Maintenance of accounts.

28. (1) Every dealer liable to furnish returns under sub-section (2) of section 14 shall keep a true and proper account of his business, and if the assessing authority considers that such account is not sufficiently clear and intelligible to enable him to make a proper check of the returns referred to in that sub-section, he may require such dealer by notice in writing to keep such accounts, as he may, in writing, direct subject to anything that may, with a view to making proper assessment of tax, be prescribed.

(2) Every dealer required to furnish returns under sub-section (2) of section 14 shall,-

(a) in respect of every sale of goods, effected by him –

(i) to any dealer;

(ii) to any other person on credit;

(iii) to any other person on cash, where the sale price of the goods exceed one hundred rupees or such other amount not exceeding one thousand rupees, as may be prescribed, compulsorily, otherwise, on demand by such person, issue to the purchaser, where he is a VAT dealer to whom the goods are sold for resale by him or for us by him in manufacture or processing of goods for sale, a tax invoice, otherwise a retail/other sale invoice, -

(A) in the case of specific or ascertained goods at the time the contract of sale is made; and

(B) in the case of unascertained or future goods, at the time of their appropriation to the contract of sale; showing the prescribed particulars:

Provided that if the contract of sale requires that the goods be delivered over a period of time, he may issue a delivery note showing the prescribed particulars at the time of dispatch of the goods, every time such dispatch is made, and when the delivery of the goods is complete or a month closes in between, he shall issue a consolidated tax invoice or retail/other sale invoice, as the case may be, showing the prescribed particulars, in respect of the goods sold during the month or part thereof, as the case may be;

(b) maintain, in the prescribed manner, account of all sales not falling within clause (a);

(c) in respect of every dispatch of goods otherwise than by sale, issue a delivery note at the time of the dispatch showing the prescribed particulars; and

(d) preserve a carbon copy of every invoice or delivery note issued under clause (a) or clause (c) for a period of eight years following the close of the year when the sale was made and where some proceedings under this Act are pending, till the completion of such proceedings.

(3) A VAT dealer who returns any goods sold to him by another VAT dealer on a tax invoice, shall issue to the selling VAT dealer at the time of return of the goods, a delivery-cum-debit note showing the prescribed particulars and shall reverse the input tax availed of by him relating to the goods.