Assessee permitted to attend through authorised agent.

52. (1) Any assessee or dealer, who is entitled or required to attend before any authority in connection with any proceedings under this Act, may attend by a person authorised by him in writing in this behalf, being a relative or a whole time employee of the assessee or an advocate or a tax consultant; not being disqualified by or under sub-section (3) or sub-section (4).

(2) In this section a “tax consultant” means –

(i) any person, who before the 10th day of May, 1953, appeared before any assessing or other sales tax authorities in connection with any proceedings under the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1941 or the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948, on behalf of any assessee otherwise than in the capacity of an employee or relative of that assessee; or

(ii) a retired Gazetted Officer of the Haryana Excise and Taxation Department who has worked as an taxing authority or an appellate authority under the Act of 1973 or this Act, for a minimum period of five years in one or more than one of the aforesaid capacities after a period of not less than two years has passed since the date of his retirement; or

(iii)any person who has passed any accountancy examination recognised by the Central Board of Direct Taxes or holds a degree in Commerce, Law, Economics or Banking including auditing conferred by a y Indian University, incorporated by any law for the time being in force.

(3) No person, who has been dismissed from Government service, shall be qualified to represent any dealer under sub-section (1).

(4) If any practitioner or other person who represents an assessee, is found guilty of misconduct in any proceedings before any authority under this Act by the Commissioner, the Commissioner may direct that he shall be disqualified, to represent a dealer under sub-section (1): Provided that no such direction shall be made in respect of any person unless he is given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

(5) Any person against whom any direction is made under this section may appeal to the Tribunal against such direction within sixty days of its communication to him.