22. Assessment of persons residing outside India.

(1) Where the person liable to tax under this Act resides outside India, the tax may be levied upon and recovered from his agent, and the agent shall be deemed to be, for all the purposes of this Act, the assessee in respect of such tax.

(2) Any person employed by or on behalf of a person referred to in sub-section (1) or through whom such person is in the receipt of any income, profits or gains, or who is in possession or has custody of any asset of such person and upon whom the ³⁷[Assessing Officer] has caused a notice to be served of his intention of treating him as the agent of such person shall, for the purposes of sub-section (1), be deemed to be the agent of such person.

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³⁹[(3) No person shall be deemed to be the agent of any person residing outside India unless he has had an opportunity of being heard by the ⁴⁰[Assessing Officer] as to his being treated as such.

(4) Any agent, who, as such, pays any sum under this Act, shall be entitled to recover the sum so paid from the person on whose behalf it is paid or to retain out of any moneys that may be in his possession or may come to him in his capacity as such agent, an amount equal to the sum so paid.

(5) Any agent, or any person who apprehends that he may be assessed as an agent, may retain out of any money payable by him to the person residing outside India on whose behalf he is liable to pay tax (hereinafter in this section referred to as the principal), a sum equal to his estimated liability under this section, and in the event of any disagreement between the principal and such agent or person, as to the amount to be so retained, such agent or person may secure from the ⁴⁰[Assessing Officer] a certificate stating the amount to be so retained pending final settlement of the liability, and the certificate so obtained shall be his warrant for retaining that amount.

(6) The amount recoverable from such agent or person at the time of final settlement shall not exceed the amount specified in such certificate, except to the extent to which such agent or person may at such time have in his hands additional assets of the principal.

(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, any arrears of tax due from a person residing outside India may be recovered also in accordance with the provisions of this Act from any assets of such person which are or may at any time come within India.