph:“(f)shall be entitled to require a person in or at the building or place and who appears to the Comptroller or officer to be acquainted with any facts or circumstances concerning the person’s or another person’s transactions made in the course of a business —

to answer any question to the best of that person’s knowledge, information and belief; or

to take reasonable steps to produce a document for inspection.”;

by inserting, immediately after the words “The Comptroller may” in section 84(2), the words “by notice”;

by inserting, immediately after subsection (2) of section 84, the following subsections:“(2A) For the purposes of this Act, the Comptroller may by notice require any person to attend personally before the Comptroller or an officer authorised by the Comptroller, 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 person’s or any other person’s transactions made in the course of a business;

take reasonable steps to produce for inspection a document concerning those transactions.(2B) The power to require a person to provide information or produce a document under subsection (1)(f) or (2), or when in attendance before the Comptroller or an authorised officer pursuant to a notice under subsection (2A), 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 document;

if the information is not provided or the document is not produced, to require that person to state, to the best of the person’s knowledge and belief, where it is;

if the information is recorded otherwise than in legible form, to require the information to be made available to the Comptroller or authorised officer (as the case may be) in legible form; and

in the case of a document, to inspect, copy or make extracts from the document without fee or reward, and to take possession of the document if in the Comptroller or authorised officer’s opinion —

the inspection, copying or extraction cannot reasonably be performed without taking possession of the document;

the document may be interfered with or destroyed unless possession of the document is taken; or

the document may be required as evidence in proceedings for an offence under this Act or in proceedings for the recovery of tax or penalty, or in proceedings by way of an appeal against an assessment.(2C) A statement made by any person asked under subsection (1)(f), or in compliance with a demand for information, 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.(2D) Any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails, neglects or refuses to comply with any notice or requirement of the Comptroller or an officer authorised by the Comptroller under this section, or with a demand for information, 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, a further fine not exceeding $100 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.(2E) Any person who, in purported compliance with a notice or requirement of the Comptroller or an officer authorised by the Comptroller under this section, or with a demand for information, produces any document which contains any information, or provides any information, known to the person to be false or misleading in a material particular —

without indicating to the Comptroller or the officer that the information is false or misleading and the part that is false or misleading; and

without providing correct information to the Comptroller or the officer if the person is in possession of, or can reasonably acquire, the correct information,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 2 years or to both.”;

by inserting, immediately after the word “disclose” in section 84(3), the words “(including through the production of a document)”;

by inserting, immediately after subsection (3) of section 84, the following subsection:“(3A) The generality of the term “reasonable excuse” in subsection (2D) is not affected by subsection (3).”; and

by inserting, immediately after subsection (5) of section 84, the following subsection:“(6) In this section, “demand for information” means a demand by the Comptroller or an officer authorised by the Comptroller to answer a question when in attendance before the Comptroller or the officer pursuant to a notice under subsection (2A).”.