https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=157416 A taxing statute permitting seizure of business records allows continued retention only as a limited regulatory measure. Retention beyond thirty days becomes unauthorized unless the authority decides within that period that prosecution is contemplated and the documents are required for that purpose; the continued retention was therefore invalid. The Court also treated prompt communication of the retention decision as an essential safeguard against arbitrary deprivation, so non-communication within a reasonable time likewise vitiated the seizure. On the facts, the seized documents could not be lawfully retained, and their return was directed subject to taking extracts if necessary. en-us Wed, 29 Jun 1994 00:00:00 +0530 Sat, 05 Oct 2013 14:21:22 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=157416 A taxing statute permitting seizure of business records allows continued retention only as a limited regulatory measure. Retention beyond thirty days becomes unauthorized unless the authority decides within that period that prosecution is contemplated and the documents are required for that purpose; the continued retention was therefore invalid. The Court also treated prompt communication of the retention decision as an essential safeguard against arbitrary deprivation, so non-communication within a reasonable time likewise vitiated the seizure. On the facts, the seized documents could not be lawfully retained, and their return was directed subject to taking extracts if necessary. Case-Laws VAT and Sales Tax Wed, 29 Jun 1994 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=157416