(1) The Commissioner or his duly authorised agent may for the purpose of obtaining information which he considers necessary in relation to the liability of any person to tax, enter any premises in Ghana at any time during the day, without previous notice and search for any moneys, assets, documents or records and in carrying out any such search he may:

(a) open or cause to be removed and opened, any article in which he considers any moneys, assets, documents or records may be contained;

(b) seize any money or assets and any documents or records which he considers may afford material evidence of the liability of any person to tax;

(c) retain such moneys or assets and any such documents or records or any copies thereof for such periods as may be reasonable for their examination or for the purposes of a prosecution or the recovery of the tax due.

(2) The Commissioner or such duly authorised agent conducting the search shall:

(a) make an inventory of and issue receipts for any moneys, assets, documents or records seized;

(b) make copies of any such documents or records and provide copies to the person from whose custody they were obtained.

(3) Any person who prevents the Commissioner or his duly authorised agent from exercising his powers under subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than c50,000.00 or to imprisonment with hard labour for a term of not less than two years.

(4) For the purpose of this section any person who without reasonable cause or excuse destroys or conceals any relevant document shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to the fine or imprisonment specified in subsection (3) of this section.